LONDON: Two boys who were aged 12 when they killed a 19-year-old man in a “horrific” machete attack in central England last year were sentenced on Friday to a minimum of eight years and six months in custody.

The boys, now 13, are the youngest people to be convicted for murder in Britain since two 10-year-olds killed toddler James Bulger in 1993, one of the most infamous murders in the country’s recent history.

The victim in last year’s attack, Shawn Seesahai, was stabbed in the back, legs and skull in a park in Wolverhampton in November. The court heard the wound to his back was 23 centimetres deep, penetrating his lungs and heart.

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2024