Man admits to stabbing victim in abandoned Upstate house
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - On Thursday, the suspect who stabbed another man to death in an abandoned home in Spartanburg entered a guilty plea.
Matthew Shope, 23, was initially charged with murder in the deadly attack on Joey Lott while the two were hanging out at the house on Williams Street in March 2021.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/RPNHKIDITBFORD3GHGYWYHF6MY.png)
The victim’s stepmother said she heard a commotion and entered the house to find Shope stabbing Lott. Shope tried to take her phone, which she was using to call 911, before running away.
Lott, a father of three, died at the hospital. Shope later went to the hospital for a cut to his hand and when officials searched him, they found a bloody dagger in his possession.
Shope pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison.
Copyright 2023 WHNS. All rights reserved.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/YIZR7FIJ3BEFNPXBCXL7UCORWM.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/RXWEZCSELJEVXJCHY643QRORGA.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/ELDAMM7ZONBPZN22N5QAAY6UQA.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/3OGAPCJSTNAY5M2NNTEKWZ7LMI.png)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/S6IU7TU2DFHYJDECLKHXGZGZHI.png)
/do0bihdskp9dy.cloudfront.net/10-03-2023/t_db865f9a159942df9a8c242a39e79c4c_name_file_1280x720_2000_v3_1_.jpg)
/do0bihdskp9dy.cloudfront.net/10-03-2023/t_6d4cbbcd051d473991a67d5891d7cc1e_name_file_1280x720_2000_v3_1_.jpg)
/do0bihdskp9dy.cloudfront.net/10-03-2023/t_db3c9f92a72c4a3e9affc13ac8c0f5f7_name_file_1280x720_2000_v3_1_.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/76O4OIR3G5HAHO634FGVHMFFCM.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/2XO5P6XJLFCCHIGCIRUEYS2QCI.png)