THE family of a teenager who was lured to a fake job interview before being raped, stabbed and set on fire lives in fear the sick killer will be freed.
Sasha Marsden, 16, was brutally murdered at Grafton House Hotel in Blackpool in 2013 by caretaker David Minto.
Katie Brett (left) with her sister Sasha Marsden as children[/caption]
Sasha was lured to a fake job interview by her killer[/caption]
David Minto was jailed for a minimum of 35 years[/caption]
He stabbed the girl over 100 times and then raped her as she lay dying or dead before torching her body and dumping the remains in an alleyway in carpet underlay and bin liners.
Minto was sentenced to a minimum of 35 years in jail but Sasha’s family believe this should be upgraded to a whole life order.
Sasha’s sister Katie Brett, from Cleveleys, Lancashire, is now fighting to keep the killer behind bars for life.
Heavily pregnant Katie, 34 – who is expecting a child in June – has launched a campaign to remove the 28-day limit for appealing sentences – to aid her bid for ensuring the evil killer never sees freedom.
Her petition currently has over 11,000 signatures but needs 100,000 prior to the May 6 cut off before it can be submitted to Parliament for discussion in the Commons.
She wrote: “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.”
Katie has previously held protests with her sister Gemma and their parents Jayne and Gary for the same cause.
They took to the streets in Bolton and Blackpool on January 31 2023 to mark the tenth anniversary of Sasha’s death.
Sadly, Jayne died last year aged just 56 after suffering a stroke.
Katie said: “The grief of losing Sasha affected us all really badly, but it affected my mum the most.
“She had a stroke, I believe the stroke was caused by the grief and trauma of losing her daughter.”
She described how Jayne lost her ability to speak and “couldn’t say what she was feeling”.
“When I found out my mum was going to pass away, I told her to keep going and to not give up,” Katie added.
“The last thing she ever wanted was her daughter’s killer to never be released, because Sasha can never be released.”
Her goal is to represent “Sasha’s voice” before MPs at Whitehall.
Katie went on to say: “I believe people who have opened a petition that reaches 100,000 signatures get invited to parliament to present their argument.
“I would be able to go and be Sasha’s voice and say why this change needs to happen.
“I’m focused on getting signatures, if I need to do other events to get them then I will do it.
“My baby is due in June and the petition ends in May, then I really want to get the signatures.
“I will keep doing this and will never drop it, but it will nice to be enjoy time with my baby and not have to stress about a petition that should easily receive signatures.”
She has also paid tribute to Sasha and said they had a great relationship, even though she was Katie’s “annoying little sister”.
Katie said: “Mine and Sasha’s relationship was very much that she was my annoying little sister.
“She used to rob my perfume, she used to rob my makeup, she used to rob my bath stuff and used to do my head in.
“But she would come to me if I had a problem and she knew I would always be there.
“She knew that if someone was horrible to her then I would have her back or she knew that if she had an argument with one of her friends, then I would be sticking up for her.”
Minto appealed his sentence in 2014, claiming the murder wasn’t premeditated and that his intention was only to rape Sasha.
Katie previously said: “When you look at the sentencing guidelines, they state he should have got a whole life order.
“Minto, who killed my sister, was sentenced to only 35 years.
“But it’s not just Sasha that I’m campaigning for, I’m doing it for all these victims who are children who have lost their lives because of sexual deviants.
“If they get out at the end of their parole, they are still going to be young enough to go and commit these crimes again.
“We’re basically campaigning for Minto’s sentence to be reviewed, because it isn’t fit for the crime.”
She added: “He’s a dangerous sexual predator and he should never be released which is why we’re campaigning because he needs to be locked up forever.”
You can sign Katie’s petition here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/700168
The murder of Sasha Marsden
January 31 2013
Sasha Marsden, 16, was dropped off at Grafton House Hotel in Blackpool for what she believed was a job interview.
The teen was stabbed over 100 times to death before she was raped while laying dead or dying, and then her body was burnt and dumped in an alleyway.
February 3 2013
Hotel caretaker David Minto was charged with Sasha’s murder.
April 24 2013
Minto pleaded not guilty and was remanded in custody ahead of his trial on July 15.
July 26 2013
Minto was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 35 years in prison before being eligible for parole.
February 2014
Minto appealed his sentence but it was upheld by the Court of Appeal of England and Wales.
Sasha with mum Jayne Marsden, who passed away last year after a stroke[/caption]
