Charley Bates: Pair avoid jail after admitting helping teen's murderer

Lauren Ephgrave and Jack Seal pleaded guilty to assisting an offender

A man and woman have avoided jail after admitting they helped a murderer who stabbed a teenager to death.

Joshua Delbono knifed 16-year-old Charley Bates during a fight in Radstock, Somerset, on 31 July 2022.

Jack Seal, 20, and Delbono's then-girlfriend Lauren Ephgrave, 21, pleaded guilty to helping him in the aftermath.

At Bristol Crown Court, Ephgrave was handed a 10-month jail term suspended for 18 months and Seal a 15-month sentence, also suspended for 18 months.

Police said CCTV footage showed Seal, of Frome, Somerset, travelling in a Citroen to a car park in the centre of Radstock where the fight took place.

Delbono was picked up on cameras travelling behind with Ephgrave in a Seat.

After Delbono stabbed Charley, the group fled the scene in the same vehicles, stopping at various points before heading to Shearwater Lake, near Warminster, where Delbono later admitted he tried to dispose of the knife used in the attack.

While at the lake, Ephgrave, of Melksham, Wiltshire, also took photos of clothes being burned in an attempt to get rid of evidence.

Seal and Ephgrave both pleaded guilty to assisting an offender on Friday.

A third person was charged with the same offence and found not guilty in November.

Joshua Delbono is serving a life sentence with a minimum of 21 years after killing Charley Bates

The court ordered that Ephgrave must also engage in 20 days' rehabilitation activity and Seal must do 140 hours of unpaid work.

During sentencing, Judge William Hart commented that both Seal and Ephgrave had chosen to help Delbono after they knew he had fatally wounded his victim.

Det Insp Mark Newbury, from Avon and Somerset Police, said: "Assisting an offender is an incredibly serious offence and it is not one we will ever take lightly.

"Charley's tragic death caused a huge amount of shock in Radstock. The outpouring of public grief that followed showed his popularity and how much he is missed by family and friends."