Gordon Gault killing: Accused teen 'only wrote violent raps'

A teenager accused of murdering a 14-year-old boy in a feud wrote violent raps but did not want to kill anyone, a court has heard.

Gordon Gault died in hospital six days after being fatally wounded with a machete in Newcastle in November 2022.

Six youths, aged 16 to 18, deny murder and wounding a 17-year-old boy.

One of the accused, Lawson Natty, told Newcastle Crown Court he was not part of a violent group but was friends with people who were.

Jurors have heard that the attacks on 9 November were part of a feud between rival groups of youths in "tit-for-tat violence".

Prosecutors said the accused youths went to "enemy territory" to exact revenge or "get back" on their rivals after one of them, Mr Mbala, had been attacked earlier in the day.

Mr Natty said he and his friends, who were associated with the Benwell area, had gone to the Elswick area to smoke cannabis and buy food.

Two of the defendants, aged 16 and 17, cannot be identified. The remaining four, all aged 18, are:

Under questioning from prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford KC, Mr Natty said he had bought a machete for "protection", adding: "Not because I wanted to go out and attack someone."

He said he was not part of a violent group but was friends with several people who were - and so he feared being targeted by association.

Mr Natty said he took his new machete out with him on 9 November so his mother would not find it in his room, as well as for protection.

He gave a second machete, which he had bought "by accident", to his best friend Mr Neto who had been stabbed several weeks before, to "protect himself".

Mr Natty said he did not know others with him were also armed, including with another machete, a kitchen knife and a hammer.

Prosecutors have said Mr Neto fatally stabbed Gordon in the arm while the 14-year-old was riding pillion on an electric bike.

Jurors have heard several of the defendants and others were involved in a group conversation on Snapchat that discussed feuds with several rival groups in Newcastle.

They included descriptions of fights, carrying knives and killing rivals, the court heard.

Mr Natty said many messages were sent in the group and he could "not be bothered" to read them all.

He said his replies, which included one saying he was "down for whatever", were responses to other messages and not connected to setting up and attacking rivals.

"The group chat's not only about violent things," Mr Natty told jurors, adding he and his friends would "talk about other things as well" such as school.

Jurors have also heard Mr Natty wrote drill raps about attacking and killing rivals, including lyrics about the fatal attack on Gordon.

Mr Natty said he wanted to be a successful rapper and, because of the interests of drill fans, he had to "make violent music to get myself out there and heard" but was "not a violent person".

"I'm not interested in killing and stabbing people. The music I make talks about those sorts of things," he said.

"Violence sells."

Mr Natty's lyrics included a line about Gordon and the other 17-year-old victim getting stabbed and how the attacker "should have sent both of them to hell".

He told jurors he was "exaggerating" to make himself seem "hard".

Mr Sandiford asked if a line about seeing Gordon's mother crying on TV was "gloating"?

Mr Natty replied: "Yes. But it was exaggeration because that's what people like to hear."

The trial continues.

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