In 2019, Florida rapper YNW Melly was arrested in connection to the shooting deaths of Christopher Thomas Jr. and Anthony Williams the previous year. As of April 2024, Melly’s retrial was delayed as the judge and the musician’s defense team disagreed on whether some evidence was admissible at the trial.
When he was taken into custody, Melly was 19 years old, and his highly-anticipated debut album had been released one month earlier. According to the prosecution, Melly murdered two friends, 19-year-old Christopher Thomas Jr. and 21-year-old Anthony Williams, who were also musicians, in 2018, and the 223’s rapper staged the incident like a drive-by shooting.
In a 2019 Instagram post, Melly said he turned himself in. ” … I love you and appreciate every single one of y’all, a couple months ago I lost my two brothers by violence and now the system want to find justice,” his post read. According to the The Florida Times-Union, 20-year-old Cortlen Henry was also charged in connection to Thomas and Williams’ deaths. Melly and Henry, who performs as YNW Bortlen, pleaded not guilty.
YNW Melly’s first trial ended in a hung jury
In July 2023, YNW Melly’s first trial on charges stemming from the deaths of Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr. ended in a hung jury, the AP reported. At that time, Melly, then 24, faced witness tampering charges, as prosecutors alleged the musician used phone calls and letters to contact Blood gang members to discourage witness testimony.
Melly’s defense attorneys, meanwhile, accused Broward County State Attorney Harold Pryor and others involved in the investigation of covering up the fact that a lead detective, Mark Moretti, asked a sheriff’s deputy to lie in a related case. Melly’s defense said charges should be dropped or different prosecutors should be assigned to Melly’s trial. The Miramar Police Department cleared Moretti of any wrongdoing, and Melly’s retrial was expected to begin in October 2023.
In late September 2023, however, YNW Melly’s retrial saw the first of many delays when the judge agreed to consider a new motion filed by the musician’s defense attorneys. That motion alleged that lead Detective Mark Moretti executed a search warrant outside his jurisdiction and used excessive force while executing the warrant, The FADER reported that year. Around that same time, Melly’s lawyers waived their client’s right to a speedy trial to allow themselves more time to prepare.
Melly’s lyrics are evidence — his defense disagrees
Legal motions filed by YNW Melly’s legal team and several other legal complications pushed Melly’s anticipated October retrial to January 2024. But that date also came and went as prosecutors sought to use lyrics from Melly’s hit 2016 SoundCloud song, Murder On My Mind, as evidence, with lyrical content describing circumstances similar to the 2018 shooting deaths of Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr.
In an issue affecting several high-profile hip-hop trials, Melly’s defense requested the judge disallow his lyrical content as evidence. For this reason, Melly’s retrial was delayed once again, according to NBC Miami. Meanwhile, in late January 2024, Melly’s defense filed a motion to prevent documentary footage of the musician holding a weapon from being seen by the jury, filmed before Williams and Thomas’ deaths. At that time, Melly’s retrial was declared on hold indefinitely.
If convicted, Melly could face the death penalty.
