The court heard two 12-year-old boys used a machete to kill a “completely defenceless” man, severing his legs and causing injuries that ran from his back and ribs to his heart.
Jurors were told that 19-year-old Shawn Seesahai was not violent and did nothing to disturb either child, but he was hit so hard in the skull that a piece of bone broke off.
Both youths, who cannot be named due to their age, deny killing Mr Seesahai, who was pronounced dead at the scene at Stowlawn playing fields in Wolverhampton on the night of November 13 last year.
Prosecutor KC Michelle Heeley, who opened the Crown’s case at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday, said: “Shawn Seesahai was killed by being struck in the back, legs and skull with a machete.
“He was beaten and kicked too. “The Crown says these two defendants are jointly responsible for this attack.”
Ms Heeley told the court that Mr Seesahai, who lives in Handsworth, Birmingham, but is originally from Anguilla in the Caribbean, had traveled to England to receive treatment for cataracts.
While traveling to Wolverhampton with friends on 13 November, the two 12-year-old boys met from 4.10pm that afternoon and met up with two girls of around the same age who were witnesses in the case.
The jury heard one of the girls told police that one of the defendants regularly carried a machete, that he had it that day and that she and the other boy “had passed it from hand to hand between themselves”.
Ms Heeley told the jury: “These boys came out with a lethal weapon, we’ve presented it to the court here so you can see the magnitude of it.”
Holding the machete in a clear bag, Ms Heeley told the court: “It is understandable that a weapon of this type and size could cause fatal injuries in such a short time.
“Mr. Seesahi was just with his friends when these two boys were wandering the streets with a deadly weapon.”
The court heard that after spending some time sitting on a bench with a friend and walking near the basketball courts, Mr Seesahai and his friend “huddled up” with the defendants, with one commenting: “Keep stepping” as the boys passed the machete between them. .
The gun had been removed from one of the boys’ trousers and made ready for use “even though Shawn Seesahai and his friends did not suggest violence or do anything to offend (the youths).”
Ms Heeley added: “CCTV captured the group but not in enough detail to see exactly what happened between them.
“Shawn Seesahai’s friend said (one of the boys) deliberately brushed Mr. Seesahai’s shoulders, to which he replied, ‘What the fuck.’
“Meanwhile, the boy (who allegedly brushed the victim’s shoulders) pulled out a machete from his trousers. Mr. Seesahai told his friend to run and he ran.”
The court heard his friend managed to escape and looked back to see Mr Seesahai lying on the ground surrounded by the defendants.
Although her friend did not see the “brutal attack” that unfolded, Ms Heeley said one of the girls who was with the 12-year-olds told police that they both had machetes and one of them often carried it.
The witness said he saw a boy pick up a machete and hold it in the air as Mr Seesahai fell to the ground and was then punched and kicked.
Ms Heeley added: “She told police she saw (one defendant) use a machete on Mr Seesahai’s legs and also saw (the other defendant) punch and stamp on his head.
“The prosecution says two boys committed a joint attack on a man who had done nothing wrong, was unarmed and completely defenseless on the ground.
“We say that these two boys acted together and they intended to kill Mr Seesahai, or at least to cause him real serious harm.
“As a result of his actions, Shawn Seesahai died at the scene. The machete had hit his skull so hard that a piece of bone had actually broken off.
“He had cut wounds on his leg, and most importantly, he was injured by the machete that pierced his body from his back to his ribs and heart.”
The court heard that after the murder, Mr Seesahai’s friend called the police, who intervened and began performing CPR, but it was clear from the severity of his injuries that he was already dead.
Jurors were told that one of the defendants admitted to illegally possessing a machete, while the other boy denied the same charge.
Young people, who claimed that each other was responsible for the violence, were allowed to sit next to their relatives in the back rows of the courtroom, instead of the glassed-in defendants, due to the lawsuit filed against them.
During the Crown’s opening statement, it was alleged the boys met up with the two girls at around 4.15pm.
The court heard Mr Seesahai arrived in the area from Priestfield tram station with two friends, where he was captured on CCTV at around 6.13pm.
Although CCTV cameras did not record the fatal attack in the minutes after 8.15pm, evidence showed Mr Seesahai had previously visited a petrol station and waited in the park with a friend, while his second friend was visiting his girlfriend.
The trial continues.