Denva Smith died after being stabbed in the arm during an attack in the early hours of May 31, 2025. The wound severed a major artery, causing him to bleed to death in a garden in Ashfield Close.
After a seven-week trial at Exeter Crown Court, a jury found Thomas Ward, 24, of Russell Walk in Exeter, and Ben Mason, 24, of no fixed address in Exmouth, guilty of murder.
Three other men — Zac Davies, 24, of Hawthorn Grove in Exmouth; Dylan Chadwick, 23, of Cambourne Avenue in St Helens; and Ben Helliker, 26, of Halsdon Road in Exmouth — were cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter. All five men had denied the charges.
The court heard that the group confronted Denva Smith on Dinan Way shortly after 12.30am. During the confrontation, Ward stabbed him in the arm.
Denva Smith fled down an embankment beside the road and attempted to escape. However, prosecutors said he was chased along Hawthorn Grove and into Ashfield Close by Chadwick and Mason.
The stab wound had sliced down his forearm and severed the radial artery, a major blood vessel running from the elbow to the wrist. As he ran, blood from the wound sprayed onto the ground and nearby vehicles. He was wearing only socks, having lost his sliders on the embankment as he fled.
He eventually collapsed in a residential garden at the end of the street. His attackers returned to their friends, believing he had managed to escape over a fence.
Residents nearby later heard his final pleas for help.
“Please help me, I’ve been stabbed,” he said, before adding: “I think I’m going to die.”
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