Rapper YNW Melly’s double murder trial has been voided as Florida jury deadlocked

The double murder trial of rapper YNW Melly ended with a deadlocked jury when a Florida judge declared the case involving the shooting of two of the musician’s friends a mistrial.

YNW Melly – whose real name is Jamell Demons – has been sitting in a Florida courtroom for the past three weeks and has been charged with murder in the 2018 murders of Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr.

The two men, who were also rappers, were shot dead in October 2018 in Miramar, Florida.

On Saturday, Broward County Circuit Judge John Murphy voided the case 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’s trial ended with a deadlocked jury

YNW Melly faced the death penalty in the case, which ended in a mistrial on Saturday

YNW Melly faced the death penalty in this case.

A three-week trial ended Thursday and jury deliberations began. The board told Murphy on Friday that no decision could be made. However, they were told they needed to keep talking.

On Saturday, when still no verdict could be reached, the judge declared the procedure invalid.

Cortlen Henry is a co-defendant in the case and will be tried separately.

Investigators said in 2018 Williams and Thomas, who were both rappers, were shot dead.

Police say YNW Melly and Henry conspired to make it appear they were killed in a drive-by shooting following a recording session Rolling Stone.

After the two musicians were shot, their bodies were taken to the Everglades, where prosecutors say YNW Melly and Henry shot their jeep to make it look like a jeep driving by.

“The question is why?” So said prosecutor Kristine Bradley during closing arguments Miami Herald. “Why does there have to be a cover-up?” Because two murders were committed.’

Prosecutors said the killing was part of a “gang operation”.

“Yes, he covered up a murder,” Bradley said. “He did a terrible job, but that’s exactly what he did.”

Defense attorneys dismissed this argument, arguing that the two victims were friends of YNW Melly.

“All of this evidence is open to interpretation,” defense attorney Stuart Adelstein said. “It’s not proof without a doubt.”

The defense also questioned the police work in the case, saying an investigator intimidated and threatened witnesses.

Broward County Circuit Judge John Murphy declared the case a mistrial after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict in the case

NW Melly is shown at the defense table during closing arguments at his Broward County trial

“Everything was geared towards having this child,” Adelstein said, pointing at Melly. “That’s why he ignored everything. So he would intimidate and threaten anyone who said otherwise.”

YNW Melly started releasing songs on Soundcloud at the age of 15, where he first released his breakthrough single Murder on My Mind in 2017.

The song garnered the most attention after Dems was linked to the double murder he is now on trial for, peaking at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100.

He then went on to work with Kanye West and Juice Wrld, releasing the album Melly vs Melvin in November 2019, nine months after his arrest.

The rapper was arrested in 2015 for shooting at a group of students near a school. For this he was convicted of aggravated assault, firing a firearm in public and two counts of aggravated assault and served several months in prison.

He is also a suspect in the 2017 killing of a sheriff’s deputy in Gifford, Florida.