Renai Belle jailed for murdering Josh McKay in front of his young son in Leyton barber shop

An aspiring rapper who stabbed a charity worker to death in front of his young son in a barber shop has been jailed for life.

Renai Belle murdered his former friend Josh McKay, 33, in the neck after he refused to fund his career, the Old Bailey heard.

The 30-year-old carried out the pre-meditated attack in Leyton, east London, on 6 July 2024.

Belle spotted Mr McKay going into Hollywood Cuts on Lea Bridge Road and drove off with his former girlfriend, Tenika Parker, to get a knife and balaclava from another man, Daniel Cooper.

Prosecutors said he returned to the scene, put on the face covering and stabbed the father-of-two.

A struggle spilled out into the street and members of the public tried to help Mr McKay, but he couldn’t be saved.

The court heard Belle then headed to Parker’s address to take a shower and get rid of evidence. However, he was arrested two days later following a manhunt.

Traces of blood and the black sliders Belle wore for the murder were found when police pulled over Parker’s car, despite her attempts to clean up the vehicle.

Officers also found a YouTube video showing Belle threatening Mr McKay – who ran an enterprise helping young people leaving care get jobs and homes.

The court heard he’d also helped Belle but his killer became angry and jealous when he refused to pay for a rap video.

Mr McKay’s mother, Bash Kehinde, said her son had helped more than 50 young men and had taken in Belle after he left prison, giving him clothes and a place to stay.

Addressing him in court, she said: “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.”

She said he became angry with her son – who ignored his threats.

Ms Kehinde added: “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.”

Belle, from Edmonton, was sentenced on Wednesday to a minimum of 28 years after being found guilty of murder and knife possession last month.

His ex-girlfriend Tenika Parker, a 39-year-old primary school teacher, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice and knife possession. She was jailed for two years and three months.

Daniel Cooper, 22, who provided the weapon and balaclava, pleaded guilty to possessing a blade and was jailed for 30 weeks on a previous occasion.

Speaking outside court, Mr McKay’s mother described him as a “beautiful, happy, kind, man, and an active, loving father”.

She also said the media’s use of the term “knife crime” strips awful crimes of the “human cost” and allows people to “look away”.

“It’s not knife crime. It’s murder,” she said.

“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.”