The murder trial of up-and-coming rapper YNW Melly began on Monday after a jury of 12 was finalized last week. Melly, whose legal name is Jamell Demons, faces two counts of premeditated first-degree murder for the 2018 shooting deaths of two members of the YNW collective: 20-year-old Chris Thomas, who went by the stage name YNW Juvy, and 21-year-old Anthony Williams, who went by YNW Sakchaser.
The young rapper — who has collaborated with superstars such as Kayne West and Kodak Black — is best known for his 2017 breakout hit, “Murder On My Mind.”
In October 2018, Melly’s best friend, Cortlen Henry, also known as YNW Bortlen, showed up at a Miami area hospital claiming his friends were hit during a drive-by shooting and were bleeding out inside his car, according to the rapper’s arrest affidavit. First responders and investigators found Anthony Williams, 21, and Christopher Thomas, 19, with multiple gunshot wounds to the head and torso. Both were dead.
However, after looking at surveillance footage, phone data, and blood splatter evidence, detectives said it was clear the four men were together the night of the crime and that the victims had been shot in the car, not shot at. Police say Melly and Henry staged the scene to make it look like a drive-by shooting.
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