Murder-accused boy, 12, 'had blood on hand'

Shawn Seesahai was stabbed in Wolverhampton in November

One of two 12-year-old boys accused of murdering a man with a machete had blood on his hand after the stabbing, a child witness has told a court.

Shawn Seesahai, 19, died at Stowlawn playing fields in East Park, Wolverhampton in November, suffering a wound so deep it almost went all the way through his body.

The boys, whose identities are protected because of their age, deny his murder at Nottingham Crown Court, and blame each other for the death.

The youth alleged to have been seen with blood on his hand has admitted possession of a machete, with the second defendant denying the same charge.

'Shoulder-brushed'

Giving evidence by videolink, the teenage girl said she was sitting with both youths on a bench when two men approached the group and told them to move.

Mr Seesahai, who lived in Handsworth, Birmingham but was originally from Anguilla in the Caribbean, had travelled to Wolverhampton with friends when they went to the park.

Prosecutors say after sitting on the bench and walking around the park he was attacked by the boys acting together, after one of them "shoulder-brushed" him by the bench.

Answering questions from Rachel Brand KC, defending the boy alleged to have been seen with blood on his hand, the girl said Mr Seesahai said "Yo move, move" and then smiled at his friend, before the youth who has admitted possessing a machete asked him why and stood up.

She had then picked up the machete, which was still in its cover, before it was grabbed from her by the boy who owned the knife, who was then put in a headlock by Mr Seesahai with the knife being passed to the other boy, who she saw hitting him with it.

She said: "The man let go (of the boy in a headlock) and then (the other defendant) hit him."

Mr Seesahai was stabbed in the chest with the machete

The whole incident happened very quickly, she said.

Mr Seesahai died from a 23cm-deep wound penetrating his chest and suffered a cut to the back of his head, which went through his scalp and into the skull, jurors have heard.

The witness also told the court the boy she saw with blood on his hand had bought the knife, "often" carried it, and had brought it to her house around a month before the alleged murder.

She had been interviewed by police a day after the incident, and a month afterwards and agreed with the suggestion they contained "two completely different stories".

During cross-examination by Paul Lewis KC, defending the second boy, she denied telling lies to "cover up" for the boy who owned the knife.

Asked to explain why she had said one of the things she had told police which was not true, the witness answered: "I was scared - I was scared for us all."

She told jurors Mr Seesahai "was getting in (the boy's) face", saying 'You are going to make this hard for me?' Me and (the other 12-year-old) were just watching."

One of the defendants appeared "calm" after the fatal attack, while the other was "shell-shocked", she added.

She denied that the boy who owned the knife phoned her after the stabbing and asked her to "say it was (the other defendant) to cover up for him" but said she had been told the weapon had been hidden under a bed and had been "bleached".

The trial continues.