Bellator veteran Jahreau Shepherd murdered at his 30th birthday party

Bellator veteran Jahreau Shepherd was murdered this past weekend in London, England when he was stabbed to death at his 30th birthday party.

Shepherd, known as “The Nightmare,” was celebrating his birthday by having a barbeque with friends and family at The Black Prince Estate in Kennington around 10 pm on Saturday when he was attacked. The Evening Standard reports that paramedics arrived on the scene but were not able to save the life of Shepherd, who was stabbed to death.

Scotland Yard is currently investigating the incident but no arrests have been made at this moment. The report says that another man, aged 26, arrived at the hospital the same night with stab wounds suffered at the same birthday party where Shepherd was murdered. The post-mortem on Shepherd is expected to be conducted at a later date.

Shepherd (6-2) was a three-year veteran of mixed martial arts and even had a fight in Bellator in 2018 when he defeated Marcin Zywica via TKO (doctor stoppage) at Bellator 200. He has also competed for some of the biggest promotions in Europe including BAMMA and UCMMA. In his last fight at Contenders Norwich 29 in February 2020, he defeated Quinten DeVreught via unanimous decision to win the CEA Welterweight Championship. He was also the UCMMA welterweight champion and the Fusion FC welterweight champion.

Shepherd’s cousin Tanisha Shepherd detailed what happened at the birthday party that night with the Evening Standard.

“I was at the barbecue early in the evening but have two small children so had to go,” she said. “Everything was fine when I left. Jahreau’s mother is not in a good place at the moment, she is devastated.

“Jahreau was amazing. He helped everyone, he would do anything for anyone. He lived and breathed fighting. He was so looking forward to the gym opening again after the lockdown and was lining up a fight. He had everything to live for. He helped keep the young people on the straight and narrow and was a role model.”

Shepherd’s coach Jeremy Petley at the London Fight Factory added the following comment on the passing of his pupil.

“Jay was a great friend, fighter, training partner, coach and team member, and his sense of humour, positive presence and wonderfully loud laugh will be very much missed.”

We are BJPenn.com express our deepest sympathies to Jahreau Shepherd and his family on his tragic passing. You can donate to the GoFundMe here.