A man who stabbed a 16-year-old schoolboy in the heart during a row over an alleged £20 debt was caught after his own mother called the police to turn him in. Joshua Delbono, 19, stabbed Charley Bates multiple times with a five-inch blade after a fight broke out between two rival groups near the Radstock library in Somerset at around 6.30pm on July 31, 2022.
Shortly after midnight, Delbono's mum dialled 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 over to the killer. On the call, Delbono of Frome, Bristol admitted discarding a knife, telling the officer on the other end he 'launched it' before suggesting possible places it could be.
He also confessed to stabbing Charley but denied murder as he claimed he had acted to defend a friend, the ECHO reports. Delbono was found guilty by a jury at Bristol Crown Court, following a two-week trial and seven hours of deliberation.
The teenager was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum 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 verbal insults were exchanged, the confrontation rapidly grew into a fight in which Delbono got out of his car with a five-inch blade and stabbed Charley several times. Witnesses claimed he then shouted: 'Don't mess with us again."
Delbono fled the scene and drove to Shearwater Lake, near Warminster, Wiltshire where he disposed of the knife and burned some of his clothes which was all filmed by one of the group. He later confessed to stabbing Charley in the heart despite initially saying no comment to police questions.
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 told 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 said he was aware of a disagreement Charley had with another youth online over an alleged £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 walked towards one of the vehicles. After speaking with one of the drivers, Charley is then said to have agreed to have a one-on-one fight which was then interrupted by Delbono's fatal knife attack.
The killer claimed when his friend had gotten out of the car, three young people had attacked him. He continued by telling police a boy in a red T-shirt had been 'slashing' at him with a blade but he maintains the boy in the red top pulled up his clothing and revealed a knife handle.
He also claimed he was unaware that 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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