A teenager has been found guilty of stabbing to death a 16-year-old after his own mother called police to report the murder.
Joshua Delbono, 19, stabbed Charley Bates after a fist fight broke out between two groups of friends at a car park in Radstock, Somerset, shortly after 6.40pm on July 31 last year.
Just hours later, at around 12.45am the following morning, Delbono’s mother called 999 and told an operator: ‘My son’s killed someone.’
Asked for the location of the incident, the mother said: ‘It was at Radstock earlier. He’s just come back and I’ve found out. He’s in my house now but I can’t let him go anywhere.’
She added: ‘He’s here. I’ve told him I’ve got to do it.’
Charley Bates (pictured) was stabbed to death after a fist fight broke out between two groups of friends at a car park in Radstock, Somerset
Delbono was today jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years at Bristol Crown Court.
The court heard two cars arrived in a car park, one of which was carrying Delbono, when Mr Bates approached the car due to a dispute with one of the defendant’s friends over money.
A fight subsequently broke out, before friends of both individuals became involved.
Delbono then picked up his knife and stabbed Mr Bates through the chest. The victim also suffered a knife wound to his arm consistent with trying to defend himself.
The incident lasted just five minutes and Delbono fled the scene with his group.
Mr Bates was pronounced dead 35 minutes later.
Delbono travelled half an hour to Shearwater Lake, where he was pictured on a friend’s phone burning his clothes in an attempt to cover his tracks.
But when he returned home six hours after the stabbing, his mother called police and informed an operator that her son had killed someone.
Joshua Delbono (pictured) was today jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years at Bristol Crown Court
She then handed the phone to her son, who said: ‘I don’t know anything about him (the victim) at all. I went in to help my mate. I thought “I’m not getting stabbed”.’
Delbono, of Frome, Somerset, accepted he had stabbed Mr Bates but pleaded not guilty to murder. He was found unanimously guilty by a jury today.
Passing sentence, Judge William Hart what started out as a normal fist fight ended with a ‘young boy with his whole life ahead’ lying dead on the ground.
He told Delbono: ‘You took the knife from the car intending to use it as you did, not to warn people off.’
The judge also issued a warning about the dangers and tragedy of young people carrying knives.
He added: ‘Let me say to all who hear my remarks of the damage that is caused by carrying knives. You may rob a person of their life. What happened that day cast a horrible shadow over everyone.’
Before sentencing, Charley’s family, including both his parents, gave victim impact statements and said they were all still struggling to come to terms with his death.
His mother said: ‘My Charley boy was stolen from me in a senseless violent act.’
She also said she could not breathe with the grief over his death and thanked his friends for trying to save his life.
Delbono (wearing a white Nike top) pictured in a supermarket shortly before the fatal stabbing took place in July last year
Charley’s father added: ‘Hundreds of hearts were broken that day.’
Adam Vaitilingam KC, prosecuting, earlier told the two-week trial trial Mr Bates had been hanging around with a group of seven friends that afternoon in a public car park, off The Street.
He said: ‘A little after 6.30pm two cars drove into the car park together. The first car had two young men inside and the second car was Joshua Delbono with his girlfriend.
‘It seems Charley knew at least one of the two men in the first car. There had been some history of bad feeling between them. Charley went over to speak to them and the talking turned into a fight as the driver of the first car got out.
‘It started as a one on one fist fight but eventually it escalated. The passenger got out and so did one or two of Charley’s friends
‘However, at that stage, the defendant was not involved and was sitting in his car.
‘But at some point in the fight, the defendant got out of the second car, had a knife, walked over to where the fight was happening and stabbed Charley several times, including in the chest.’
The prosecutor said the defendant and his friends returned to the two cars and drove away – less than five minutes after they had arrived.
Mr Bates’ friends called 999, but doctors and paramedics could not save him and he was pronounced dead at 7.15pm.
Delbono and his pal drove to a lake half an hour away to get rid of the knife and burn some of his clothes.
Mr Vaitilingam said: ‘His girlfriend thought it was a good idea to film this, and photos were recovered from her phone by the police.’
Following his arrest, Delbono declined to comment in police interview but later gave a prepared statement.
Mr Vaitilingam added: ‘He said he got out of his car to intervene in a fight between his friend and Charley and said he had “instinctively taken the knife with him”.
‘He said he had seen one of Charley’s friends with a knife in his waistband and worried he might use it to stab his friend.’
A post mortem examination found Charley died of a stab wound to the front of his chest that caused massive bleeding, while a second knife injury to the back of his left forearm was described as a possible ‘defensive wound’.
The incident was not caught on CCTV, but footage of the movement of both groups before and after the stabbing were played to the jury.
Speaking after the case, 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.’
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