'I feel for their parents': father of teenager murdered by 12-year-olds with machete

The parents of Shawn Seesahai, 19, who was murdered by two 12-year-old boys in a Wolverhampton park, say they feel sorry for the families of the young killers.

"I feel very bad for them. They didn't know what these guys were planning to do.

"We feel very bad, I feel for the parents, whose children are juveniles right now.

"But I also feel it every day for my son, because they can see their son but I cannot see my own."

Suresh and Maneshwary said they didn't want the murderers to get a life sentence, but deserved a "good" sentence, because they can no longer see their own son.

Mr Seesahai was attacked on Wolverhampton's Stowlawn playing fields in November 2023.

He died from being stabbed with a machete, and being beaten, and kicked, which caused a fracture to his skull.

He had hoped to become an engineer and loved basketball, cricket, oand music.

His mother Maneshwary recalled: "He was always so loving, he was always there for us, he would help me at home with the chores, he loved to do that, he was very loving, he would always say, 'Mum, I will be shining, I will be shining'".

Mr Seesahai’s parents have questioned how a child so young could have a weapon like a machete with them as they walked the streets.

Suresh said: “This world is a different world, kids are dangerous now. If we don’t pay attention to them this will keep happening.”

Maneshwary added: “Twelve-year-old kids should be at home doing school work and then going to bed. I have two children and at 7.30pm they had to go to bed because they have to follow the rules of the house.

“Before that they do their school work and have a little rest.”

The couple, who also have a teenage daughter, told of the moment they were told their son had been stabbed to death.

Maneshwary said: “I got a call from Shawn’s friend who was staying with him. He told me Shawn had been stabbed and I just started crying.

“I told my husband and he asked for the phone to find out what had happened.”

Suresh added: “She kept saying that Shawn had been stabbed, I asked her what she meant and then she handed me the phone.

“I asked if Shawn was okay and he said that he was not, that he had passed away.

“About 30 minutes later I got a call from the police who asked if I was Shawn’s father and if I could spell Shawn’s name out. I said ‘yes’ and did, they told me they had bad news – that my son had been stabbed and had passed away.

“Getting a call like that is not nice for anyone. I tried to keep myself up but getting a message like that was not easy.”

His family say they are reminded every day of their lost son: "I see his picture, I see his clothes, I see his sneakers. Every time I reach home, I remember my son.

"We cannot get over it because every day is Mother's day, Father's day, our birthday, his birthday, his sister's birthday...we will always miss him."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...