Chatham murderer jailed after phone debt stabbing

The murderer of a Chatham man over a £10 phone debt has been jailed for life.

Mark Jesse stabbed Charlie Belsham to death at their shared home in Castle Road on 1 November 2025 and was convicted following a trial at Maidstone Crown Court.

The court heard how the victim had been arguing with a visitor at the address, Ashley Robinson, over a phone which Mr Belsham had allegedly not paid him £10 for.

The two separated, but Jesse who had been angered by the argument between Robinson and the victim, picked up a knife and made his way to Mr Belsham’s room with another man.

After a couple of minutes, the pair left the victim’s room and were heard to have said ‘We’ve done him.’ Jesse was also reported to have said ‘I’ve stabbed him in the ribs’.

Mr Belsham, who was in his 40s, was found with a single fatal stab wound to the chest.

Jesse, 51, and Robinson, 41, then fled the house together and drove away before abandoning their car in Kingfisher Drive.

In a separate incident earlier on the day of the murder, near Mayweed Avenue at 7.12am, a car was set alight in a residential driveway.

The perpetrators fled, with the fire spreading to the property’s front door which sustained serious damage. No one was injured by the blaze.

Over the next two days, Jesse and Robinson were both arrested.

At Maidstone Crown Court on Monday 15 June, Jesse was found guilty of murder and Robinson, of Meadow Bank Road, Chatham, was convicted of assisting an offender.

In relation to the arson incident on the same day, Jesse and Robinson admitted to arson with recklessness to the endangerment of life. Robinson also admitted to handling stolen goods.

At Maidstone Crown Court on Friday 11 September, Jesse was jailed for life with a minimum term of 20 years. Robinson was imprisoned for 6 years and was disqualified from driving for 8 years.

Detective Chief Inspector Martin Davies said:

‘A man’s life was tragically and prematurely cut short over a simple argument, and it is solely due to Jesse’s unjustifiable and rash decision to take a knife into the victim’s room that day. ‘That he ran from the scene and consistently denied his actions show his lack of remorse and morality. ‘There is no more serious a crime than murder and I’m satisfied that his prison sentence reflects his having taken someone’s life deliberately and without reason. ‘With him behind bars, he can do no more harm to the community for a long time.’