YNW Melly’s double murder trial has wrapped up its fourth day of court proceedings, with a major piece of evidence against the rapper being thrown out by the judge.
The Florida native is being accused of killing two people on October 2018: YNW Juvy (Christopher Thomas Jr., 19) and YNW Sakchaser (Anthony Williams, 21).
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On Thursday (June 15), when the prosecution presented a video from Melly’s Snapchat memories in an attempt to link him to the crime, it was denied by Judge John Murphy III and deemed “prejudicial.” Similarly, the music video for the rapper’s “Murder on My Mind” was not allowed to be used against the rapper.
After the ruling, Melly fist-bumped his attorney, David A. Howard, which you can see take place in the video below.
YNW Melly fist bumps lawyer after prosecution’s evidence thrown out https://t.co/52WCdDsvQrpic.twitter.com/32RlvnPT95
— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) June 16, 2023
Following this, the mother of Melly’s ex-girlfriend, Felicia Holmes, took the stand. The State made a case suggesting that Holmes has information on the shooting but was paid to conceal it. The jury was presented with Instagram posts by Holmes complaining about Melly’s team not paying her.
“Wait until this trial,” she wrote in the messages. “I’m not holding anything back. I’m doing what I should have done in the beginning. They can call me Mrs. Snitch Bitch.”
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In response, Melly’s attorneys requested a mistrial by accusing the prosecution of making Holmes present out-of-court statements to the jury. Regarding the motion, the judge said he would make his decision on Friday (June 16).
Bryson Paul of Law & Crime reported that record executive Kevin Liles was also present in court. He is best known as the co-founder of 300 Entertainment, the label to which Melly is signed.
Last year, Liles took the stand and advocated for Young Thug during the latter’s YSL indictment. He even got choked up at several points throughout his testimony wiping tears from his eyes. Soon after, he teamed up with Atlantic’s COO Julie Greenwald to launch a petition dubbed “Rap Music on Trial: Protect Black Art,” which focuses on how prosecutors have continuously attempted to use rap lyrics in a courtroom.
The label boss was seen seated next to the accused’s mother in the front row and exchanging smiles with the rapper. His presence reportedly made Sakchaser’s mother visibly upset. Toward the end of the day, she was asked to leave the court after she told Melly, “I’m not going anywhere,” which reportedly made him laugh.
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It has been confirmed that the State of Florida will seek the death penalty against YNW Melly if he is found guilty in the case, as long as the verdict of guilt is unanimous in the case.
Last week, Broward Circuit Judge John Murphy sided with the state prosecutors’ motion to follow a new statute that allows juries to recommend a death sentence with an eight-four vote in the penalty phase of the trial.
