Trial of YNW Melly

Demons
Court	17th Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County, Florida
Full case name	State Florida v. Jamell Demons
Submitted	February 13, 2019
Started	June 12, 2023
Decided	July 22, 2023 (First trial)
Verdict	First trial: Hung jury
Charge	The first-degree murder of Anthony Williams The first-degree murder of Christopher Thomas Jr. Witness tampering (second trial only)
Prosecution	Alixandra Buckelew
Defense	Stuart Adelstein, Jaime Benjamin
Court membership
Judges sitting	John J. Murphy III, Brayden K. Poirier, Martin Fein

State of Florida v. Jamell Demons is an ongoing American criminal case in Florida's 17th Judicial Circuit in which rapper Jamell Demons, professionally known as YNW Melly, is accused of murdering his two friends, Anthony D'Andre Williams (YNW Sakchaser) and Christopher Jermaine Thomas Jr. (YNW Juvy) in October 2018. If convicted, he faces either life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. If convicted, Demons could be one of the first defendants sentenced under Governor Ron DeSantis’ new non-unanimous death penalty law, which allows a jury to recommend death if at least eight out of twelve jurors agree. ^{[1] [2]} The case gained public attention because Demons’ hit single "Murder on My Mind" discusses hypothetical homicidal ideation. ^[3] On July 22, 2023, Judge John Murphy declared a mistrial after the jury remained deadlocked on the charges, with a 9-to-3 vote favoring conviction on the lesser offenses of manslaughter. ^{[4] [5]} As of May 2024, the retrial is on hold pending adjudication of a video from Demons' YouTube channel as evidence. ^[6] Demons’ attorneys have requested to move forward with the discovery phase of the trial, but as of August 2025 the judge has not ruled due to ongoing appeals over evidence. The retrial is now postponed until at least January 2027, meaning Demons will have spent over eight years in custody without a conviction. ^[7] The trial continues to attract attention from both media and fans, in part because of the notoriety of Demons’ music, the length of time he has been incarcerated, and the potential implications of Florida’s new non-unanimous death penalty law.

Arrests and charges

Following a grand jury indictment of Demons and Henry for the murders, Demons and Henry were arrested on February 13, 2019, and charged with the premeditated first-degree murders of Williams and Thomas. Demons pleaded not guilty. ^{[8] [9] [10]}

Trial

Jury selection for the trial of Demons started on April 11, 2023. The trial began on June 12, 2023. Prosecutors sought the death penalty. ^{[11] [12] [13] [14] [15]}

Opening statements

Both the prosecution and defense gave opening statements on June 12, 2023.

Prosecution

Former Prosecutor Kristine Bradley gave the state's opening statement. She stated that Melly and Henry murdered their two friends, Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas and attempted to stage it as a drive-by shooting. She claimed that Demons confessed to murdering Williams and Thomas when he stated on Instagram direct messages in response to a question about their deaths, "“Shhh. I did that.”" ^[16]

Defense

Defense attorney David A. Howard stated that there was zero motive for Demons to murder his friends, and that the state's case is "riddled" with reasonable doubt. He went on to discuss his perspective of the murder investigation, "And, if 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. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is, by itself, reasonable doubt." ^{[17] [18]}

Mistrial

The jury deliberated for fourteen hours over three days but were unable to reach a unanimous verdict, even after the judge gave them an Allen charge, a direction which urged them to try to come to unanimous conclusion. Melly remained in custody awaiting retrial in October. ^[19] The new trial proceedings were set to begin on October 9, 2023. Jury selection began on October 17, 2023. ^[20] In early 2024, the case was placed on an indefinite pause awaiting the inclusion of a video as evidence. On July 8, 2024, Judge Martin Fein, the new judge presiding over the case scheduled September 10, 2025, for the beginning of the upcoming re-trial. Judge Fein also set a pretrial meeting for December 5, 2024 regarding Demons' tampering case.

A juror in the case stated in an interview to Local 10 that the hung jury was a vote of 9-to-3 in favor of convicting Demons on two lesser offenses of manslaughter. The juror stated that it was initially a vote of 11-to-1, but accused another juror of being explosive and manipulative to other members of the jury, going as far as to shout homophobic slurs at a juror, eventually persuading two others to come to her side. ^[4]

References

1. "Gov. Ron DeSantis has made it easier to impose the death penalty in Florida". NPR . April 27, 2023. Archived from the original on June 12, 2023.
2. Mazzei, Patricia (April 20, 2023). "DeSantis Signs Law Lowering Death Penalty Threshold in Florida". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
3. "YNW Melly's "Murder On My Mind" Nabs No. 1 Spot On Apple Music Amid Murder Charges". HipHopDX . February 16, 2019. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
4. "Most jurors wanted to convict YNW Melly of 2 murders in Broward, former juror says". July 30, 2023.
5. "YNW Melly verdict: Judge declares mistrial after deadlock". July 22, 2023.
6. "YNW Melly's double murder retrial on pause as prosecutors appeal judge order over evidence". NBC 6 South Florida. January 26, 2024. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
7. "Delay means YNW Melly will have been in jail for 8 years without being convicted". Miami Herald.
8. "- Broward County Clerk of Courts". www.browardclerk.org. Archived from the original on June 20, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
9. "Inmate Detail". apps.sheriff.org. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
10. Moore, Mary (February 14, 2019). "Grand jury indictment: YNW Melly fired the gun, killing the friends he grew up with". TCPalm. Archived from the original on June 18, 2023.
11. Gallagher, Alex (November 11, 2022). "YNW Melly potentially facing death penalty if convicted after new appeals court ruling". NME . Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
12. Strauss, Matthew (November 10, 2022). "YNW Melly Potentially Facing Death Penalty After Appeals Court Ruling". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
13. Donahue, Bill (November 10, 2022). "YNW Melly Could Face Death Penalty After Florida Appeals Court Sides With Prosecutors". Billboard . Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
14. Price, Joe (November 10, 2022). "YNW Melly Might Face Death Penalty If Convicted Following Appeals Court Decision". Complex . Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
15. Helfand, Raphael (November 11, 2022). "YNW Melly facing potential death penalty following new ruling". The Fader . Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
16. https://www.thefader.com/2023/07/17/ynw-melly-murder-trial-detective-testifies-prosecution
17. Kalmbacher, Colin (June 12, 2023). "Prosecutor claims YNW Melly admitted to killing 2 of his friends in an Instagram direct message – defense mocks law enforcement in opening statements". Law & Crime. Archived from the original on June 12, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
18. "Trial begins for rapper YNW Melly in 2018 double murder in Miramar". NBC 6 South Florida. June 12, 2023. Archived from the original on June 13, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
19. YNW Melly murder case ends in mistrial, Sun-Sentinel , Rafael Olmeda, July 22, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
20. YNW Trial Set for October, Sun Sentinel , Angie DiMichele, Rafael Olmeda, July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.