Nearly a year after hung jury, YNW Melly’s retrial still looms. Where does case stand?

It’s been nearly a year since a panel of jurors in YNW Melly’s double murder case declared that they were deadlocked on the rapper’s guilt. Since then, Melly’s retrial has been pushed further back — though not without a series of twists and turns.

In July 2023, the jury announced that it couldn’t reach to a unanimous decision on the first-degree murder charges after three days of deliberation. The mistrial set off a whirlwind that ended with a prosecutor ousted, key evidence thrown out and new charges.

Melly, whose real name is Jamell Demons, has been behind bars in Broward since February 2019. He’s accused of gunning down his childhood friends Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr. in an alleged drive-by cover-up after spending the early morning hours of Oct. 26, 2018, at a Fort Lauderdale recording studio. Williams and Thomas, both aspiring rappers with the YNW collective, were known as YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy, respectively.

READ MORE: Life or death? Fate of ‘Murder on My Mind’ rapper rests with eight jurors, judge rules

The 25-year-old is facing the death penalty. If convicted, his case will be considered under the 8-4 jury vote, the lowest threshold in the country for a death sentence.

So, where does Melly’s case stand today?

Prosecutorial shake-up prompts delays

In October, Broward Circuit Court Judge John Murphy yanked prosecutor Kristine Bradley from the retrial after defense attorneys said they intended to call Bradley to the stand. Her ousting was linked to allegations of wrongdoing by Miramar Police Detective Mark Moretti stemming from an October 2022 incident.

Michelle Boutros, a Broward prosecutor of 20 years assigned to the Public Corruption Unit, previously alleged that the detective “solicited” a Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy to lie while executing a search warrant for the phone of Jamie King, Melly’s mother. In a September memo, Internal Affairs Sgt. Brittany Parker closed a complaint made by King against Moretti, also writing that Boutros’ claims about Moretti contradicted the deputy’s sworn statement.

READ MORE: He rapped ‘Murder on My Mind.’ Now, jury will decide if he’s behind a double homicide

A new team of prosecutors were assigned to the case, including Alixandra Buckelew, who tried the three men convicted of fatally shooting rapper XXXTentaction during a robbery. After taking over the case, Buckelew hit the ground running, adding dozens of witnesses into evidence — alongside a list of 58 songs and witness tampering charges.

While attorneys began selecting jurors at the end of 2023, it’s unlikely that a jury will be seated for months. The case has remained at a standstill after prosecutors appealed to a higher court concerning a ruling Murphy made to throw out evidence.

Appeals processes are complex — and could push Melly’s retrial until next year. The bulk of the contested evidence was extracted from Melly’s cellphone, email addresses and social media accounts. Under Murphy’s ruling, most of the digital evidence admitted, including messages, will be confined to the day of and following the murders.

The higher court, however, could overturn Murphy’s decision.

Will Melly’s lyrics be used against him?

While prosecutors shied away from quoting lyrics in Melly’s first trial, the new prosecution team intends to admit 58 of the rapper’s songs to his murder trial, court records show. Among the proposed evidence is double platinum song “Murder on My Mind,” which features a grim retelling of an unintentional homicide over a blend of emotional piano riffs and hip-hop beats.

The proposed evidence list includes songs from each of the rapper’s four albums: “Just a Matter of Slime,” “Melly vs. Melvin,” “We All Shine,” and “I Am You.” The state seeks to admit those album covers into evidence, too.

READ MORE: Prosecutors want to use songs against YNW Melly in retrial. Which are on the list?

For years, hip-hop lyrics have been weaponized in courtrooms across the U.S. A project reported by the Miami Herald assessed the lengthy history of rap music in the criminal justice system as the genre marked its 50th anniversary.

In a filing, prosecutors said the lyrical evidence was part of altering its strategy “as opposed to reading a script from the first trial.”

“These are the defendant’s own songs, and as such, are clearly on notice of them,” the document states. “They are the defendant’s own words and therefore amount to an admission...”

What else is happening?

While attorneys haven’t appeared in court for months, Murphy has ruled to allow the parties to file motions and continue depositions, or interviews with witnesses completed before trial, as they await the results of the appeal.

Court records indicate that Melly’s legal team has requested that prosecutors turn over the phones of Thomas and Williams, the victims in the case. Prosecutors stated that they have previously provided extractions of the phones — and that the defense’s ask is “entirely based on conjecture, speculation, wild accusations..., and inaccurate or misleading statements.”

Defense attorneys have also penned several motions to throw out evidence in the witness tampering case — and argued that the charges should be dismissed because Mariah Hamilton, Melly’s ex-girlfriend, wasn’t properly summoned to appear in court.

Melly, codefendant Cortlen Henry, who’s also charged with the murders, and inmate Terrence Mathis were all accused of developing “a sophisticated system” of code words and fake names to communicate with people outside the jail.

READ MORE: Could witness tampering case enter YNW Melly’s murder trial? New prosecutor wants that

In recorded jail calls, Mathis told Henry to talk to “Rihanna” and “A$AP Rocky’s baby mama” to make sure she’s still in the “Maybach.” Rihanna, a megastar singer and entrepreneur, shares two children with New York rapper A$AP Rocky.

Investigators decoded the message to mean that Henry should keep Hamilton from testifying against the rapper.

Melly’s case, followed by hip-hop fans and true crime sleuths across the world, even led to him being name-dropped during the highly public feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. In diss track “Euphoria,” Kendrick says: “...better hope they my real friends, if not I’m YNW Melly.”