Two 12-year-old boys in Wolverhampton, UK, were found guilty Monday of murdering Shawn Seesahai in November 2023, the BBC reported.
Seesahai was found on the playing fields in Wolverhampton’s East Park with stab wounds through his heart caused by a machete, according to the BBC.
Two 12-year-old boys found guilty of murdering 19-year-old Shawn Seesahai, who was stabbed with a machete in Wolverhampton, England https://t.co/8olPsyfnyR
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) June 10, 2024
The two boys’ names are not able to be released due to their ages, the outlet reported. The pair are the youngest convicted murderers in the UK since 1993, when 11-year-old Robert Thompson and Jon Venables killed 2-year-old James Bulger, according to The Guardian. (RELATED: 14-Year-Old Girl Accused of Beating Grandmother To Death, Authorities Say).
Their trial was reportedly held at Nottingham Court, where the boys took the stance to blame each other for the crimes they had committed. The jury concluded both were to blame and convicted them of murder, according to the BBC.
The two boys had photos on their phones of the machete that was used, as well as search histories looking up articles regarding the stabbing, according to the outlet. One also reportedly posed for a photo, wearing a mask with the murder weapon before the murder took place.
Blood from Seesahai was also found on both of their clothing, according to the BBC.
Following the murder, the two boys exchanged Snapchat messages, with one boy seemingly scared and telling the others in the group chat that everyone knows what they did, the BBC previously reported. The other boy responds by saying, “It is what it is.”
During the trial, BBC reported, the boys murdered Seesahai so brutally that the 16-inch machete almost completely passed through his body.
Seesahai was visiting the park with his friends when they were encountered by the two boys, the BBC reported. Seesahai told his friend to run when one of the boys pulled out the machete, but Seesahai stumbled as he tried to run away.
The boys reportedly began to beat Seesahai with the machete on his legs, back and skull. His skull had so much trauma from the attack that a piece of bone broke away from his head, according to the BBC.
Prosecutor Michelle Heely told the court that Seesahai died after one of the boys used the machete to stab him from his back, through his ribs, into his heart. CPR was reportedly administered at the scene, where he ended up succumbing to his injuries.
Heely told BBC that Sheesahai had recently moved to the UK from his home in Anguilla in hopes of fixing his cataracts.
In an interview with BBC after the verdicts, Seesahai’s parents described him as a “very loving child.”
