The two boys will not be named due to the their age (Image: West Midlands Police)
Two 12-year-old boys have been jailed for life for a horrific machete murder that made them Britain’s youngest killers.
The killers, from Wolverhampton, were convicted in June of murdering , who was stabbed in the heart and suffered a skull fracture on the city’s Stowlawn playing fields on November 13 last year.
At a sentencing hearing today at Nottingham Crown Court, the pair, who are now aged 13, were kailed for life with a minimum term of eight years and six months.
They are believed to be the youngest defendants convicted of murder in Britain since Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, both aged 11, were found guilty in 1993 of killing two-year-old James Bulger.
:
Victim Shawn Seesahai was hacked to death (Image: West Midlands Police/PA)
Chief Superintendent Kim Madill, speaking outside court after the sentencing, said: “Shawn was only 19 when his life was taken at the hands of two boys, then aged just 12, who had armed themselves with a machete.
“That reality has had a huge impact on us all, it is both shocking and saddening. The impact of knife crime is devastating no matter where you live in the country, this is an issue that affects us all.
“Much work has been done and we have had successes in some areas, however, this is clearly not enough.
“We are listening to families affected by knife crime and acting on their feedback to see what more we can do with partners to stop the devastation caused by knife crime.
“Our responsibility is to work together with partners to understand why children and young people think it is OK to carry weapons and take further action to stop this extremely dangerous behaviour.”
They will not be named after High Court judge Mrs Justice Tipples rejected a media application in July.
She said the welfare of the youths outweighed the wider public interest and open justice principles.
Family members of both Mr Seesahai and the defendants cried and hugged each other as jurors found both boys guilty of murder and one guilty of possessing a bladed article after a month-long trial.
The trial was told that Mr Seesahai was shoulder-barged by the smaller of the two defendants, who “often” carried a machete with a 42.5cm-long blade, before being punched, kicked, stamped on and “chopped” at with the weapon.
The victim’s friend told the trial he was forced to run for his life but Mr Seesahai stumbled as he tried to flee from the boys.
In an interview released after the verdicts, Mr Seesahai’s parents Suresh and Maneshwary have said they will never be able to get over the loss of their son who always told them he would “shine” and take care of them.
Speaking for the first time since their son was murdered, Suresh Seesahai said he feels sorry for the parents of the killers and only hopes that “justice” is served for his son.