UK Drill Rapper Kay-O Sentenced To Life In Prison For Gang Murder

BY Gabriel Bras Nevares 3.5K Views
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Kay O Sentence Life Prison Jail Murder Gang Kacey Boothe Hip Hop News
Image via @totalcrime Twitter account
Three other men were convicted of the crime.

26-year-old UK drill rapper Kay-O received a life sentence with a minimum sentence of 37 years for the gang-related murder of 25-year-old alleged gang affiliate Kacey Boothe back in August of 2022. Three other men were convicted of the murder, these being Ka'mani Brightly-Donaldson (25 years old), Joao Pateco-Te (28), and Jeffrey Gyimah (23). A fifth man, Roody Thomas, received a five-year sentence following his confession about possessing a gun. They all received their sentences at London's Old Bailey on Tuesday (January 14), and the three other men also received life sentences with minimum terms ranging from 35 to 38 years behind bars.

Furthermore, Kay-O – real name Kammar Henry-Richards – had released the song and music video "Laughing Stock" allegedly referencing the murder days after it occurred. Kacey Boothe, the victim, was at the first birthday party of his friend Khalid Samater's baby at a community center in East London when the tragedy occurred on August 13, 2022. This allegedly happened as retaliation for the murder of another gang member, representing an alleged conflict between the London Fields gang and the E9'ers gang according to prosecutors on this case.

Kay-O Sentenced For Murder

In addition, the court also heard claims that Kacey Boothe's big brother Kyle also passed away due to these conflicts back in August of 2020, per the lyrics of the aforementioned Kay-O track "Laughing Stock." The judge in this case, Lynn Tayton QC, labeled it as "planned revenge attack arising out of gang rivalry in the context of an ongoing pattern of serious tit-for-tat violence." Not only that, but according to BBC News, the court also convicted and sentenced the four defendants for conspiring to commit murder, which connects to the shooting of Abdi-Rahman Jeylaani in August of 2022.

"Having considered your individual cases, I am of the view that there is no sensible basis upon which to differentiate between you in terms of the roles you played in the murder or the conspiracy to murder," Judge Tayton remarked to Kay-O and company while delivering his sentence. "Although none of you actually carried out the shootings, you all played significant roles in facilitating those offenses, and I cannot identify any of you as playing a substantially greater part than others."

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.

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