YNW Melly Double-Murder Case Ends In Mistrial

YNW Melly’s murder case for the 2018 double-murder of two of his close friends and YNW crewmates has ended in a mistrial. On Saturday (July 22), the ruling was handed down by Judge John Murphy after the jury failed to agree on a verdict on Melly’s role in the shooting deaths of 21-year-old Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams and 19-year-old Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas in Florida.

The jury, which spent two additional days deliberating following closing arguments by the prosecution and defense, were unable to come to a unanimous decision regarding Melly’s guilt or innocence, even after requesting to review the evidence laid out by both sides throughout the trial.

“Our system doesn’t work without getting people from the community to come in here and listen to the facts of the case and make decisions,” Judge Murphy said to the jury upon declaring the mistrial. “You gave us the time and you put your best effort to see if you could bring this case to a resolution, unfortunately, it wasn’t able to happen but I want to thank you again for your time and consideration of the case.”

YNW Melly, born Jamell Demons, had been charged with two first-degree murder charges in the shooting and was possibly facing the death penalty if convicted on the charges. The rapper has maintained his innocence, with his defense team claiming that he was at home sleeping at the time of the shootout and that codefendant, YNW Bortlen, was responsible for the shooting.

Melly’s defense attorney Stuart Adelstein spoke with Law & Crime Network following the ruling, voicing their disappointment over not receiving a not-guilty verdict in light of the prosecution’s poor case against his client. “We are somewhat disappointed that Melly is not walking out the door with us,” Adelstein said in response to the verdict. He later spoke with Local10.com, adding, “There is a lack of evidence, there is a conflict in the evidence, and the evidence itself and the investigation itself, stinks.”

According to Bryson “Boom” Paul, Melly’s mother, Jamie Demons-King, revealed the rumored split of guilty and not guilty verdicts between the jurors, noting that the majority of the jurors voted in favor of Melly and the defense. In a message on SnapChat, Demons-King wrote “9 not Guilty 3 guilty it was a mistrial my son will be home God is still working” along with prayer hands and a crossed fingers emoji.

Leondra Phillips, the mother of Christopher Thomas, reacted to the ruling on Facebook, voicing her grief by writing, “Lord I don’t know if I can’t take this.. my son is dead for no reason.” Hours after the ruling, YNW Bortlen, the other man accused of being involved in the murder of Williams and Thomas, also shared a post on social media that caused speculation surrounding its context. Bortlen, born Cortlen Malik Henry, simply wrote “Mind games dont work on people like me” along with a handshake emoji.

The murder trial for Bortlen, who was allegedly the driver of the vehicle that dropped off the bodies of Williams and Thomas at a Florida hospital, begins on Oct. 2, 2023. He claimed that Williams and Thomas were the victims of a drive-by shooting. However, that statement was later refuted by a shooting reconstruction expert. The expert also claimed that Melly and Bortlen set up the crime scene to appear like a drive-by in order to hide their alleged involvement in the shooting.

The defense and state will come back next Friday (July 28) to determine how they will move forward with this case. They will decide if YNW Melly will be tried again for the double-murders or if they will not pursue the charges against Melly pending further evidence.

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