A rapper who threatened a “charismatic” charity worker on video before murdering him in front of his young son in a barber shop has been jailed for life.
Renai Belle was driven by jealousy and rage when he stabbed his former friend Josh McKay in the neck in Leyton, east London, the Old Bailey heard.
Before the fatal attack, Belle had threatened father-of-two Mr McKay, 33, in a rap video after the victim had refused to fund his career.
Following an Old Bailey trial, Belle, 30, of Edmonton, north London, was found guilty of murder and possession of a knife.
On Wednesday, he was jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years. Belle’s former girlfriend Tenika Parker, 39, from Leytonstone, east London, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice and possession of a knife.
Judge Lynn Tayton KC jailed single mother-of-three and primary school teacher Parker for two years and three months.
Speaking outside court, Mr McKay’s mother Bash Kehinde told reporters that referring to murders as “knife crime” strips it of its “human cost” and allowed people to “look away”.
She said: “You say knife crime like is something vague, urban, gang related, drug fuelled, black on black. All the coded language that helps us believe that this will never happen to me.
“But it’s not knife crime. It’s murder. And it happens to people like you and me. Innocent teenagers shot at parties, young men killed for their watches, fathers murdered while taking their son to have a haircut.
“So stop calling it knife crime. Call it what it is. Call it murder. And start acting like it matters.”
She went on: “Today’s sentencing changes nothing to me and my family. I will never see my beautiful son and his two children will now face a life without their hero.
“To all of the mothers of murdered children, I understand your pain, the sadness and sense of loss that is unbearable and made worse because it was all so senseless.
“Josh was a beautiful, happy, kind, man, and an active, loving father. The world was less kind, less bright, and less funny, without him here.”
The court heard how Mr McKay had worked supporting young care leavers, providing them with homes and helping them into jobs.
He had also helped Belle who later became angry at his refusal to pay for the production of a rap video.
On Saturday July 6 last year, Belle spotted Mr McKay going into Hollywood Cuts barber shop on Lea Bridge Road to get a hair cut with his son.
The defendant fetched a knife and a balaclava and Parker drove him back to the barber’s.
Prosecutor Lyndon Harris said: “Mr Belle left the vehicle, placed the balaclava over his face. He then entered Hollywood Cuts and attacked Mr McKay, stabbing him in the neck.
“A struggled ensued, part of which can be seen on the CCTV footage, and a melee spilled out into the street. Mr Belle exited first followed by Mr McKay.
“He then made his retreat and travelled back to Ms Parker’s address and a clean-up operation ensued.”
Belle took a shower and changed while Parker disposed of evidence, Mr Harris said.
The court heard there was blood in the barber shop and, despite an attempt by Parker to clean up, more blood was found in the back of her car.
Following a manhunt, Belle was arrested two days after the killing.
During their trial, Parker admitted helping Belle with his drug dealing and allowing him to keep money in her bank account while she was working at a school.
On Wednesday, Mr McKay’s mother Bash Kehinde condemned the pair in the dock as she read out a victim impact statement.
Addressing Belle, she said: “You did not care that Josh was a father, a son, a grandson, a brother, an uncle and a friend to many.
“You did not care that he owed you nothing and everything he had achieved he had worked hard for.
“You do not care that you were going to kill him in cold blood in front of his son and you did not care you broke his family into a million pieces.
“Belle, you saw Josh with his son and you knew his son would witness the murder of his father. There is a special place in hell for you.”
She added: “You are literally the opposite of everything Josh stood for. You do not have his charm, his looks, his charisma, his smile, his warmth, his humour, his kindness.”
She told the court that Mr McKay had helped more than 50 young men and had taken in Belle after he was released from jail, giving him money, clothes and a place to stay when he was homeless.
“You then asked Josh for more, you wanted him to fund your rap video – Josh told you he wouldn’t give you the money – £1,500 – that if you were serious about being a rapper then you would work hard to make your video.
“It seems he was right not to invest his money as you are as predicted a non-entity in the rap world. But from then on you became angry with Josh. You sent him threats and he ignored you.”
Mr McKay was the founder and director of a company providing semi independent care homes while also running a charitable enterprise helping young care leavers into employment and good quality homes.
“While you would have seen Josh as being successful, having money to buy a flash car and fancy clothes – what you would never realise is that they were the rewards of hard work and dedication to others,” his mother and business partner said.
One of the young men Mr McKay had supported described him as a “Batman” superhero, compared with Belle who grew up to become a “monster”, she said.
Ms Kehinde said “spineless” Parker was getting a beauty treatment as she was telling Mr McKay’s two children that their father was dead.
Mitigating for Belle, defence barrister Graham Trembath KC said the killing was “a moment of utter madness”.
Although Belle had previous convictions for 55 offences, Mr Trembath said: “What happened in that barber shop was off the scale.”
Kirsty Brimelow KC said Parker had expressed “complete remorse” for what happened.
A third defendant, Daniel Cooper, 22, from Leytonstone, pleaded guilty to possession of a blade and was jailed for 30 weeks on a previous occasion.
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