A teenager who stabbed a 16-year-old boy in the heart during an argument over an alleged £20 debt was caught after his mum called the police.
Joshua Delbono, 19, stabbed Charley Bates multiple times with a five-inch blade following a fight between two rival groups near the Radstock library, Somerset, at around 6.30pm on July 31, 2022.
Shortly after midnight the following morning, Delbono's mum called 999 telling the handler: "My son's killed someone. He's in my house now, I can't let him go anywhere," before handing the phone to her son.
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On the call, Delbono, of Frome, Bristol, admitted throwing away a knife, telling the police handler that he "launched it" before suggesting possible places it could be.
Delbono admitted stabbing Charley but denied murder, claiming he had acted to defend a friend.
Following a two-week trial at Bristol Crown Court, he was found guilty by a jury after seven hours of deliberation. He was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 21 years.
During the trial, the jury heard there was a history of bad blood between Charley and one of Delbono's group.
After insults were exchanged, the confrontation rapidly deteriorated into a fight during which Delbono got out of his vehicle with a five-inch blade and stabbed Charley several times. He then shouted “don’t mess with us again”, witnesses claimed.
After fleeing the scene, Delbono drove to Shearwater Lake, near Warminster, Wiltshire, and disposed of the knife and burned some of his clothes - an act that was filmed by one of the group.
Despite initially saying no comment to police questions, Delbono later confessed to stabbing Charley in the heart.
In a prepared statement, he said: "I thought my friend was being stabbed - this caused me to react. I didn't realise he was hurt. It was a chance encounter. I'm truly devastated Charley was fatally injured, it was never my intention."
Speaking in court, one of Charley's friends recalled how he met him in Radstock before they went to the benches near the library car park. He confirmed a number of young people were there and that he was aware of a disagreement Charley had had with a youth online, over an apparent £20 debt.
He also said he could not recall a girl pulling a knife from Charley's bag before two cars pulled up, and three of them approached one of the vehicles. After speaking with one driver, Charley is then said to have agreed to a one-on-one fight, which was interrupted by Delbono's vicious knife attack.
But Delbono claimed when his friend had gotten out the car, three of the youths had attacked him.
Delbono lied to police at first, claiming a boy in a red T-shirt had been "slashing" at him with a blade, but he maintained the boy in the red T-shirt had pulled up his top and revealed a knife handle there.
He also claimed he didn't know he had stabbed Charley.
DCI Mark Almond said: “Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Charley’s family who have experienced unimaginable pain over the past nine months. They continue to grieve for Charley and we are offering them support through our specially-trained officers.
“Charley had his whole life ahead of him and it was cut short by Joshua Delbono. The vigil held in his memory in Radstock in the days after this senseless tragedy highlights how his death affected the community and how popular a person he was.
“Such incidents are thankfully rare in Radstock, but the devastating consequences knife crime has on families and communities is clear for all to see and it is why we are committed to work with our partners to do all that we can to prevent more tragedies like this from happening.”
In a tribute, Charley’s heartbroken family said: "Our beautiful Charley boy. We are all so very proud of you. You are desperately missed by so many.”
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