SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) – A Spartanburg man was sentenced this week to spend 23 years following a guilty plea for voluntary manslaughter.
Matthew Ryan Shope, 23, pleaded guilty Thursday Voluntary Manslaughter and Possession of a Weapon During Commission of a Violent Crime.
According to the 7th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, on March 28, 2021, Shope and another man were hanging out at an abandoned house on Williams Street. The other man’s stepmother reportedly saw the two go into the abandoned house and later heard a commotion from inside.
When she went inside, the stepmother reportedly saw Shope stabbing the other man.
The stepmother reportedly tried to get push Shop off the victim and call 911, but Shope fled the scene. He later went to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center with a cut to his hand. He was searched while at the hospital and a bloody knife was found on him.
