[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Homophobia destroys lives — including the lives of those who are (allegedly) homophobic, in some cases.
Rap pioneer Kidd Creole has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for stabbing a homeless man he thought was gay and trying to hit on him in New York City.
As we reported, the 62-year-old (real name Nathanial Glover) stabbed 55-year-old John Jolly in Midtown Manhattan in 2017. Glover was convicted of first-degree manslaughter last month and was sentenced to 16 years and five years of post-release supervision on Wednesday.
The rapper was reportedly approached by the victim on his way to his maintenance job in the city around midnight in August 2017. Authorities said Jolly had asked him, “What’s up?” Glover apparently took that greeting as an invitation for gay sex, so he decided to stab Jolly twice in the chest with a steak knife, because… #nohomo.
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Jolly was later found by tourists and was transported to the hospital, where he died. Assistant DA Mark Dahl said during the trial:
“The defendant confessed to pulling out a kitchen knife and repeatedly thrusting it into the body of a stranger on the street, killing him. Was there anything that would prevent him from simply running away from Mr. Jolly? No.”
Glover pleaded not guilty, with his attorneys having argued that he lashed out in self-defense. At his sentencing, the artist condemned his reputation as a killer, saying:
“I’m very disappointed in the way that that this whole situation played out. I’ve been portrayed as a callous and senseless [killer]…which is far from the person who I am. I’ve been slandered and all this made me seem as if I am a person who actually has no remorse and no repentance.”
Glover, who had been living by himself in a Bronx apartment near the copy shop where he worked, said he thought he was going to be “exonerated” and that he feels “at a certain point the trust of all of this will be revealed,” per the New York Post.
After the stabbing, he reportedly fled the scene and went to his office, where he washed the knife. He disposed of the weapon in a sewer at the Bronx subway station about 15 minutes later.
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Police recovered the weapon the following day, and Glover was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in connection with the stabbing. He’s been in custody at Rikers Island jail complex since then.
In a taped interview, Glover told officials he “was a little annoyed” in thinking that Jolly was seeking a romantic rendezvous, adding:
“To tell the truth, I thought he was gay and because I thought he was gay, and he was saying that to me, ‘What’s up,’ I was thinking that he was thinking I was gay.”
Glover said in the police interview that he “got a little nervous” when Jolly approached him, adding that he wasn’t aware the victim died following the stabbing.
He explained:
“I tried to back up a little bit, and he moved forward, and then I just took the knife and stabbed him…I wish I never would have seen him. It’s all my fault, because I chose to stab him. I have to take responsibility for that.”
Prosecutors said Glover didn’t have any reasons to be afraid of Jolly, and linked his actions with potential homophobia. Defense attorneys said Glover was fearful of Jolly, and that the victim’s death was due to a combination of alcohol and a sedative he was given while hospitalized.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said the case was an example of NYC cracking down on crime, which has seen a 41 percent surge since last year. He said in a statement:
“Mr. Jolly’s death was devastating to his family and those who knew him. This case makes clear that if you commit violent crime, we will hold you accountable.”
As Kidd Creole, Glover was a member of the NYC-based Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, who were hailed as a group of pioneers in the hip-hop movement. The group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
[Image via NYPD]
