Teenager jailed for life for Ilkeston stabbing

A teenager from Ilkeston in Derbyshire has been convicted of the murder of 18-year-old Noah Smedley in the town.

Charles Hartle, 18, who was 17 at the time, stabbed Mr Smedley in the heart with a Rambo knife, which he had concealed in his trousers, after a group of friends had bought drugs from him on 28 December 2024.

Hartle stood at the back of the group and, once his friends had made the deal and were saying their goodbyes, he stepped forward, grinned and stabbed Mr Smedley.

James Whyley, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "This was a tragic and utterly pointless loss of life, caused only by the defendant's fixation with gangs and knives. In a misguided effort to be seen as a 'hard man', he had a lethal knife in his tracksuit and used it to kill.

"Noah Smedley was defenceless and clearly had no intention of any kind of violence. Although he posed no threat at all, Hartle took his life.

"I would like to offer my sincere sympathies to Mr Smedley's family and loved ones as they deal with this sudden and inexplicable loss."

After the stabbing, Hartle ran away, leaving Mr Smedley to die in the street. He went to find his girlfriend at a house party, then went to Derby, where he was collected by his father and brought home, before eventually being taken to a police station in the early hours of the morning.

He was charged with Mr Smedley’s murder and was convicted by a jury at Derby Crown Court in July.

He was sentenced today to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 19 years and 132 days (20 years minus the time spent on remand).

Building the case

Charles Hartle admitted stabbing Mr Smedley. He had no option but to do so.

He had made it known that he had an interest in knives, took the weapon to the scene and carried out the attack in plain sight. It was caught on CCTV and witnessed by three others.

Despite admitting to the killing, Hartle maintained he was not guilty of murder. During police interview he claimed that he had acted out of self-defence, believing his life was in danger. During the trial he changed his defence, claiming he had stabbed Mr Smedley, but did not intend to cause serious harm or kill him. The evidence in this case showed that both these versions of events were lies.

The CPS presented CCTV evidence that showed Hartle had been in the group that met up with Mr Smedley, but had stayed at the back of the group, before striding forward and killing Mr Smedley. This video evidence showed that Mr Smedley had posed no threat to Hartle and had been interacting amicably with the group.

Eyewitnesses also gave evidence to confirm Hartle’s actions and described his demeanour when he stabbed Mr Smedley.

Hartle also claimed that he had not known Mr Smedley and had no animosity towards him. The CPS presented evidence from Hartle’s phone showing that he not only knew Mr Smedley, but he knew that he would be present when his friends went to buy their drugs and that he fully intended to cause harm to Mr Smedley.

The prosecution also used evidence of Hartle’s movements after the killing, including fleeing to Derby. The CPS’s case was that these were not the actions of an attack victim who had been forced to defend himself, but of someone who was trying to avoid being linked to the crime.