FOUR men have been jailed for their roles in the “senseless” killing of 24-year-old Denva Smith in Exmouth last summer.

Denva died after suffering a single stab wound to the left arm on Saturday, May 31, 2025.

Police were called at around 00.50am following a report that a man had been stabbed and ran into a garden in Ashfield Close before collapsing.

Denva could be heard by someone living nearby shouting that he had been stabbed and was going to die.

Officers soon arrived and carried out first aid on Denva, who had sustained a significant wound on his left forearm.

A tourniquet was applied, and despite the best efforts of the officers and paramedics who also attended the scene, Denva was tragically pronounced deceased less than an hour later.

Following a trial at Exeter Crown Court earlier this year, five defendants were convicted of their respective roles in the killing.

• Tom Ward, 25, of Russell Walk, Exeter, was found guilty of murder.

• Ben Mason, 24, of no fixed abode, Exmouth, was found guilty of murder. He was also convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent in relation to a fight in Exmouth in December 2023 which resulted in a man repeatedly punched and kicked in the head.

• Dylan Chadwick, 24, of Cambourne Avenue, St Helens, was found guilty of manslaughter.

• Zac Davies, 24, of Hawthorn Grove, Exmouth, was found guilty of manslaughter. He pleaded guilty to not providing PIN access to his phone.

• Ben Helliker, 27, of Halsdon Road in Exmouth, was found guilty of manslaughter.

Ward, Mason, Chadwick and Davies appeared at Exeter Crown Court on Wednesday, June 10 for sentence.

Ward and Mason were sentenced to life in prison for Denva’s murder, with a minimum of 23 years for Ward, and 23 years and six months for Mason, with a concurrent sentence for Mason for the previous assault on another victim.

Davies and Chadwick were both jailed for 12 years for manslaughter, with Davies given an additional year for the phone offence.

Helliker will be sentenced at Exeter Crown Court on July 25.

Sentencing the defendants, The Honourable Mr Justice Garnham noted the “utter misery” Denva’s murder had caused his mother and family, adding that she has found his loss “impossible to process”.

He went onto describe the killing as “senseless”.

THE NIGHT OF THE MURDER

At around 00.35am Denva and an acquaintance were walking on Dinham Way when a group of five men approached them.

The group ran towards them causing Denva to jump a crash barrier and run down a slope into the area around the garages at the end of Hawthorn Grove.

The group allowed the man accompanying Denva to escape and pursued Denva to the bottom of the slope where he was stabbed by Ward.

During the attack, Denva lost a pair of sliders which were later located in a bin outside Ward’s home address. Also recovered at the scene of the attack was a phone belonging to Helliker.

After sustaining the fatal stab wound, Denva was chased shoeless onto Hawthorn Grove and then onto Ashfield Close. Three of the group continued to pursue him, with one shouting “get him lad!”.

Tragically, Denva did not regain consciousness and was pronounced deceased by emergency services at 1.40am in the rear garden of a property on Ashfield Close.

An investigation was immediately launched and officers were able to recover CCTV and speak to local residents.

Witnesses stated that they had heard banging and shouting and saw two men run from the direction of Ashfield Close back towards Hawthorn Grove.

Officers soon learned that there was ill-feeling between Denva and Mason, and Denva and Ward who had all previously been friends.

Earlier in the evening, Davies and Chadwick arrived in Exmouth having travelled from Liverpool together.

They met up with Ward, Mason and Helliker around half an hour before the attack.

Text messages revealed that both Ward and Davies sent messages to a third party saying “it’s really bad” and “we f*cked up”.

Eyewitnesses named Davies as being present close to the scene.

Davies was soon located at an address on Hawthorn Grove in the company of Chadwick and both men were arrested. The trainers of the two were found to have Denva’s blood on them.

Blood was also found trailing between Hawthorn Grove and Ashfield Close.

Following the attack Mason took a taxi to his girlfriend’s address in Cranbrook.

Mason attended a meeting with The Probation Service the following morning and was noted by a probation officer to be acting on edge and making reference to someone being “stabbed up” in Exmouth being in the news.

Mason was arrested at the probation office in Exeter later the same day.

Ward – who was named by a third party as the man who stabbed Denva - would hand himself in at Tiverton Police Station in the early hours of June 3.

Helliker was arrested on June 9 after being identified via CCTV and a phone linked to him being found at the scene.

Further investigation revealed more ill-feeling and background between the defendants and Denva, some of which was closely related to the supply of cocaine and cannabis in Exmouth.

Davies, Chadwick, Mason, Ward all offered no comment in a series of police interviews.

Helliker provided a prepared statement confirming that he was one of the individuals captured on CCTV footage at Hawthorne Close on May 30, however he denied assaulting Denva or being aware of any plan to do so.

Detective Inspector Guy Biggar from the Major Crime Investigation Team, said: “Denva Smith died in a stranger’s garden after sustaining a single stab wound to the arm in May of last year.

“Prior to losing consciousness, Denva ran for his life after being confronted and attacked by the group containing the five defendants.

“By the jury’s verdicts, Tom Ward and Ben Mason fully intended to cause Denva at least serious harm when they attacked him that night, with Zac Davies, Dylan Chadwick and Ben Helliker all also present with the intent to cause him harm.

“No amount of ill-feeling between Denva and those convicted can justify the taking of a young life in such a violent and brutal manner.

“Denva was a much-loved son, dad, brother, grandson, uncle and nephew. During the fatal attack he was isolated, alone and outnumbered.

“This was a dynamic and fast-paced investigation which resulted in the defendants being identified and arrested.

“We welcome the sentences passed by the judge and we hope that Denva’s family and friends are able to feel some form of closure as they attempt to move on with their lives.”