Rapper Hypo shouted 'I've been stabbed' before death, jury hears

Emeli Sande's rapper ex-boyfriend shouted "I've been stabbed" before he collapsed on the floor at a Jubilee weekend party and died, a court heard.

Security guard Laurie John-Phillip, 33, denies murdering rapper Hypo, whose real name was Lamar Jackson, last June.

The Old Bailey was told 400 to 500 people descended on the "really busy" party in a marquee at Woodford Town Football Club in east London.

Tickets to the birthday party, promoted by an entertainment company, cost £50.

The court heard Mr Jackson, 39, was "well known" where he lived in Hackney, east London.

Just after midnight on 3 June 2022, witness Graeme McLean saw someone jump forward from behind Mr Jackson and strike him on the upper left part of his chest before he shouted "I've been stabbed", jurors heard.

A blood stain the size of a snooker ball formed on his clothes before he dropped to the ground, the prosecution said.

A post-mortem examination recorded his cause of death as sharp force trauma to the chest.

The defendant handed himself in to police and, in three subsequent interviews, he spoke only to provide a prepared statement which said "I did not murder Lamar Jackson" and to give a description of himself. He did not answer any questions, the Old Bailey heard.

Prosecutor Brian O'Neill KC told jurors: "When you have heard the evidence, you can be sure that this was an unlawful attack by one man, this defendant, who was armed with a knife, upon another man who was unarmed."

Mr John-Phillip, from Enfield, north London, admits killing Mr Jackson but claims he acted in lawful self-defence.

The defendant, dressed in an open white shirt and black trousers, did not speak at all during the hearing.

The trial continues.

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