Britain's 'youngest knife murderers' jailed for eight-and-a-half years after machete attack

Mrs Justice Tipples told the pair: "Shawn was a young man, loved by his family with his future ahead of him. A jury at this court decided that you murdered him.

"The sentence I decide to pass today will not comfort Shawn’s family but it will bring to an end the legal process that they have been involved in since November last year to a close."

Both boys were unanimously convicted by jurors of murder at Nottingham Crown Court in June. They had denied the offence and stood trial.

On the night he was killed, Shawn and two of friends travelled into Wolverhampton on the tram so one of the friends could visit his girlfriend. Shawn, who'd been living in Birmingham, had only been in the UK for about six months, having come over from his home in Anguilla for eye surgery.

While he and one friend waited on a bench in Stowlawn playing fields in East Park on November 13 last year, some youngsters, who had been on a nearby basketball court, came over. The victim, who was from the British Overseas Territory of Anguilla was stabbed in the heart and 'chopped at' his head.

The victim's family yesterday told the court that they were forced to spend their life savings on repatriating Seesahai's body. They then had to take out a loan so they could make it back to the UK for the murder trial.

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In a victim impact statement read by the Government of Anguilla’s international representative Dorothea Hodge, relatives described the Anguilla-born teenager’s murder as tragic, unexpected and senseless, and having been committed "for no reason at all."

The court heard how the teenager 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 the 19-year-old stumbled as he tried to flee from the boys.

Family members of both 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.

Their identities are protected by a court order which gives them anonymity until the age of 18. A media application was put in to lift the anonymity order. However it was denied by a judge who said the welfare of the boys outweighed the public interest.

The boys are believed to be the youngest defendants convicted of murder in Britain since Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, who abducted and killed two-year-old James Bulger in 1993.

At the sentencing hearing, the pair blamed each other and still deny being responsible for the murder.

Jonathan Roe, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "As prosecutors, we often deal with harrowing cases, but this case is particularly distressing due to the complete senselessness and devastating consequences of the defendants' actions.

"The defendants at the age of 12 should have been enjoying their childhood rather than arming themselves with a machete and killing an innocent person.

"Shawn Seesahai lost his life in a horrifically cruel way. I hope today’s sentencing serves as a reminder of the dangers of carrying machetes. Shawn's family have shown remarkable strength and dignity in the aftermath of such a tragedy and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.”

Chief Superintendent Kim Madill from West Midlands Police told a press conference: "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."

Shawn's father Suresh, said: "Losing a child is a parent's worst nightmare. It has left a huge hole in the pit of our stomach which nothing can fill, we are devastated as a family, totally heart broken and confused."