Teen given life in jail for love rival’s murder
19-YEAR-OLD STABBED POPULAR RAPPER IN ROW
A TEENAGER has been locked up for murdering a popular young rapper.
Nathan Bradbury, 19, plunged a kitchen knife into the chest of 25-year-old Matty Shaw following an argument between two groups at a Rochdale estate.
Mr Shaw’s killer could be heard shouting ‘I don’t give a **** ’ after leaving Matty, a member of the Rochdale-based Team23 rap crew, to die.
Bradbury, of Noble Meadow Perch, Rochdale, remained emotionless as he was jailed for life with a minimum term of 16 years.
The teenager had previously admitted killing Mr Shaw at the Lower Falinge estate on Wednesday, May 9.
Manchester Crown Court heard that Bradbury had been visiting a girl at the Melrose Flats on the estate that evening, along with friend Kaylen Perry. They had been drinking and by 9.30pm that night, Bradbury appeared drunk, the court was told.
A group had gathered in the flat downstairs and another man came looking for £20 from the girl who lived upstairs. Prosecutor Rob Hall told the court: “It was known that Bradbury and (the other man) were in competition for the affection of the girl and this situation brought things to a head.”
Bradbury began shouting and pushing his love rival out of the door and the scene quickly escalated to one of chaos and violence, it was heard.
A member of the other group had, by this point, picked up a garden spade. It is believed that Matty had originally grabbed the spade from his friend in the hope to prevent further violence.
“Mr Shaw said to his friends, ‘just **** ing leave it,’ Mr Hall added.
Meanwhile, Bradbury had gone back inside the flat where he armed himself with a kitchen knife, despite desperate pleas from his friends not to.
As he headed downstairs with the knife, Matty was re-entering the building holding the garden spade and the pair met on the stairwell, the court heard.
Onlookers first believed that Bradbury had punched Mr Shaw, but it quickly emerged that he had in fact been stabbed in the chest a blow which proved fatal.
Instead of stopping to help Mr Shaw – who lay bleeding on the stairwell – Bradbury took the spade from him and continued to chase other members of the group.
He later fled the scene with the help of Kaylen Perry, who gave him a change of clothes and helped to discard the murder weapon in the River Spodden, the court heard.
Perry, 19, of no fixed address, was jailed for three years alongside Bradbury after admitting assisting an offender.
Bradbury’s defence lawyer Adam Roxborough said the stabbing had occurred in the heat of the moment.