YNW Melly Was “Framed” For Double Murder, Claims Juror
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A juror from the first YNW Melly murder trial believes that the rapper is innocent and being “framed” for the murders of Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams and Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas.
According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Juror No. 7, who remains anonymous, says she voted not guilty in favor of Melly due to insufficient evidence on the part of the prosecution. “I believe that he didn’t do it and it wasn’t proved in court,” said the woman. “This was a really bad situation of being framed. Melly was a very good person. He always tried to help out people around him.”
The juror also pointed out that while some members of the jury believed Melly was guilty of the crime, they were wary of the prosecutions focus on connecting the murders to gang activity, which they deemed an act of racial profiling. “This was not a matter of fact but a matter of race,” the woman said. “I wasn’t there, but I believe he was being framed, based on the text messages.”
Other pieces of evidence the juror deemed questionable were cell phone records indicating that Melly’s phone never left the car at the time the murders took place, as well as alleged text messages between the defendant and the victims.
It’s unclear whether Juror No. 7 is the same woman who was accused of “manipulating” two other jurors into finding Melly not guilty, forcing the alleged 9-3 vote that triggered a mistrial in the case in July. “From day one, she had issues with the foreperson selected,” said a former juror at the first YNW Melly trial.
“At one point crossing her arms and saying she was ‘Done!’ When another juror asked to not shut down and set her feelings aside, she exploded” the juror added. “She was explosive, manipulative, she was rude, she yelled insults at anyone who had a different opinion…She was there to cause chaos.”
Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams and 19-year-old Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas were gunned down in 2018 in Florida, with prosecutors accusing Melly, born Jamell Demons, of being the triggerman and he and co-defendant Corten “YNW Borten” Henry of attempting to stage the scene to look like a drive-by shooting had occurred.
While Demons’ case ended in a mistrial, prosecutors revealed their intentions to reinstate murder charges against the rapper shortly after. Initially scheduled for Oct. 2 2023, the rapper’s second trial for the murders of Williams and Thomas has been pushed back to Oct. 9 at the behest of Melly lawyer Stuart Adelstein. Henry’s murder trial begins on Oct. 2, 2023.
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