Rapper jailed over rugby league player’s fatal stabbing outside restaurant: ‘Unimaginable grief’
A Sydney drill rapper, Jacob Tammer-Spence, 33, has been jailed for manslaughter after fatally stabbing rugby league player Sitaleki "Leki" Filihiahekava outside a fast-food restaurant in September 2024. The NSW Supreme Court heard the fatal encounter, in which Tammer-Spence said he feared Mr Filihiahekava was threatening to shoot him over an earlier barbershop shooting, lasted only around 30 seconds; no firearm was found at the scene. Justice Richard Cavanagh said the case highlighted the dangers of the public carrying knives, calling it "almost inexplicable" that Tammer-Spence had taken one with him simply to buy takeaway food.
Tammer-Spence, known as Snoee Badman, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a maximum of eight years and three months, with parole eligibility from April 2030 after time served. The judge accepted that fear and hypervigilance linked to the offender's post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorder and deprived background had reduced his moral culpability, despite a criminal history including armed robbery and a violent assault on a former cellmate. Mr Filihiahekava's grieving family, who wept in court as the sentence was handed down, described their "unimaginable grief" and said the killing had left them struggling with everyday life.
- Rapper Jacob Tammer-Spence jailed for manslaughter of rugby player Leki Filihiahekava
- Fatal stabbing followed a 30-second confrontation in Sydney, September 2024
- Sentenced to up to 8 years 3 months; parole eligible April 2030
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Sitaleki "Leki" Filihiahekava was a rugby league player who was fatally stabbed outside a fast-food restaurant in Sydney in September 2024. Jacob Tammer-Spence, a 33-year-old drill rapper who performs under the name Snoee Badman, was charged over the killing after a confrontation that reportedly lasted only about half a minute. He claimed at the time that he believed Mr Filihiahekava was threatening to shoot him, linked to an earlier shooting at a barbershop, though no firearm was ever found at the scene.
The case has now been dealt with by the NSW Supreme Court, where Tammer-Spence pleaded guilty to manslaughter rather than murder, meaning the court accepted he caused the death without intending to kill. Sentencing in such cases involves a judge weighing the circumstances, including the offender's state of mind and background, against the seriousness of the harm caused, before deciding on a jail term and when parole might be possible.
The case matters both because it involves a young sportsman's death and a public figure from the drill rap scene, and because it has become a focal point for wider concerns about knife-carrying in public and how courts should treat claims of fear or trauma when assessing responsibility for a killing.