A teenager who threw the knife he used to murder a 16-year-old into a Wiltshire lake has been jailed for life.

Joshua Delbono, from Frome, was found unanimously guilty of the murder of Charley Bates at Bristol Crown Court and handed a life sentence with a minimum of 21 years.

The 19-year-old stabbed Charley multiple times in a car park, off The Street, in Radstock last July before disposing of the murder weapon and burning his clothes at Shearwater Lake in Warminster.

On July 31, 2022, two cars, one of which contained Delbono, arrived at the car park at about 6.40pm.

Charley approached the other car before a confrontation started.

When Delbono saw this, he exited the vehicle, approached the group, and stabbed Charley multiple times with a knife he brought to the scene.

In total the incident lasted less than five minutes.

Wiltshire Times:

Charley was pronounced dead at 7.15pm.

Paramedics had rushed to the scene but were not able to save the 16-year-old, who suffered a stab wound to the chest and a wound to the arm which the pathologist told the court was consistent with him trying to defend himself.

Delbono quickly left the scene and headed to Shearwater, near Warminster, where he was captured on a mobile phone burning the clothes he had been wearing.

At around 12.45am the next morning, Delbono’s mother rang police and told them her son “had killed someone” and she was keeping him at her address.

She passed the phone to Delbono, who admitted stabbing Charley and claimed he was trying to protect others.

He falsely claimed he threw the knife away at the scene, before admitting to the court he had thrown it into Shearwater Lake.

Officers arrested him on suspicion of murder shortly after the call.

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 after this senseless tragedy highlights how his death affected the community and how popular 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.

“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.”