Overview

• Jurors at Derby Crown Court delivered a unanimous guilty verdict in under three hours after a two-week trial
• CCTV footage and witness testimony confirmed Hartle concealed a Rambo-style knife in his tracksuit, grinned and stabbed Smedley through the chest
• Noah Smedley, 18, was unarmed and posed no threat when Hartle attacked him during a December cannabis meeting
• Hartle fled the scene, discarded his clothing, knife and phone, then surrendered hours later at Ilkeston police station
• Under UK guidelines, a youth convicted of murder faces a 23-year starting point in custody and a judge will review psychiatric reports before fixing Hartle’s sentence