The court rejected the defense’s plea for a mistrial as the second week of rapper YNW Melly’s double murder trial got underway on Tuesday.
According to the Sun Sentinel, defense counsel had urged Broward Circuit Judge John Murphy for a mistrial last week, claiming that the jury had been corrupted by evidence from the mother of YNW Melly’s ex-girlfriend that could not be independently corroborated. The court informed the defense lawyers that jurors might be persuaded to disregard testimony deemed inadmissible.
Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr. were shot and killed in October 2018 by YNW Melly, whose real name is Jamell Demons. He might receive the death penalty.
Williams and Thomas were both members of the YNW group, referred to as YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy, respectively.
After a recording session in Fort Lauderdale, Demons, 24, fatally shot Williams and Thomas as they were sitting in a Jeep driven by Cortland Henry, also known as YNW Bortlen, according to the prosecution. Although Henry is being prosecuted separately, he is being accused as an accomplice in the crime.
In order to give the impression that Williams and Thomas were the victims of a drive-by shooting, Demons, and Henry, according to the prosecution, drove Williams and Thomas’ bodies to a location close to the Everglades after murdering them. There, they shot at the rear and passenger sides of Henry’s Jeep from the outside.
While defense lawyers claim the motivation lacks believability because Demons and the victims were close friends, prosecutors claim the shooting was part of a gang operation.
The shooting’s gun was not found after it was used. The first week of the trial was mostly devoted to the physical evidence, with the prosecution demonstrating that the bullet shells discovered inside Demons and Henry’s car most likely originated from the same firearm as the casings discovered at the location of the staged drive-by shooting.
2017’s “Murder on My Mind” by Demons, who first came to prominence, was a success. Later, he collaborated with Kanye West on the song “Mixed Personalities,” which was published in January 2019 and came out a month before Demons was detained on the murder accusations.
The age of the Demons has been corrected in this narrative. Demons are 24 instead of 26 years old.
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