The stabbing death of an Upstate man over two years ago has prompted a prison sentence of more than two decades for the man responsible. The 7th Circuit Solicitor's Office says, 23 year old Matthew Ryan Shope of Spartanburg entered guilty pleas Thursday to charges of voluntary manslaughter and a weapons violation.
Court records say Shope fatally stabbed the victim, Joey Lott at an abandoned house on Williams Street in Spartanburg in March of 2021. Lott's Stepmother reported that she saw Shope stabbing him and began to call 911.
Shope then fled the scene, he later went to a local hospital to be treated for a cut on his hand. Shope was searched while at the hospital and a bloody dagger was found on him. Shope has been sentenced to 23 years in the state prison system.