Sister of Sasha Marsden will keep fighting to keep 'evil' killer David Minto in prison and until lenient sentencing law is debated in parliament

Ten years after she sat through her little sister’s murder trial in Preston Crown Court, Katie Brett decided it was time to fight back against what felt like an unfair rule in the justice system.

Families of murder victims currently only have 28-days to appeal if they think a sentence is too lenient – which Katie and her family do not think takes into consideration the grieving period.

But while her campaign reached 14,894 signatures – enough to get a government response - she now wants to keep fighting until the law is debated in parliament.

Katie told the Gazette: “We haven’t had any response as of yet from the government. I have submitted another petition (the same) hoping we reach the signatures this time, the petitions committee told me that if the last got a lot of support and the next one gets a lot of support they may consider it without 100,000 signatures.”

Horrific details of gruesome murder

During a two-week murder trial, Katie recalls listening to how David Minto inflicted over 100 injuries on 16-year-old Sasha, before murdering her in a Blackpool hotel on January 31, 2013.

Sasha had been lured to a hotel thinking she was going to an interview for a part-time cleaning job.

Her body was then dumped and set alight in an alleyway behind the Grafton House Hotel, in Blackpool, where Minto lived.

Eligible for parole in 2048

When Minto was handed a 35 year sentence, Katie remembers how her family ‘had no fight left’ to question it.

So he will be eligible for parole in 2048.

The family believe the killer and rapist should have received a whole life order, and that the sentence, meaning he could be 57 when he gets out of prison, was ‘unduly lenient’.

‘Dangerous’ predator

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. He will always be a danger to women and should not be given the opportunity to kill again. At least Sashas death achieved something and that was an extremely dangerous man was removed from our streets. If he is released to do this again Sashas death will be for nothing."

Grief is not taken into consideration

Katie says she will fight for ‘every person who’s been stolen from this world’, and that she is doing this to help other families of murder victims who are experiencing the same grief.

“The justice system needs to acknowledge that a families grief is a thing that they need to take into consideration. Why should he have 35 years to plan for his parole when we only have 28 days to decide whether or not we want to appeal his sentence? Many people say he should be hung, but the best we can ever hope for is that he spends the rest of his life in jail.”

You can sign the petition here -

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/641412?fbclid=IwAR2Eze1p3AvRbCyNb8VVuBnbLxC8PN8M6VxkvJPocghapqSYM4BhaJTmJsM