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Rapper YNW Melly appeared in front of a Florida Court on June 12, 2023, for the trial of an alleged double murder that took place on October 26, 2018. The rapper was arrested in February 2019 with two counts of premeditated first-degree murder of his two friends 19-year-old YNW Juvy and 21-year-old YNW Sakchaser
YNW Juvy, whose real name is Christopher Thomas Jr., and YNW Sakchaser whose real name is Anthony Williams, were shot and killed in Miramar, Florida. Police suspect that while YNW Melly shot the two multiple times, his comrade, YNW Bortlen staged the murders as a "drive-by shooting."
YNW Melly, whose real name is Jamell Maurice Demons, has been incarcerated since February 2019. If he is convicted of the murders, he would face life imprisonment or even the death penalty. However, he continues to plead not guilty and is currently on trial for the murders.
For those unaware, YNW Melly is an American rapper and singer who has released multiple chart-busting songs. He even collaborated on the song Mixed Personalities with rapper Kanye West.
YNW Melly’s attorney claims that he had no reason to kill his friends
As mentioned earlier, YNW was present in a Florida Court on trial for the alleged double murders of his friends YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy. Prosecutors began the trial with the claim that they were certain that it was YNW Melly who killed his friends in cold blood. They said that Melly was then helped by YNW Bortlen to portray the crimes as a random violent shooting.
The prosecutors then presented the court with surveillance footage that showed both Melly and Bortlen in the latter’s car along with the victims on the night of the shooting.
Additionally, the prosecution provided substantial evidence like phone data, DNA, blood splatter reports, and bullet casings. They said that all of this proved that the double murders took place inside the car. The prosecution also brought in key witnesses like the police and hospital officials, who helped corroborate the evidence and the time of the fateful night.
At the end of the first day of the trial, Melly's attorney claimed that his client was innocent and had no reason to murder his friends. The attorney claimed that the investigation conducted by the prosecution was "incomplete and incompetent."
YNW Melly’s life since the double murder charges
The 24-year-old rapper mourned the death of his friends on social media right after their death in October 2018. In his social media post, he said that the killers took his brothers from him "over jealousy" and wanted to see him "break down and stop or in a jail or a box."
Two months later, in December 2018, Melly and Bortlen released a 21-minute-long documentary on his YouTube channel. At the end of the documentary, the following text appeared on the screen:
“Four days after the completion of this film, YNW Melly and his friends were the targets of a drive-by shooting in Miami, Florida. YNW Juvy and YNW Sakchaser were killed.”
As suspicions about the murders arose, the rapper returned to YouTube and down as he sang the altered lyrics of his own song, Murder on My Mind. In the now-viral video, he dramatically sang, “I murder the beat. I am no hu--human murderer" and intentionally paused before the words “human murderer.”
Around this time, he was also arrested for drug possession and sent to prison after he was proven guilty. However, he was soon released on good behavior. At this point, he was inspired to release his second mixtape, We All Shine, and his single Mixed Personalities.
A few months later, in February 2019, he was arrested for the double murder of his friends, after several rounds of investigation. He deemed the accusations as rumors and lies, and even pleaded not guilty. However, autopsy reports and other crime scene details confirmed that he was indeed at the shooting site and may have been involved.
While facing the death penalty, Melly even released a new album called Melly vs. Melvin in November 2019 that became an overnight hit. It featured consecutively for 31 weeks on the Billboard 200 albums chart and got the much-coveted gold ratings.
Despite everything to prove himself innocent, in March 2020, he was put on house arrest. Melly spent his time on his music releasing one album, song, mixtape, and video after another. Eventually, his popularity rose to such an extent that he had 6 gold and 10 platinum releases to his name. A few months later, in October 2020, the prosecution filed a wrongful death suit against him and Bortlen.
Two years later, in July 2022, the death penalty charges were dropped due to lack of concrete evidence tying him to the double murders, until November when new evidence popped up. The jury selection for his trial was conducted in April 2023 and on June 12, the trial began.
At present, the public curiosity surrounding the trial and Melly's future is at an all-time high.
