Published by Robert L Senior Reporter on Friday 31st January 2025, at 21:00hrs
Sashas sister is campaigning to have the 28-day time limit under the scheme removed for offence of murder
Sasha Marsden, a teenager from Blackpool, was killed 12 years ago when she turned up for work at a Blackpool hotel.
David Minto was convicted of Sasha’s murder. She was just 16 years old at the time. The court heard how he had violently attacked Sasha by stabbing her multiple times in a frenzied, unprovoked attack before raping her and later setting fire to her body. He was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 35 years to be served before being eligible for parole at a Preston Crown Court hearing.
Sasha’s sister has been campaigning ever since to have the 28-day time limit from the unduly lenient sentence scheme removed for offences of murder.
Katie Brett said: “I would like the government to remove the 28-day time limit for applying to the lenient sentence scheme to have a sentence reviewed, for convictions of murder.
Currently, the families of murder victims have no recourse against an unduly lenient sentence if they do not apply within 28 days.
I am campaigning for this change because my sister was murdered in 2013. We believe her killer meets the criteria for a whole life order, but he was only given a minimum sentence of 35 years. We believe this is too low and that we should have the right to apply to have this sentence reviewed.
In a social media post on Sashas Law Campaign Katie Brett added:
“This time, 12 years ago, it was a Thursday, and Sasha was at college. It was just a normal day, she got up and ready, gave Mum a kiss and said bye mum love you like she did every day.
While at college she had a meeting with Mandy Pritchard who told Sasha she has achieved enough grades in her work to progress onto the next level – this was a huge deal for Sasha after a difficult few years at school due to bullies resulting in her not achieving what she was capable of in her GCSEs so she was “buzzin” and so proud of herself.
Even better for her earlier that week, she had had an induction day at a new job cleaning at a hotel, and this day, she was starting her first shift straight from college. End of January, but this year was already really looking up for Sasha – it was going to be her year.
She finished college and her dad collected her and drove her to work, as the hotel was down a side street the owner had agreed to meet her at windsors to make it easier for her dad to drop her off. He dropped her off, and she walked off happily, eager to start.
That was the last time anyone who loved Sasha would ever see her.
Unfortunately the job Sasha was so eager to start was a trap, a trap set by David Minto to lure her to the hotel where they didn’t even need staff as it was closed for renovation, she would be alone with him and no way to escape.
Once inside in the hallway, Minto attacked Sasha from behind with a knife instantly. It was a frenzied attack, and she would have had no idea what was about to happen, given he attacked her from behind. She received over 100 injuries to her head face and neck. She fought for her life, resulting in a number of defence injuries to her hands and arms, where she tried to protect herself in an attempt to escape.
She ran for her life and made it to the front door. Her fingerprint was found in her blood on the inside of the yale lock, but unfortunately she didn’t make it through the door. Minto continued his attack until Sasha succumbed to her injuries and collapsed on the floor, she had no blood left in her body. We know this because the forensic evidence found at the hotel found her blood soaked through the carpet, underlay and into the wooden floorboards.
He then dragged Sasha by her feet down stairs into the basement, lifted her into the bath and positioned her body in a way he could rape her, he raped her multiple times vaginally and anally while she lay dead or still dying.
Once he was satisfied sexually he needed to dispose of her body, he wrapped her up in bedding and left over underlay from the hotel renovations that were taking place, placed her body in a wheelie bin wheeled her outside and dumped her out of the bin into the alleyway behind the hotel.
He then used an accelerant aimed at her genitals where he knew the evidence of his sexual assaults would be found and set fire to her body.
He then started the clean up while Sasha’s body was burning in the alleyway. 9 months my mum grew her inside her, they reared her and nurtured her for 16 years into the beautiful young lady she was. And in the space of 15 minutes to half an hour all of that was destroyed and now burning in an alleyway – all for a few minutes of sexual pleasure for that monster!
He worked on covering his tracks, he used Sasha’s phone to text her boyfriend’s dad – thinking it was Sasha’s dad asking him to collect her at another location. This text was never sent as Sasha only communicated via BBM and not text. So when they never heard from Sasha her mum and dad started looking for her, they logged into her Facebook to find the name of the hotel and drove over there, her mum knocked on the door and Minto answered, she asked where Sasha was and he said she left ages ago and her dad had met her, her mum said no he didn’t he’s here with me now. Minto was seriously trying to put Sasha’s dad in the frame!
They continued searching for Sasha unknowing to them her mutilated and burnt remains were lying just a few feet away from them.
Please put yourself in her parents shoes if you can. How on earth do you cope with the knowledge that that was you baby girl who’s day started off so amazing with a bright future – all stolen away for the sexual gratification of one evil individual.
Is it right that this evil individual one day gets a chance at rebuilding his life and starting fresh? Even when the British justice system actually states that the starting point for sentencing a person guilty of the sexually motivated murder of a child should be a whole life order?
That is the current situation for us because of 1 ridiculous law that states we cannot appeal his sentence as we applied outside of the 28 day time limit.
We will NEVER get over what happened to Sasha it has scarred us for the rest of our lives, but one thing that makes living with this even worse is living with the knowledge that one day he will be free to kill someone else’s daughter.
Please help us change the law, share our posts and sign the petition.
Our hearts will forever remain broken please don’t let him do this to another family.
To sign the petition click here 👉 https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/700168
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