One of the more lurid cases I’ve been following recently is the “Samurai sword killing of drug-fuc*ed rapper who botched home invasion!”
Click-bait for sure, but whatthef—?
In August 2018, Jett McKee aka rapper ‘Scepaz’ ingested a toxic amount of ice, armed himself with knuckledusters and a replica pistol, and targeted the flat of actor Blake Davis and his girlfriend Hannah Quinn, believing they were dealing drugs. Wearing a balaclava, McKee entered the flat and knuckled Davis, snatched Quinn’s bag and made threats to kill her family and then fled with samurai-sword wielding Davis in hot pursuit.
Let’s paused and segue here to 2015 hip hop video where Scepaz poses as a robber committing a home invasion wearing a balaclava and brandishing a replica pistol. In the music video, he’s talking tough about police corruption; in real life, he ends up getting his skull caved in by Davis, wobbles 80 metres down the street and collapses dead.
Davis and Quinn spent a few days in hiding, afraid Scepaz would carry out his threats. Upon learning the robbin’ rapper was dead, they handed themselves in to police. Both were charged with homicide. Justice Natalie Adams recently sentenced Davis to two years and nine months in gaol for ‘manslaughter by excessive self-defence‘, and Quinn was put on a community corrections order as an accessory after the fact.
McKee’s fiancée Averil Bowers condemned Davis and Quinn for portraying themselves as the victims. Yet Margaret Cuneen, QC, high-profile barrister for the defence, made a strong case for their victimhood, noting that Scepaz had a history of violent home invasions involving weapons. And yet she lost.
Davis and Quinn were portrayed in court as ‘small time dealers’ and cannabis users, but neither had a criminal history until now. Now they have manslaughter on their record for defending themselves against an armed junkie who entered their home, assaulted and threatened them, and stole their property.
I guess the moral of the story is: Next time you’re being raped or robbed, don’t defend yourself. If the criminal gets hurt or dead, you may go to gaol! On the other hand, if you overhear a guy in the mealroom telling sexist jokes you can get him fired, no questions asked.
Gee, it’s a topsy-turvy world we live in now, isn’t it kids?