Man guilty of murdering father in front of child

A rapper has been found guilty of murdering a father in front of his young child in a barbershop in east London.

Renai Belle, 30, was convicted following a five week trial at the Old Bailey after stabbing Josh McKay, 31, in the neck as he had a haircut in Leyton on 8 July 2024.

Tenika Parker, 39, who drove Belle to the scene on Lea Bridge Road, and Daniel Cooper, 22, who provided a balaclava and knife for the attack, were both cleared of murder.

Parker was found guilty of perverting the course of justice and possessing a bladed article and Cooper had previously pleaded guilty to possessing a bladed article.

The trial heard that there was "existing hostility" between Belle and Mr McKay.

Belle, from Edmonton, north London, had a YouTube channel under his nickname "Topz" and in a video ed before the murder had made a specific reference to his desire to attack Mr McKay.

The jury heard that Belle rapped: "I pray every day that I buck JMK."

Prosecutor Louis Mably KC said that Mr McKay had been having his hair cut on a Saturday afternoon when he was attacked and killed in front of his child.

The barber, who was just finishing Mr McKay's haircut, told police he had seen a man wearing a balaclava creeping through the door, but thought it was "a joke" at first until he saw the man was carrying a large kitchen knife.

"The man approached Mr McKay, and just as Mr McKay swivelled round on the chair to see what was going on, the man plunged the knife into his neck and then pulled the knife out," said Mr Mably.

In the resulting scuffle the knife had fallen to the ground, and Mr McKay picked it up and chased the attacker out of the shop, the court heard.

A female er-by, who saw a man dressed in dark clothing "creeping" towards the shop and carrying something in his right hand, went into the barbershop and called 999.

She also saw Mr McKay's child outside. The child had seen the attack happen and was upset, saying "that's my dad", the court heard.

The police investigation identified Belle as the attacker and CCTV evidence showed he had spotted Mr McKay in the barbershop by chance 25 minutes before the attack.

"What happened is that straightaway, and very quickly, he saw the opportunity and made preparations for the attack to make sure he could carry it out before Mr McKay had finished having his hair cut," said Mr Mably.

The prosecution alleged that Parker and Cooper both helped Belle carry out the attack.

The court heard Parker was in a relationship with Belle and drove him to Cooper's address to collect a knife and balaclava.

She then drove Belle back to Lea Bridge Road where he carried out the attack before returning to the car and being driven back to Parker's house.

All three defendants gave evidence in their defence, with Belle claiming he had acted in self-defence.

Cooper, of Gosport Road in Waltham Forest, and Parker, of Canterbury Road in Waltham Forest, said they were not aware of Belle's intentions.

They will be sentenced at a later date.

Correction 5 June: This article originally reported that Renai Belle had been driven to a home to collect a knife and machete and has been amended to make clear that this was to collect a knife and balaclava.

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