Two boys believed to be Britain’s youngest knife murderers have had the minimum terms of their life sentences for the killing of Shawn Seesahai increased at the Court of Appeal.
The defendants, both 13, were given life sentences with minimum terms of eight-and-a-half years for the murder of Mr Seesahai, 19, in Wolverhampton on November 13 last year.
They were aged 12 at the time of the killing and became the youngest defendants convicted of the crime in the UK since Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, both aged 11, were found guilty in 1993 of murdering two-year-old James Bulger.
We have, with some reluctance and sadness, come to the conclusion that the minimum terms imposed by Mrs Justice Tipples were unduly lenient
On Thursday, lawyers for the Solicitor General said the sentences of both boys were “unduly lenient” and should be increased, stating it was a “particularly serious type of case”.
Three senior judges ruled that the minimum terms should be increased to 10 years, meaning the youths will spend nine years and 60 days behind bars because of time already served.
Lord Justice William Davis, sitting with Mr Justice Bennathan and Judge Nicholas Dean KC, said: “We have, with some reluctance and sadness, come to the conclusion that the minimum terms imposed by Mrs Justice Tipples were unduly lenient.”
Anguilla-born Mr Seesahai, who was living in Birmingham, was stabbed through the heart and lungs with a machete and suffered a skull fracture during the attack on Stowlawn playing fields, with one of his wounds measuring 23cm deep and almost passing through his body.
Both boys blamed the other for inflicting four wounds with the machete, but were unanimously convicted of murder following their trial at Nottingham Crown Court in June.
One of the youths also admitted possession of the knife before their trial at Nottingham Crown Court.
They were described during their sentencing in September as the country’s “youngest knife murderers”.
High Court judge Mrs Justice Tipples had previously ruled that the defendants – known only as BGI and CMB – should be protected by anonymity orders, saying their welfare outweighed the wider public interest in open justice and unrestricted reporting.
Sentencing them, she said Mr Seeshai had “everything to live for” and described his murder as “horrific and shocking”.
Explaining her reasons for the length of the minimum terms, she said the murder was aggravated by the fact it was an attack involving two offenders.
Mitigating factors included the fact the “spur-of-the-moment attack” was not premeditated, and the defendants’ age.
The judge said that the first defendant, BGI, was “extremely vulnerable” and had admitted buying the murder weapon from a friend for £40 around a month before the attack.
She continued that BGI had been “groomed and exploited” by others and had had “very many adverse childhood experiences” for which he was not responsible.
The second defendant, CMB, had a supportive and loving relationship with his parents and was not previously known to the police.
Both boys attended the hearing at the Court of Appeal in London through videolink from separate facilities, with BGI wearing a grey tracksuit and supported by two adults, and CMB in a white shirt and black tie.
In written submissions, the Solicitor General told the Court of Appeal in London that the sentences were “significantly too short”.
She said the judge found that “the offenders had intended to kill the victim”, meaning BGI “must have had a clear awareness of the consequences of his actions”.
Paul Jarvis, representing the Solicitor General in court, said that the judge “made significantly too much allowance” for mitigating features.
Knife crime is a scourge, and we welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to increase the sentences of Shawn’s murderers, following the referral by the Solicitor General
He said that CMB had “significantly less forceful mitigation” than BGI, adding: “Even if eight years and six months for (BGI) was not unduly lenient, in our submission there was not a reason on the facts to treat (CMB) the same way.”
Rachel Brand KC, for BGI, said his “immaturity” did “significantly impact” his culpability.
She said: “Perhaps (the judge) imposed a minimum term that others might regard as somewhat lenient, but we submit in the context of this case, it was not unduly so.”
Paul Lewis KC, for CMB, said the judge was “right not to draw distinction” between the two boys.
Following the hearing, a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office said: “This was a deeply distressing case. Shawn Seesahai was only 19 years old and had his whole life ahead of him but was brutally murdered over a minor disagreement.
“Knife crime is a scourge, and we welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to increase the sentences of Shawn’s murderers, following the referral by the Solicitor General.”
Lord Justice William Davis said full written reasons for their decision would be provided later on Thursday.
