Rapper YNW Melly’s double murder trial has been overturned as Florida jury deadlocks
Rapper YNW Melly’s double murder trial has been overturned as Florida jury deadlocks
Rapper YNW Melly’s trial for double murder ended in a deadlocked jury with a Florida judge declaring a mistrial in the case that revolved around the shooting deaths of two of the musician’s friends.
YNW Melly – whose real name is Jamell Demons – has spent the past three weeks in a Florida courtroom on murder charges for the 2018 deaths of Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas.
The two men, who were also rappers, were shot dead in Miramar, Florida, in October 2018.
On Saturday, Broward County circuit judge John Murphy declared a mistrial after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict in the case.
Prosecutors are expected to retry the case with a new jury.
Rapper YNW Melly saw his double murder trial end with a deadlocked jury
YNW Melly risked the death penalty in the case.
A three-week trial ended on Thursday and jury deliberations began. On Friday, the panel told Murphy they could not come to a decision. However, they were told to keep talking.
On Saturday, when they still could not reach a verdict, the judge declared the mistrial.
Cortlen Henry is a co-defendant in the case and is being tried separately.
Investigators said that in 2018 Williams and Thomas, who were both rappers, were shot dead.
According to police, YNW Melly and Henry conspired to make it look like they were killed in a drive-by shooting after a recording session, according to Rolling Stone.
After the two musicians were shot, their bodies were taken to the Everglades, where prosecutors YNW Melly and Henry shot their jeep to make it look like a drive-by, according to prosecutors YNW.
Prosecutors said the killing was part of a “gang operation.” But defense prosecutors rejected that argument, saying the two victims were friends of YNW Melly.