Embattled rapper and double murder suspect YNW Melly returned to Broward County court on Monday, where a judge scheduled a date for his retrial.
If you haven’t been following, the rapper, whose real name is Jamell Demons, is accused of murdering his childhood friends Chris “YNW Juvy” Thomas and Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams in 2018, allegedly staging the crime to look like a drive-by shooting after a late-night recording session. It’s like straight out of a true crime documentary, and you know there will be one. Read below for that update.
The long arm of the law sometimes is the slow arm because Judge Martin Fein set the new trial date for September 10, 2025. That’s September of next year if you missed that part. But get this: concerning a more recent tampering case, a pretrial meeting has been scheduled for December 5, 2024.
ICYMI, the initial double murder trial for the “Murder on My Mind” rapper, ended in a mistrial last summer. Complications arose in January when a judge suppressed a promotional video about Melly’s life from being used as evidence, prompting prosecutors to appeal and further delay the case.
Melly’s attorneys, fighting tooth and nail, requested a hearing in late April to address outstanding motions and proceed with discovery, including depositions. However, prosecutors argued that the hearing should not take place due to an appeals court’s stay on the proceedings.
About that documentary, Judge John J. Murphy III ruled in January that a 20-minute documentary about Melly’s life and rise to fame should not be shown to the jury. The video, filmed shortly before the double murder, often depicts Melly holding a weapon and, in its final moments, mentions the deaths of Thomas and Williams. The defense contended that the video was hearsay, while the state argued it placed Melly at the crime scene. What ya’ll think? First, it’s a short film, since it’s only 20 minutes, but holding the blick and talking about dead homies? Yikes.
Regarding the state’s position, they argue that the appeal, which pertains to an order suppressing evidence, halts all proceedings. They maintained that the judge does not have the authority to allow discovery while the case is on appeal. The defense countered that not all issues are subject to a blanket stay and expressed a desire to explore the scope of a 2018 search warrant for text messages.
After hearing brief arguments from both sides, Judge Murphy took the matter under advisement without making a decision. Stay tuned from now until fall 2025. Sheesh.
