Caribbean island Anguilla grieving Shawn Seesahai machete murder

Two 13-year-old boys have been sentenced for stabbing Shawn Seesahai to death with a machete in Wolverhampton. BBC News visited his family’s home in Anguilla and found an island in mourning.

A world away from the sandy beaches and blue seas of the Caribbean, Shawn left his home and came to the UK for medical treatment and opportunities – he wanted to study engineering.

The 19-year-old had injured himself playing basketball and following surgery in the USA for a detached retina, he travelled to England for follow-up treatment and settled in Birmingham.

What happened next was a far cry from the paradise of The Valley, Anguilla’s capital where just 4,000 people live.

Shawn was repeatedly stabbed – one wound was 23cm deep and penetrated his heart – and left to die at Stowlawn playing fields last November.

His two killers, who cannot be named due to their ages, were just 12 at the time of the attack, making them the youngest people to be convicted of murder since Jon Venables and Robert Thompson were detained for murdering James Bulger, more than 30 years ago.

“They killed my son like they kill a dog,” Shawn’s father Suresh told the BBC. “It’s brutal.”

“They stab him through and through. They kick him. They cuff him. He was helpless.”

News of Shawn’s murder travelled to the tiny British overseas territory quickly. A friend who had been with him that night rang his parents in Anguilla as police arrived at the scene in Wolverhampton.

It was his mother Maneshwary who answered the phone.

“I just dropped,” she says, describing her shock. “I don’t know what happened after.”

Shawn and his family are well known across Anguilla, and his death has had a huge impact on a very close-knit community.

At one of the basketball courts where Shawn used to play, his coaches tell us this was his happy place and he was the “jokester” on the team, and well-liked.

“There’s so many victims and so many people hurting. We have an island hurting,” Pamela Riley says.

“Everybody in The Valley, all the youths, they’re very upset. It’s very solemn.”

Twelve days after Shawn’s death, his family arrived in the UK and held a candlelit vigil at the spot on Stowlawn playing fields where he died.

“Shawn didn’t deserve to die like that,” his mother says.

This was to be a journey they would have to make again for the trial of the two boys at Nottingham Crown Court.

They used their life savings to repatriate Shawn’s body back from the UK and had to take out a loan to attend the trial, to fund flights and accommodation.

It meant they were not able to travel again to see their son’s murderers sentenced. Instead they had to watch via a videolink in the early hours of Friday in Anguilla.

Angry at the lack of financial support offered by the UK authorities, Suresh says: “I think the government is supposed to contribute because my son didn’t do nothing. He died innocent.

“I don’t care much about the money. But what I lost I can’t get back.”

Stunned by the ages of the pair who murdered Shawn, the family have struggled to come terms with how two children could kill.

“Everybody [has been] left shocked,” says Maneshwary, adding that she couldn’t believe a 12-year-old could get hold of such a dangerous weapon.

“[I] get cold when I see that machete.”

Shawn’s basketball coach Pamela says the teenager was full of hope when he left Anguilla for the UK.

“This was his time,” she says. “It was senseless.”

Merrick Richardson, who also coached Shawn, says he hoped to make a better life for himself overseas.

Shawn had only been in the UK six months when the chance encounter with the two boys took place.

It is believed a trivial shoulder barge led to the attack.

“It’s still hard to comprehend,” Mr Richardson says.

Jack Stenhouse, a family friend in Anguilla, describes Shawn as “Caribbean-like humble”.

Talking about knife crime, he says: “It’s not the modus operandi in Anguilla, it’s a different culture.

“But for youngsters thinking of carrying abroad those type of weapons, it says a lot.”

Meanwhile in Anguilla, the island continues to grieve.

Shawn was repatriated and cremated. At his favourite beach, it’s silent but for the sounds of the waves. His parents went in the sea when they scattered his ashes.

The family plan to hold a memorial there on the anniversary of his death.

Maneshwary says: “I miss my son so much. He did make us laugh all the time in the house. All his love and kindness. He made everybody happy.

“Every day I wake up since since my son passed away – I’m not myself any more. I can’t sleep at night. I know it’s eating my husband inside every single day.”

Killed by Kids: The Machete Murder will be available to watch on iPlayer later