ONE LIFE ENDED... ONE RUINED
Frankie Cooper killing verdict
A CLOSE pal of budding music star Frankie Cooper today told how he raised concerns over groups feuding in Newcastle just prior to his death.
Frankie, 22, died in hospital five days after he was knifed in a broad daylight city centre stabbing.
Today, after a youth was convicted of manslaughter, Frankie’s best friend has told how the killing had robbed Newcastle of one of its most talented up and coming musicians.
Still grieving, Ryan Witherspoon, claims verbal feuding between rival groups is something which is happening in Newcastle.
And the dad is today pleading with young people to help bring an end to this feuding. Ryan said: “I’ve only ever had one best friend and he’s just been taken like that, it’s mad. It’s just pointless.
“Some people are trying to turn Newcastle into London and it’s not like that. They were trying to make something in Newcastle that isn’t there. They are ruining their lives.”
Frankie, who rapped under the alias Franco Caine, moved to Newcastle from London when he was around 13 years old.
He first met Ryan when they were both teenagers, and the pair hit it off immediately.
“I met him when I was about 14. I was homeless and I was in and out of hostels. We were both on the streets and just clicked straight away,” said Ryan. “He was just one of those lads who you loved to be around. You never knew what was going to happen when you were with him. If you were having a bad day he would always make it better.
“We were both into grime music. We were all about the music even then. His music was second to none. He would spit a few lyrics and I would spit a few lyrics, but nothing ever came of it because we didn’t have the studios to go into and record.”
The friends lost touch after Ryan went to jail for an assault when he was 18. Following his release, he was determined to stay out of trouble and focus on his music. But in January 2016, Ryan was back before the courts following a city centre brawl, which ended with a teenager being stabbed.
A court heard how Ryan had started a fist fight with Sandro Mendonca in Old Eldon Square on a sunny summer’s evening, before a teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, stabbed him three times in the back,
The 16-year-old knifeman, from Gosforth, was jailed for four years while Ryan, who admitted assault, was given a 12-month community order.
Ryan bumped into Frankie again soon after and the pals became as close as ever, quickly starting to make music together again.
Following the birth of Ryan’s daughter, Frankie was one of the first to arrive at the hospital to congratulate the new dad, and he was later chosen to be the little girl’s godfather.
“He was still on the streets trying to get work,” said Ryan, “He had all the abilities to get a job, but he never had his mum and dad around him. He was a survivor, he had always been by himself. That’s what I admired about him.”
Ryan, who raps under the name Ryza, says he thought any feuding between groups in the city was merely a war of words, connected to music.
“If you went to a music venue there would be loads of them there,” he explained. “But it was just all part of the game. Down in London that’s how artists promote music, it’s all playacting.”
However, Ryan, 25, says concerns were raised prior to Frankie’s death. He added: “I was only with Franco a week before and I was just saying; ‘Franco, you know what? Something’s going to happen, it’s too quiet.’ But he was just laughing.” On Monday February 20 , Ryan received a message saying Frankie had been stabbed. I went to the hospital and he was in a coma,” said Ryan. “I was just devastated. I didn’t know where to put myself.”
Newcastle Crown Court heard how the victim was knifed through the heart following a lunchtime altercation on Princess Square in Newcastle city centre.
Frankie somehow staggered back to nearby Bewick Court where he lived and was able to get the lift up to his floor, but he lost consciousness and died in hospital five days later.
Ryan says he is desperately trying to move on with his life. He added: “I spend most of my time in the studio now or looking after my daughter. I have written a few tracks about when it happened and how I felt. It’s really given me a determination to leave all that behind.”