Acclaimed battle rapper and father of two was fatally stabbed at Halifax bar in September 2022Published Jun 18, 2025Last updated 4 hours ago6 minute readMalyssa Burns closes her eyes to compose herself as she speaks with reporters Wednesday after a jury found Adam Joseph Drake guilty of second-degree murder in the September 2022 stabbing death of her common-law husband, battle rapper Pat Stay. Photo by Ryan TaplinArticle contentA Nova Scotia Supreme Court jury has found Adam Joseph Drake guilty of second-degree murder in the September 2022 stabbing death of Dartmouth battle rapper Pat Stay.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentJurors deliberated for about seven hours over two days before returning with the verdict Wednesday afternoon in Dartmouth.Article contentArticle contentMalyssa Burns, Stay’s common-law wife, told reporters the trial was the longest five weeks of her life and she wasn’t certain which way the verdict would go.Article contentArticle content“I was going in there with a little bit of doubt just to keep my heart safe,” Burns said.Article contentShe said she had an overwhelming feeling of relief when she heard the jury foreperson say “guilty as charged.”Article content“This part’s closed,” she said of the trial. “But losing Pat, there will never be closure for that. But at least we can move forward with knowing that his murderer is in jail.”Article contentAsked to describe her late husband, an acclaimed rap artist and father of two, Burns said, “I could talk about Pat all day. I just don’t think we have that time.Article content“Everything you read about him online, all the things that people say about him is just a quarter of the truth. He was an amazing person and he deserves all the love that he gets from the public. He deserves all the love and support everybody’s shown.Article content“I feel like he’s at peace now.”Article content Acclaimed Dartmouth battle rapper Pat Stay died Sept. 4, 2022, after he was stabbed at a nightclub in downtown Halifax. Photo by File photoArticle contentStay was stabbed in the chest while interacting with a group of people that included Drake in the VIP section at Yacht Club Social in downtown Halifax on Sept. 4, 2022, at about 12:35 a.m.Article contentArticle contentThe incident was captured on grainy surveillance video at the nightclub. Stay’s back was to the camera and it’s hard to make out what happened before he turned away from the table with blood gushing from his chest.Article contentArticle contentOne of Drake’s friends sucker-punched Stay as he ran for the front door, knocking him to the floor. Stay got up and made his way outside, where he collapsed on the sidewalk.Article contentThe 36-year-old was pronounced deceased at the Halifax Infirmary at 1:23 a.m. The stab wound had punctured his heart.Article contentDrake, 34, of Upper Tantallon, was arrested six days later and charged with first-degree murder.Article contentThe charge was amended to second-degree murder last year.Article content Supporters of Pat Stay hug one another outside court Wednesday after a jury found Adam Joseph Drake guilty of second-degree murder in Stay’s September 2022 stabbing death. Photo by Ryan TaplinArticle contentDrake’s trial got underway May 12 at the Mellor Avenue courthouse.Article contentProsecutors Carla Ball and Tanya Carter closed their case June 10. Drake, who’s represented by Michael Lacy and Jennifer MacDonald, elected not to call any evidence.Article contentCounsel made their closing arguments Friday and Monday, and Justice Scott Norton gave the jury his final instructions Tuesday.Article contentThe 12-person jury deliberated for just under four hours Tuesday before they were sequestered for the night at a hotel.Article contentDeliberations resumed Wednesday at 9:30 a.m.Article contentAt about 12:45 p.m., lawyers received word that the jurors had agreed on a decision.Article contentOnly eight members of Stay’s family, including Burns, were allowed in the courtroom for the verdict. Lacy complained Tuesday about intimidation tactics by Stay’s supporters outside the courthouse.Article contentAbout 35 people watched a closed-circuit television feed in the neighbouring courtroom.Article contentArticle contentBurns and the other relatives in the gallery burst into tears and hugged one another after the jury foreperson announced the verdict at 1:23 p.m.Article content Adam Joseph Drake is led out of Halifax provincial court in October 2022. Photo by Tim KrochakArticle contentDrake shook his head after he heard the outcome.Article content“Sorry, you guys, but they got it wrong,” he said to Stay’s family while the judge addressed the jury after the verdict. “You got no justice.”Article contentThe conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison. A sentencing hearing will be held so the judge can determine how many years Drake must serve – somewhere between 10 and 25 – before he is eligible to apply for parole.Article contentA date for the hearing will be set Friday, when Drake will appear in court via a video link from prison.Article contentBefore excusing the jurors, the judge gave them an opportunity to make recommendations on parole ineligibility for his consideration. Eight jurors said 25 years, one said 20 years, one said 15 years, and two had no recommendation.Article contentArticle contentDrake chuckled when the judge thanked jurors for their commitment and service.Article content“I hope that you have found the experience rewarding and inspirational,” Norton said to the jury.Article contentDrake refused to stand for the jurors when they left the courtroom.Article contentThe trial was originally set to begin in September 2024 but had to be adjourned after Drake’s lead lawyer, Ian Hutchison, was named a provincial court judge.Article contentThis is Drake’s second conviction for murder. He’s already serving a life sentence for first-degree murder in the 2016 shooting of Tyler Keizer in Halifax.Article content Lisa Kravis, right, comforts Malyssa Burns on Wednesday after Adam Joseph Drake was found guilty of second-degree murder in the September 2022 stabbing death of Burns’ common-law husband, Pat Stay. Last October, Drake was convicted of first-degree murder in the November 2016 shooting death of Kravis’ son, Tyler Keizer. Photo by Ryan TaplinArticle contentKeizer, 22, was shot and killed after driving a sport utility vehicle into a parking lot at the corner of Gottingen and Falkland streets on the night of Nov. 21, 2016.Article contentSurveillance video from the parking lot shows the gunman was dressed in dark clothing, with a hood up over his head. He fired four shots at Keizer before fleeing on foot on Falkland Street. His face is not visible in the video.Article contentDrake was convicted on that charge last October following a judge-alone trial in Supreme Court. Justice Timothy Gabriel imposed the automatic penalty of life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years at a sentencing hearing in December.Article contentBecause of a publication ban, the Keizer trial could not be reported on until the jury at the second trial began deliberating Tuesday.Article contentDrake was arrested in March 2019 for the Keizer homicide, after a career criminal named Morgan (Too Hot) Harrington implicated him in a statement to police and agreed to testify at trial.Article contentThe Keizer trial was supposed to take place in the fall of 2021, but the Crown withdrew the charge at the last minute, saying there was no longer a reasonable prospect of conviction. The new charge was laid in October 2022, after Drake was accused of killing Stay.Article content Malyssa Burns, left, shares a moment with Crown attorney Carla Ball on Wednesday after a jury found Adam Joseph Drake guilty of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of her common-law husband, Pat Stay. Photo by Steve BruceArticle contentBurns said it felt like she had a huge knot in her stomach when she entered court Wednesday for the verdict.Article contentArticle content“I don’t know if you can put it into words,” she said.Article content“It’s like you’re about to get on a really scary ride that you don’t know if you’re going to fall off of it or not. That’s the best way I can put it.”Article contentShe said it was frustrating that the jury didn’t know about Drake’s other murder conviction, but she said she just tried to stay focused throughout the trial.Article contentThe Crown attorneys were greeted by a long round of applause when they emerged from the courtroom, followed by the defence team.Article content“We know that the jury has given this a lot of careful consideration,” Ball said in a media scrum. “They were very attentive.Article content“We’re very pleased with the results, and we’re very thankful to them for coming to this determination.”Article content Crown attorneys Tanya Carter, left, and Carla Ball take questions from reporters Wednesday after Adam Joseph Drake was found guilty of second-degree murder in the September 2022 stabbing death of battle rapper Pat Stay. Photo by Steve BruceArticle contentIn both their opening and closing remarks to the jury, the prosecutors said the video from the bar was the most important evidence in the case.Article contentArticle content“We argued vigorously last week during our closing, tried to help them understand it and make sense of it,” Carter said. “They obviously were able to follow along and undertake that task.”Article contentThe Crown walked jurors through the video and used a process of elimination to argue Drake was the only person in the group who could have stabbed Stay.Article content Brother Peter Stay, left, Corben MacDonald and Matt Moller pour one out for Pat Stay at his memorial mural on a Canal Street building in Dartmouth on Wednesday. About three dozen of Stay’s relatives, friends and supporters gathered after a Nova Scotia Supreme Court jury found Adam Joseph Drake guilty of second-degree murder in the battle rapper’s death. Photo by Tim KrochakArticle content“I think it really helped the jury analyze the video themselves when they got back to the (jury) room,” Carter said. “That was the purpose of it. We always felt the video was clear and certainly reliable.Article content“When you watch it the first time, it appears fuzzy. I think helping people understand that they can take the time to individually look at each person and each piece in the video and work through it that way was crucial to them.”Article content
‘Guilty as charged’: Adam Drake convicted of murdering Pat Stay
