YNW Melly’s double-murd*r trial started on Monday in Miami. The rapper’s lawyer asked the authorities why Melly, whose real name is Jamell Demons, k*lled fellow rappers Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas in 2018.
“After four years of investigation, the state comes and says, ‘Hey, he killed two of his best friends.’ And you’re wondering why, and their answer is, ‘Uh, I dunno.’ That’s the first indication that they’re just guessing and don’t know what they’re talking about,” Melly’s lawyer, David Howard, said in court, according to Miami New Times. He said that the investigation conducted by the prosecutors was “incompetent and incomplete.”
Demons is being charged with two counts of first-degree murd*r for the deαths of Williams and Thomas in October 2018. Williams and Thomas were two of Melly’s “best friends,” according to his lawyer.
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Miramar police said at the time of the k*llings that Demons and another suspect, Cortlen Henry, worked together to make it look like Williams and Thomas Jr. were k*lled in a drive-by shooting. Demons said they were not guilty.
In 2019, prosecutors brought murd*r charges against Melly based on blood splatters, phone records, and a bullet casing found in a car she was in. Monday, prosecutor Kristine Bradley told the jury that Melly’s lawyers’ claim that the two men died because of a drive-by shooting was “not supported by evidence.”
“The detectives from Miramar … shut down the entire length of Miramar Parkway from 160th to 172nd. They walk side-by-side for an hour, that mile-long stretch, looking for evidence of this drive-by … In this case, the lack of evidence is very important,” Bradley said, per MNT. “There is a lack of any evidence whatsoever to support that a drive-by happened on Miramar Parkway.”
Pitchfork says that on the first day of the trial, the prosecution called in police officers and hospital workers as witnesses to show how the night of the k*lling went.
YNW Melly Admitted to Killing his Friends:
YNW Melly Admitted to Killing his Friends According to the Prosecution 😳😱🩸😔👩🏽⚖️ pic.twitter.com/pFTLHIhvXy
— Raphousetv (RHTV) (@raphousetv2) June 12, 2023
At the time of the k*llings, Demons’ lawyer Bradford Cohen said that Melly was “sad” and “upset” about the deαths of his two best friends. Melly became well-known in 2018 when her songs “Murd*r on My Mind” and “Slang That Iron” did well.
Future and Young Thug supported him at the time because his YouTube and SoundCloud audience was growing. Melly’s lawyer and the prosecutor didn’t quickly answer Rolling Stone’s request for comment.