Two 12-year-old boys found guilty of murdering teenager Shawn Seesahai in a random machete attack are set to be sentenced.
The killers, both from Wolverhampton, were convicted in June of murdering the 19-year-old, who was stabbed in the heart and suffered a skull fracture on the city’s Stowlawn playing fields on November 13 last year.
They 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.
One of the killers (West Midlands Police/PA)
The boys, both now 13, face a mandatory juvenile life sentence and are due to appear in custody at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday for the start of a two-day hearing.
The sentence is due to be passed on Friday.
However, they will not be named after High Court judge Mrs Justice Tipples rejected a media application in July.
She said the welfare of the youths outweighed the wider public interest and open justice principles.
Family members of both Mr 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 after a month-long trial.
The trial was told that Mr Seesahai 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 Mr Seesahai stumbled as he tried to flee from the boys.
In an interview released after the verdicts, Mr Seesahai’s parents Suresh and Maneshwary have said they will never be able to get over the loss of their son who always told them he would “shine” and take care of them.
Speaking for the first time since their son was murdered, Suresh Seesahai said he feels sorry for the parents of the killers and only hopes that “justice” is served for his son.