Adam Drake guilty of murder in fatal stabbing of battle rapper Pat Stay
The verdict was delivered just before 1:30 p.m. today in the case of Adam Drake following a trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court that started a month ago. Jurors began their deliberations Tuesday afternoon and were sequestered overnight.
Stay's family members gasped in relief and cried in the courtroom. Drake turned to them and said, "Sorry, they got it wrong, you don't got justice."
The conviction carries with it an automatic life sentence. Parole eligibility can range from 10 to 25 years and will be set by Justice Scott Norton at sentencing.
Drake is already serving a life sentence for first-degree murder in the 2016 shooting death of Tyler Keizer, 22. However, the jury in the Stay trial was not told of the conviction in order to preserve Drake's right to a fair trial.
A key piece of evidence at the trial in Stay's death was grainy black and white surveillance video from inside the Yacht Club Social that. It shows Stay, with his back to the camera, in an altercation with someone.
As Stay turns, he wipes blood from chest, is punched and then falls. He gets back to his feet and stumbles out of the camera's view, dying a short time later in a Halifax hospital.
Jury begins deliberations in Adam Drake trial
19 hours ago
Duration 2:57
The Crown argued last week Drake is the only person who could have done the stabbing, based on tracing the steps of each person near Stay and using the process of elimination. The defence urged the jury to disregard the video and find Drake not guilty.
The trial in Stay's death has been emotionally charged, with numerous people attending and tensions spilling outside the courtroom several times. In the final days, supporters of Stay confronted Drake's lawyers more than once outside the courthouse.
Sheriffs reprimanded people in the public gallery for making loud comments during defence closing submissions Monday, and lawyer Michael Lacy was subsequently blocked by a man on a motorcycle as he tried to drive out of the parking lot.
The jury was not told that Drake had already been convicted of first-degree murder in Keizer's death, with details of that trial kept under publication ban. The ban lifted Tuesday when the jury was sequestered.
Drake was charged with first-degree murder in 2019 in Keizer's death. The charge was withdrawn by the Crown in 2021, with a prosecutor telling the court, without elaboration, that there was no longer a reasonable prospect of conviction.
That changed a month after Stay was killed, with police resurrecting the charge against Drake for Keizer's killing. He went on trial in April 2024, with a judge finding him guilty in October.
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Here's what could happen next in the House inquiry as lawmakers seek answers in a case that has sparked rampant speculation since Epstein's death in 2019 and more recently caused many in the Trump administration to renege on promises for a complete accounting. Subpoena for the Epstein files Democrats, joined by three Republicans, were able to successfully initiate the subpoena from a subcommittee just as the House was leaving Washington for its August recess. But it was just the start of negotiations over the subpoena. The subcommittee agreed to redact the names and personal information of any victims, but besides that, their demand for information is quite broad, encompassing 'un-redacted Epstein files.' As the parameters of the subpoena are drafted, Democrats are demanding that it be fulfilled within 30 days from when it is served to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. 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Growing pressure on the Trump administration for disclosure Ultimately, the bipartisan vote to subpoena the files showed how political pressure is mounting on the Trump administration to disclose the files. Politics, policy and the law are all bound up together in this case, and many in Congress want to see a full accounting of the sex trafficking investigation. 'We can't allow individuals, especially those at the highest level of our government, to protect child sex traffickers,' said Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., a committee member. The Trump administration is already facing the potential for even more political tension. When Congress comes back to Washington in September, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers is working to advance to a full House vote a bill that aims to force the public release of the Epstein files. Stephen Groves, The Associated Press
