Two boys, 12, killed man with machete, court hears
Two 12-year-old boys used a machete to murder an "utterly defenceless" man, inflicting injuries to his skull and heart and slashing his legs, a court heard.
Shawn Seesahai, 19, died in November last year after being set upon on Stowlawn playing fields in East Park, Wolverhampton.
Jurors were told that he had offered no violence and done nothing to offend either of the boys but was violently attacked.
The accused pair, who cannot be named due to their age, both deny murder.
Warning: Readers may find details of this case upsetting
Opening the case at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday, Michelle Heeley KC said: "Shawn Seesahai was murdered by being struck with a machete to his back, legs and skull.
"He was also beaten and kicked. The Crown say that these two defendants were jointly responsible for that attack."
Mr Seesahai, who lived in Handsworth, Birmingham but was originally from Anguilla in the Caribbean, had travelled to the UK to receive treatment for cataracts.
On 13 November, he had travelled to Wolverhampton with friends, while the two defendants were together on the same afternoon, meeting two girls who were about the same age, both who are witnesses in the case.
The court heard one girl told police one of the boys had regularly carried a machete and that he and other boy "were passing it between themselves" on the day of the attack.
Ms Heeley described how the boys had gone out "armed with a lethal weapon" and "had been roaming the streets" while Mr Seesahai was "just with his friends."
Holding up the machete, she told the court: "It's understandable how a weapon of this type and size could cause fatal injuries in such a short space of time."
She told the court the victim was hit so hard on the skull that a "piece of bone had actually come away."
"He had slash wounds on his leg, and most significantly he had an injury from the machete that went through his body all the way from his back, through his ribs and into his heart."
'Joint attack'
After spending time walking near basketball courts, Mr Seesahai and his friend “came together” with the defendants as the boys passed the machete between them.
Ms Heeley said according to Mr Seesahai's friend, one of the defendants had "deliberately shoulder-brushed" the victim before pulling the knife from his trousers.
“Mr Seesahai told his friend to run and he ran,” she added, with his friend managing to escape before looking back to see Mr Seesahai on the floor.
One of the witnesses told police she saw one defendant using the machete on Mr Seesahai's legs and saw the other defendant punching and stamping on his head.
"The prosecution say the two boys were engaged in a joint attack upon a man who had done nothing wrong, a man with no weapon, who was utterly defenceless on the ground," Ms Heeley said.
"We say that these two boys were acting together and meant to kill Mr Seesahai, at the very least they intended to cause really serious harm.”
The trial continues.
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