Shawn Seesahai: 12-year-old boy found guilty of murdering 19-year-old in machete attack | UK news

Two 12-year-old boys are believed to be the UK’s youngest knife murderers after being found guilty of killing a 19-year-old in a machete attack.

Warning: This story contains details that readers may find disturbing

On Monday, the jury unanimously found the pair guilty. They are believed to be the youngest defendants to be convicted of murder in Britain since Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, both aged 11, were found guilty of killing two-year-old James Bulger in 1993.

19-year-old Shawn Seesahai died after the attack on November 13 last year.

He was hit in the back, legs and skull. The fatal wound on his back was more than 20 cm deep and “almost came out” of his chest after passing “through his heart”.

Two 12-year-old boys deny murder Mr Seesahai However, the public prosecutor’s office stated that they were partly responsible for the brutal attack.

Mr Seesahai, originally from Anguilla in the Caribbean, had been in Birmingham while recovering from cataract surgery.

He and a friend had gone to a park in Wolverhampton where they met a group of children.

Prosecutors said that despite the fact that Mr Seesahai “did not use violence and did nothing that would have been offensive”, Victim of a brutal attack.

Due to their age, the boys’ names cannot be disclosed.

Groundless wildness

Prosecutors said one of the boys deliberately “brushed Mr Seesahai with his shoulder” that evening and then pulled a machete from his trousers.

Mr Seesahai’s friend managed to escape, but Mr Seesahai landed on the ground, where he was beaten, kicked and stabbed by the two boys, according to the prosecution.

He was hit on the skull with a machete so hard that “a piece of bone broke off.”

He also suffered cuts to his leg and, most seriously, a machete wound that penetrated his back, through his ribs and into his heart.

“These two boys acted together to attack a man who had done nothing wrong, an unarmed man who was lying on the ground completely defenceless,” said Michelle Heeley KC.

Mr Seesahai’s mother Manashwary described her son as “very loving”.

“He is always there for us, a very sheltered child. He helped his father (at work) with all the tools, he helped me (at home) with the housework, he liked doing that.”

Shawn’s father Suresh says his son helped him with construction work.

“He was always with me, from birth and throughout my childhood. When he was about 16, he started working with me. No matter what he knew I would need help with, he was always there for me.”

“This world is a different world”

Mr Seesahai’s parents said Shawn had wanted to build a life for himself in the UK and pursue a career in engineering. They said he was recovering well from his operation and the family had planned to join him in the UK so they could all be together.

Mrs Seesahai says her son was ambitious.

“He didn’t finish school. After he came here and had the eye surgery, he said that when he got better, he would finish school and pursue his dream.”

“He always said, ‘Mommy, I want to work, I want my own house, I want my own car.’ He always said, ‘Mommy, I’m going to shine.'”

Mr Seesahai’s father said that parents need to pay more attention to what their children are up to.

“You don’t know what these children have. This world is a different world. Children are dangerous today and if we don’t take care of our children, this will happen every day.”

Defendants accused each other

Both boys blamed each other for the attackOne of them admitted to owning the weapon used.

He was the first to give evidence in court and said he and his co-defendant were sitting on a bench in the park with a friend when they were approached by Mr Seesahai and another man.

He said Mr Seesahai towered over them and told them to “get out of here”.

He said he told Mr Seesahai’s companion to “get your friend out of my face”.

The boy said Mr Seesahai put him in a headlock and his co-defendant eventually held the machete and “moved aside” towards them.

“Shawn got me out of the headlock and started running. Then his shoe came off and he tripped,” he said.

The boy said both defendants ran after Mr Seesahai and the other 12-year-old then started hitting his legs with the knife.

The first defendant said he told his friend to stop and did not notice that Mr Seesahai had been stabbed in the back.

He said he retrieved the knife after the attack.

Machete discovery

Police later found the machete under his bed. He said he had bought the weapon for £40 a few months before the murder.

He used bleach to clean the bloodstained knife and said he got the idea from a music video before hiding it under his bed.

The second 12-year-old gave a very different explanation. He claimed that his friend stabbed Mr Seesahai and that he was “nowhere near him” during the attack. He also denied having the machete in his own hands during the attack.

He told the court that he pushed Mr Seesahai away from his friend, whereupon the 19-year-old “grabbed” him and forced them both to the ground.

Bloody attack

“I fell on the concrete,” he said. “Shawn fell on the grass.”

He said his co-defendant then ran after Mr Seesahai, who stumbled as he took off his shoe, and stabbed him more than once.

He said his friend had blood “all over his hands” and on the cuffs of his fleece jacket.

When police confiscated the boys’ phones, they found photos of knives.

The 12-year-old who bought the machete said he sent photos of himself holding the weapon because he “thought it was cool.”

The boys have been held in security shelters since the attack.