The 'monster' teens that took a life and didn't even care what they did

These teen killers left families traumatised and devastated for life, but they were too young to send to adult prisons

They are young killers who committed shocking acts of violence, leaving grieving and heartbroken families in their wake. The victims were young, too, gone forever at the hands of callous and depraved thugs.

Some of these cases took place in the West Midlands, a region that is battling with youth violence and knife crime. Between them, these killers are spending decades in prison with life sentences handed out.

They've been sent to youth detention centres, too young to be sent to adult prisons. From 'random' attacks to those with 'weeks of planning', here are five shocking examples where young killers struck.

READ MORE: Cash machine raid at Wolverhampton Post Office as three arrests made

Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp, click the link to join

'Youngest knife killers in UK'

Knife crime has become a huge problem in the UK - but the murder of Shawn Seesahai in Wolverhampton last year made headlines for the young age of the killers. Two boys, aged just 12 at the time, stabbed 19-year-old Shawn to death in Stowlawn playing fields, Bilston.

Shawn, who was from Anguilla in the Carribean, had been staying in Birmingham when he was randomly set upon by the boys during a walk on November 13 last year. The young thugs, now aged 13, stabbed him with a machete to his back, legs and skull and left him dying at the scene as they ran away.

The boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were convicted of murder at Nottingham Crown Court on June 10 this year. They were thought to be the youngest knife murderers in the UK. At the same court on September 27, they were sentenced to a minimum of eight years and six months in a youth detention accommodation.

Sentencing, Mrs Justice Tipples said in her sentencing remarks: "Shawn was a young man, loved by his family with his future ahead of him. A jury at this court decided that you murdered him.

"The sentence I decide to pass today will not comfort Shawn’s family but it will bring to an end the legal process that they have been involved in since November last year to a close. I know that they are listening to today’s hearing remotely from Anguilla."

Read more here.

'Frenzied attack after weeks of planning'

Two twisted teenagers brutally stabbed their transgender victim 28 times after luring her to a park. Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe were 15-years-old when they carried out the frenzied attack on Brianna Ghey at Culcheth Linear Park in Cheshire in February last year.

The killers, now 16, picked on Ghey, herself aged 16, because they believed she was an 'easy target'. Jenkinson and Ratcliffe had planned the killing for weeks before the sick murderers repeatedly stabbed her in broad daylight during the 'ferocious' attack.

A handwritten 'murder plan' was later found in Jenkinson's bedroom on how to carry out the brutal crime. Earlier this year, on February 2, the killers were jailed for life at Manchester Crown Court.

Jenkinson was told she must serve at least 22 years, while Ratcliffe will serve at least 20 years. The murderers were finally unmasked after reporting restrictions protecting their identity were lifted.

A four-week murder trial heard how Brianna was lured to Culcheth Linear Park, near Warrington, Cheshire, on February 11 last year. She had been tricked into going to the park by Jenkinson, then 15, who she thought was her friend. But she had no idea Jenkinson had secretly been plotting to kill her alongside her friend Ratcliffe, also then 15.

Read more here.

'Victim had been enjoying chocolate on winter's day'

A 17-year-old boy was brutally attacked in Birmingham city centre's Victoria Square by two teenage boys, both aged 15. Muhammad Hassam Ali was stabbed to death after he'd been enjoying a hot chocolate with a friend on a winter’s day on January 20.

The pair had been unaware they'd been followed by two 15-year-old boys, who were preparing to confront them. Muhammad and his friend had arranged to meet up in the city centre at around 2.30pm, initially meeting in the Little Dessert shop in the Bullring.

They then headed towards Victoria Square and sat next to the Floozie in the Jacuzzi fountain. There the pair were confronted by the two boys who demanded to know where they were from and if they were responsible for an earlier attack on one of their friends. But they weren’t. Muhammad told the pair to go away before one of the boys pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the heart, before fleeing the scene.

Muhammad was taken to Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital, but the damage to his heart was too severe and he was pronounced dead at around 6.40pm. West Midlands Police identified and tracked the boys from CCTV. They were arrested on January 23.

In July, the two boys were found guilty of Muhammad's senseless killing after a trial at Birmingham Crown Court. One 15-year-old boy, who can’t be named for legal reasons, was convicted of murder and possession of a knife and the other was convicted of manslaughter and possession of a bladed article.

They were due to be sentenced in October. Read the story here.

'Mistaken identity'

Ronan Kanda was walking home from buying a PlayStation controller off of a friend for £5 when he was ruthlessly stabbed by two teenagers. Ronan, aged 16, who was described as a 'bubbly' young man, was attacked from behind by Prabjeet Veadhesa and Sukhman Shergill as he 'minded his own business' and was just yards from his Wolverhampton home in June 2022.

He let out a chilling scream as the murder weapon - bought online - was plunged 20cm into his body before a second blow left a 17cm wound. The cowardly 17-year-old killers left Ronan to die in the street as they fled the scene having realised they'd attacked the wrong person.

Ronan had gone to school with his killers at The Khalsa Academy Wolverhampton and were friends with them. Veadhesa, who had bought the murder weapon online, was said to have been 'fascinated with knives'.

He was responsible for delivering the blows while Shergill only brandished his weapon and never used it. Both denied murder and five-week trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court took place. The youths - who were both 16 at the time they murdered Ronan - admitted having an article with a blade or a point ahead of their trial.

In July last year, both boys were handed life sentences after being convicted by a jury. Read the full story here.

James Bulger

It was a killing that shocked the nation when it took place over three decades ago. James Bulger, a toddler aged just two-years-old, was abducted by sick and twisted Jon Venables and Robert Thompson before killing him on February 12, 1993.

The killers were aged 10-years-old at the time. A former inmate claimed Venables had bragged that killing the tot was as easy as 'going to the shop'.

The pair were convicted and served eight years in a young offenders institute before being freed in 2001 with new identities. They were the youngest killers to be convicted in Britain in 250 years.