The United Kingdom representative for the Government of Anguilla has launched a fundraiser to support the family of murdered teenager Shawn Seesahai.
Two 12-year-old boys killed Seesahai with a machete in a park in England in November last year when he was just 19 years old.
A jury found them both guilty of murder following a 20-day trial which concluded on 10 June.
The children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have now been sentenced to a minimum of eight years in custody.
During the sentencing hearing in September, Dorothea Hodge, the UK and international representative for the Government of Anguilla, read out a statement from the family.
“It has left a huge hole in the pit of our stomach, which nothing can fill. We are devastated, as a family, totally heartbroken and confused,” they said.
They explained that as well as the emotional and mental anguish, they have also suffered financially due to the cost of repatriating Seesahai’s body and attending the trial.
Because of this, immediately following the sentencing on 27 September, Hodge set up a fundraiser on gofundme.com with a target of £30,000.
“This GoFundMe will, we hope, go some way to help the family with the huge costs they have incurred from this tragedy,” she wrote on the fundraiser page.
As of 18 October, the campaign has gathered 102 individual donations of £2,936.
To donate to the cause click here.
