Shawn Seesahai, a 19-year-old from the Caribbean island of Anguilla, came to the UK to receive medical treatment and study engineering. However, his hopes and dreams were tragically cut short when he was repeatedly stabbed and left to die at Stowlawn playing fields in Wolverhampton last November. Shawn’s death has left his family and community in Anguilla in mourning.
Shawn’s killers, who cannot be named due to their ages, were just 12 at the time of the attack. They have been sentenced for Shawn’s murder, making them the youngest people to be convicted of murder in the UK for over 30 years. The news of Shawn’s murder reached the tiny British overseas territory quickly, and left his family and community in shock.
Despite using their life savings to repatriate Shawn’s body back to Anguilla and taking out a loan to attend the trial in the UK, his family were not able to travel again to see his killers sentenced. They had to watch via videolink in the early hours of Friday in Anguilla. Suresh, Shawn’s father, expressed anger at the lack of financial support offered by the UK authorities and believes that the government should have contributed towards the family’s expenses.
Shawn was well-known and well-liked in Anguilla, where he played basketball and brought happiness to those around him. His death has had a huge impact on the close-knit community, with many people feeling the loss. Shawn’s family plans to hold a memorial for him on the anniversary of his death at his favourite beach, where they scattered his ashes.
Shawn’s death is a tragic reminder of the devastating impact of knife crime, and of the need to prevent such senseless violence from happening again. His family and community in Anguilla will continue to mourn his loss and remember him fondly
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