Lady Leshurr assault trial: Court shown video of altercation

Lady Leshurr denies two counts of assault

A video allegedly showing rapper Lady Leshurr attacking her ex-girlfriend's lover moments before biting her has been shown to a court.

The 35-year-old artist, whose real name is Melesha O'Garro, is accused of assaulting Chante Boyea - then dating the rapper's ex Sidnee Hussein - in the early hours of 22 October 2022.

She is accused of biting Ms Boyea's hand so hard she suffered nerve damage.

The rapper denies two counts of assault.

The former Dancing On Ice contestant, from Kingshurst, Solihull, and her co-defendant Sherelle Smith, from Yardley, Birmingham, allegedly also attacked Ms Hussein outside her home in Walthamstow, north-east London, after she tried to help Ms Boyea. Ms Smith also denies assault.

On Wednesday, a jury at Snaresbrook Crown Court saw a Snapchat video recorded by Ms Boyea apparently showing her holding back Ms O'Garro with her left hand as the rapper appeared to lunge at her.

In the short clip, Ms O'Garro was seen with her mouth open as Ms Boyea screamed "help" repeatedly.

Ms Boyea previously told the court that Ms O'Garro then bit down on her hand and "didn't let go". She said Ms O'Garro only relented when Ms Hussein rushed to her aid and was then attacked by Ms Smith.

'Dog used as weapon'

Giving evidence on Wednesday, Ms Boyea said: "She [Ms O'Garro] was punching towards me but couldn't reach my body, as you can see in the video.

"The only reason I recorded it was as evidence that I was being attacked."

The defendants' case is that they were the ones who were first attacked and that security officer Ms Boyea used her Belgian Malinois dog as a "weapon" against Ms O'Garro.

In the video, a dog can be heard barking. Defence lawyer Ronnie Bergenthal suggested to jurors that its front paws could briefly be seen reaching up to Ms O'Garro.

Ms Boyea denied the suggestion, having previously insisted that her dog had remained in her car during the incident.

She also denied that she had edited the video before providing it to police as it did not show her "in the best light".

The trial continues.

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