Why the identities of boys, 12, who murdered teen in park are being kept secret

They're Britain's youngest knife killers, locked up for the brutal murder of Shawn Seesahai, aged 19, in a park in Wolverhampton. But the media isn't allowed to reveal the names of the lads, who were aged 12 at the time, despite committing such a shocking crime.

The reason is an order made by a High Court judge in July, three months before the sentencing hearing yesterday (Friday) which ended with the youths, now 13, being handed life sentences with minimum term of eight-and-a-half years each.

Media organisations, as is routine in notorious cases involving defendants who are under 17 and therefore considered children in the eyes of the law, applied for reporting restrictions to be lifted. The application was supported by Shawn's family. But Mrs Justice Tipples said the welfare of the boys convicted of killing Shawn Seesahai outweighed the public interest of naming them.

READ MORE: The chilling five-word voice note Britain's youngest knife killer sent on Snapchat after murder

The killers, both from Wolverhampton, were found guilty in June of murdering Shawn, who was stabbed in the heart and suffered a skull fracture during an attack on the city’s Stowlawn playing fields on November 13 last year.

The youths 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.

Four media organisations, including the PA news agency on behalf of a series of media companies including the Manchester Evening News, had argued that the defendants should lose anonymity granted by an order under the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act.

But Mrs Justice Tipples, sitting at Nottingham Crown Court, said she had accepted evidence contained in pre-sentence reports that naming the boys would have a detrimental impact on their welfare.

Why judge did not name the murderers

The judge told the court the facts of the killing – which “took place in not much more than a minute” – were “of course shocking, particularly given the very young age of the defendants”. As part of her ruling, the judge accepted evidence from social workers that one of the defendants was vulnerable, had “extremely complex needs” and that identifying him would have “an extremely detrimental impact on his mental health”.

The judge also accepted a statement in a pre-sentence report which said naming the other youth was likely to increase the likelihood of negative attention within the custodial setting.

Following the judgment, Jude Bunting KC, representing three of the media organisations, said an appeal against the ruling in a higher court was unlikely.

Addressing the court in July, Mr Bunting submitted that the murder was within a category identified during a previous case as having a high public interest. He told the court: “This point is squarely present in this case, which has attracted local concern and national revulsion. We are in the realm of knife crime, which is an issue of substantial public interest.”

Naming the boys would also enable the media to investigate the possibility of institutional failures, Mr Bunting asserted.

Defence counsel Rachel Brand KC and Paul Lewis KC both opposed the media application to lift the restriction on identifying the boys.

Ms Brand said the welfare of her client – who bleached and hid the machete after Mr Seesahai’s murder – should be given a “heavier consideration” than public interest factors.

Mr Lewis, representing the other boy, urged the court to focus on the facts of Mr Seesahai’s killing rather than “siren calls” relating to abstract principles from previous cases.

“How does naming two 12-year-olds better inform public debate?” Mr Lewis asked. “There is no evidence that to name two 12-year-olds would provide any deterrent.”

'I am sure you intended to kill him'

During Friday's sentencing hearing, both youths were allowed to leave the dock and sit in the back row of the court benches as Mrs Justice Tipples began her sentencing by acknowledging the sentence being passed would be no comfort to the victim’s family.

The judge told the boys: “When you killed Shawn he was 19, starting out in his adult life with everything to live for. His parents have lost their son. His sister has lost her brother.

“What you did is horrific and shocking. You did not know Shawn, he was a stranger to you. You both killed Shawn in an attack that lasted less than a minute when he asked you to move (from a bench). I am sure you intended to kill him.”

The judge added she could not be sure which of the boys had inflicted a 23cm-deep wound which almost passed all the way through Mr Seesahai’s body.

Relatives of Anguilla-born Mr Seesahai described his murder as tragic, unexpected and senseless, and having been committed “for no reason at all”. Both boys blamed the other for inflicting four wounds with the machete, after a dispute with the victim about sitting on a park bench.

One of the boys admitted possession of the knife prior to the trial, while the other was found guilty of the same charge when they were both unanimously convicted of murder on June 10.

Explaining her reasons for the length of the minimum terms after the boys were taken down to begin their sentences of detention, Mrs Justice Tipples 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 young age of the defendants, who were told they will remain in separate secure units where they were held on remand during their trial.

The “extremely vulnerable” first defendant, who admitted buying the murder weapon from a friend for £40 around a month before the attack, had been “groomed and exploited” by others, the court heard.

The judge said the first defendant had had “very many adverse childhood experiences”, including falling victim to exploitation by criminals and “multiple traumas” in childhood for which he was not responsible.

“I agree with the authors of the (pre-sentence) report that he does not at this stage have the maturity to fully appreciate the consequences of his actions,” the judge added.

The court heard the second defendant had a supportive and loving relationship with his parents and was not previously known to the police.

Victim's family 'disappointed with the sentence'

In a statement issued on their behalf by the UK representative of Anguilla, Dorothea Hodge, the family of Mr Seesahai said: “Whilst the family recognise that today justice has been served in respect of the horrific murder of their beloved son Shawn, they are disappointed with the sentence.

“No one hearing the detail of this case could have anything other than horror at the violence that took place that evening.”

West Midlands Police 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.”

A Crown Prosecution Service senior Crown prosecutor said the two killers “should have been enjoying their childhood rather than arming themselves with a machete and killing an innocent person”.

Jonathan Roe 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.”