Image source, BBC/Andy Alcroft

Mr Seesahai and his family are well known in their home of Anguilla and his death has had a huge impact on the community.

At one of the basketball courts where he used to play, his coaches said this was his happy place and he was the "jokester" on the team.

Pamela Riley, pictured above, said: "There's so many victims and so many people hurting. We have an island hurting.

"Everybody in The Valley, all the youths, they're very upset. It's very solemn."

Jonathan Roe, of the Crown Prosecution Service, has commented on the sentencing.

Mr Roe said: "As prosecutors, we often deal with harrowing cases, but this case is particularly distressing due to the complete senselessness and devastating consequences of the defendants' actions.

"The defendants at the age of 12 should have been enjoying their childhood rather than arming themselves with a machete and killing an innocent person.

"Shawn Seesahai lost his life in a horrifically cruel way. I hope today’s sentencing serves as a reminder of the dangers of carrying machetes.

"Shawn's family have shown remarkable strength and dignity in the aftermath of such a tragedy and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time."

Image source, Family

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

They made the journey from Anguilla in the Caribbean, and had to do so again to attend the trial of his two killers earlier this year at Nottingham Crown Court.

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

Mr Seesahai's parents said they had first been made aware their son had been murdered when a friend he had been staying with called them.

His father, Suresh Seesahai, said: "We could not eat for a week straight. It was like we were in shock and did not know what we were doing."

His mother, Maneshwary Seesahai, said: "Shawn was such a loving son, he was so well-mannered, looked after us, was loving to everyone and very protective.

"He always said he wanted to work, he wanted his own house, his own car.

"After his eye surgery he told me he would finish school. He always said: 'Mum, I'll be shining, I'll be shining, don't worry I will help you'."

Shawn's family had to use their life savings to repatriate his body back home to Anguilla and had to take out a loan to attend the trial earlier this year.

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, his father Suresh said: "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."

Phil Mackie

Shawn Seesahai's parents are not happy with the sentence and believe the judge has been too lenient.

Shawn's father, Suresh, told the BBC: "The police did a good job, but I’m not satisfied with the justice system.

"Fifteen years would have been better, because they will come out and still have a life at the age of 20."

Addressing the boys' families, he added: "They never sympathised to me so I can’t sympathise to them."

Shawn's mother Maneshwary spoke of her anger: "I'm not happy. All the children in the UK will see that they only get eight years [and six months] and they will do the same thing.

"We can’t even talk to [Shawn's sister]. She's mad, she’s very mad.”

Image source, Family

Shawn's family learned of his murder from a friend who had been with him that night.

The friend rang Shawn's parents in Anguilla as police arrived at the scene in Wolverhampton.

It was his mother Maneshwary who answered the phone.

"I just dropped," she said, describing her shock. "I don't know what happened after.”

Turning to the wider issue of knife crime, Ch Supt Madill said a lot of work had been done but that it was "clearly not enough".

She said West Midlands Police had been listening to families and acting on their feedback in a bid to stop the "devastation" it caused.

“Our responsibility is to work together with partners to understand why children and young people think it is OK to carry weapons and take further action to stop this extremely dangerous behaviour," she said.

“Our work will not stop and any death or injury as a result of knife crime will never be acceptable.”

Ch Supt Madill said Mr Seesahai's life was taken when he was only 19 and at the hands of two 12-year-old boys who had "armed themselves with a machete".

“That reality has had a huge impact on us all – it is both shocking and saddening," she added.

West Midlands Police has released a statement following the sentencing of the two boys.

Ch Supt Kim Madill, the force's lead on serious youth violence, said Mr Seesahai's murder was "horrifying" and left his family "heartbroken".

"Today's sentence can never make up for Shawn's life being taken but we hope it can bring some comfort to all those who loved him," she added.

Mrs Justice Tipples explained to the court how the minimum term was decided for the two boys.

She said the starting minimum term for the offence was 13 years, but that this was reduced due to their ages.

At the time of the murder, one of the boys had recently turned 12 and the other was closer to 12 than 13 in age.

For the first boy, who was the owner of the machete, she said he was not as emotionally mature as a typical 12-year-old.

Mrs Justice Tipples said the second boy had a loving relationship with his family and was not known to the police or social services.

She said he had experienced upheaval in his childhood due to the family moving several times and that he had spent some time in a refuge.

The judge referenced a pre-sentencing report, which said the boy felt remorse for what happened and that he felt sorry for Mr Seesahai's family.

However, the report assessed him as of a medium risk of reoffending and a high risk of serious harm to others.

The BBC spoke to Shawn's parents, Maneshwary and Suresh Seesahai, in Anguilla.

Shawn's father said: "They killed my son like they kill a dog. It's brutal.

"They stab him through and through. They kick him. They cuff him. He was helpless."

"Shawn didn't deserve to die like that,” his mother said.

Read more here.

Mrs Justice Tipples has concluded her remarks and brought the hearing to a close.

Mrs Justice Tipples said the boy who owned the knife had been the victim of criminal exploitation.

She said he had complex needs, which included a diagnosis of ADHD, and had "experienced violence" from an early age.

Children's services were also heavily involved in his upbringing, she added.

Mrs Justice Tipples said he was also "a victim of modern slavery" and had been groomed.

"He has been affected by multiple traumas throughout his childhood, for which he cannot be held responsible," she added.

She also said that he felt bad that he took the knife out with him and "wished things had gone differently".

Phil Mackie
At Nottingham Crown Court

The 13-year-old boys have been detained at His Majesty's Pleasure, which is the legal equivalent of a life sentence for a juvenile.

In theory, if the boys are considered a risk to the public they may never come out of prison.

However, if they make good progress and are considered not be a risk and behave well, they will be released - subject to the parole board agreeing - when they're 20.

In giving her sentencing remarks, Mrs Justice Tipples said: "The facts of this case are horrific and shocking and can be explained very shortly."

She said the first boy bought a machete from his friend for £40, which he kept under his bed.

He came home from school on the day of the murder, got changed out of his school uniform, and took the machete out to meet the other boy and some friends.

She said Mr Seesahai had been on a bench in the playing field in Wolverhampton, leaving the bench for a few minutes and walking past the defendants, who then went and sat on the bench.

Mr Seesahai then returned to the bench after a few minutes and asked the boys to move.

"Moments later he was dead," the judge said.

Mrs Justice Tipples has returned to the courtroom and the hearing has resumed.

She is speaking about Mr Seesahai and said he was a young man adored by his family.

“He had his whole life ahead of him,” she said.

Her remarks are being televised, and you can watch them by clicking watch live at the top of this page.

The boys have both been sentenced to eight years and six months in custody before they are eligible for parole, which includes the time they have already spent in detention.

However, the judge told them they will both be on licence for the rest of their lives.

The judge told the boys in their sentencing: "I cannot be sure which one of you stabbed Shawn through the body, only you know that."

However, she said the pair "acted together to kill him", adding "you are both responsible for his death."