Family of Sasha Marsden share urgent renewed appeal to keep killer and rapist David Minto in prison

The family of Sasha Marsden have spent six months campaigning to change a law that means families of murder victims only get 28 days to appeal a sentence.

Now, they have just 7 days to get another 3,500 signatures, for it to be debated in parliament.

Sister, Katie Brett, is disappointed that the campaign has not received the public back up they needed.

Katie told the Gazette: “Sasha lost her life in the most horrific way but her death means he is locked up and cannot hurt another young girl. If he is released, Sasha has died for nothing.”

Mum’s dying wish

She says it’s even more important because their mother, Jayne, has stage 4 small cell lung cancer and is desperately hoping she will get to see the law changed before it’s too late.

"The petition is the first thing she checks when she wakes up in a morning. She’s praying we get the law changed.”

‘Lenient’ sentence for sadistic killer

David Minto, 33, was convicted of killing the teenager, from Staining, in July 2013 and sentenced to a minimum of 35 years.

Friends and family of Sasha say that he should be in jail for his whole life – but they didn’t get enough time to appeal the ‘lenient’ sentence.

“In that [28 day] period, you’re grieving and you’ve only just got justice for your loved one and you don’t know whether that’s a good sentence or not.”

‘Premeditated and evil’ act

Sasha Marsden, 16, was lured to a hotel by David Minto with the promise of a part-time cleaning job. Once she got there Minto would proceed to kill Sasha in a brutal sexual attack, inflicting over 100 injuries.

He then wrapped her in whatever he could find, wheel her out in a bin, and set fire to her.

The childcare student had hoped she could earn some money when she was targeted by Minto in a way that police described as ‘premeditated and evil’.

He will kill again

Katie added: “David Minto had attacked at least 3 vulnerable young girls with no intervention from the justice system before eventually killing Sasha in 2013. He will kill again, and as he goes for young vulnerable females, it’s safe to say that his next victim hasn’t even been born yet”.

Family sat through ‘gruesome’ and horrific details at the trial

Katie recounts sitting through the murder trial hearing the horrific details of how her sister was tortured.

She describes being shown a body map depicting Sasha’s injuries, because the actual pictures were ‘too gruesome to show a jury’.

“[I heard] descriptions that will stay with me until I die. Then you’re only given 28 days to appeal the sentence. [This is not long enough] to process how you feel, to have the strength to even discuss with family if we even want to appeal and to even know if we have the strength for that after everything else.”

Told 35 years was a good sentence at the time

When the sentence was passed, Katie remembers being told that 35 years was a good result, and the family weren’t in a fit emotional state to question it at the time.

"You have no fight left in you, you’re broken after sitting through that trial, can you handle another court appearance? Even the thought of it now 10 years on I’m not sure I can handle it - but I’ll give it my best shot.”

Sign the petition for Sasha’s Law

Katie says she will keep fighting for ‘every person who’s been stolen from this world’.

Support the campaign by adding your signature at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/631316