Mistrial Declared in YNW Melly Double-Murder Case

A Broward County judge has declared a mistrial in the double-murder case against South Florida rapper Jamell Demons, citing jury deadlock three days into deliberations.

On the afternoon of Saturday, July 22, Judge John Murphy declared a hung jury in the case, in which prosecutors accused Demons of murdering two members of his rap crew in Miramar in October 2018 and covering up the crime to look like a drive-by shooting.

Murphy read off a jury statement that noted, "After further discussions, reviewing the evidence, and speaking freely amongst the jurors, we are still unable to reach a unanimous decision."

After the judge announced his decision, Demons cracked a slight smile but remained mostly subdued as he stood in a crisp, blue sportcoat flanked by his attorneys. The 24-year-old rap star will remain in the state's custody while the Broward County State Attorney's Office determines whether to pursue another trial.

The jury had signaled a day earlier that they were deadlocked and unable to reach the unanimous vote required to convict Demons, who raps under the stage name YNW Melly.

Prosecutors alleged Demons shot Anthony Williams (AKA YNW Sakchaser) and Christopher Thomas Jr. (AKA YNW Juvy) inside a Jeep on a desolate Miramar road in the early morning hours of October 26, 2018.

Demons' codefendant, Cortlen Henry, who has yet to be tried in the case, drove to a Miramar hospital that morning with the bullet-riddled bodies in the Jeep. He told police that another vehicle had driven up on them and opened fire, killing the two victims.

Though Demons was seen on surveillance footage leaving a Fort Lauderdale-area studio session with Henry and the two victims earlier that night in the Jeep, his defense team claimed he later hopped into a red Mitsubishi and went home. The sole witness called by the defense — Demons' friend Adrian Davis — provided an alibi, testifying that he was in the Mitsubishi, and that he and Demons went to the latter's house, where they learned of the murders later that morning.

Over the course of the trial, which commenced in mid-June, prosecutors presented troves of forensic evidence they claimed showed Williams and Thomas were shot by Demons from inside the vehicle. Prosecutor Kristine Bradley contended that the angles at which the bullets struck the victims, along with the blood spatter, disproved the narrative that there was a drive-by.

Bradley presented hundreds of text messages, which, she argued, revealed a dispute brewing between Demons and Williams over financial issues tied to their rap crew and over Demons' mother supposedly disrespecting Williams.

"They were friends, right? They were buddies since they grew up. But look at the stress being placed on this defendant as the only one bringing the money in, as the only person who's paying the bills. Look at the tension, look at the issues — the concerns with Mr. Williams and the defendant's mom. They are fighting and arguing," Bradley said during closing arguments.

Demons' defense team claimed the prosecution was trying to exaggerate minor alleged disputes between the rap crew members, who lived with Demons at his house. Davis and another of Demons' associates testified that there were no serious conflicts at the time of the murders.

During closing arguments, defense attorney Stuart Adelstein called the prosecutors' evidence a "smokescreen." He told the jury that the Miramar Police Department failed to interview key witnesses and obtain a search warrant for Demons' house.

Adelstein argued that once the lead detective fingered the rap star as the suspect, police and the state attorney's office cherrypicked evidence and built a case on inference.

"That's what this case is, that's all this evidence is: open for interpretation," Adelstein told the jury.

In cases of a mistrial owing to a deadlocked jury, prosecutors have the option of retrying the case with a new jury.

Under Florida rules of criminal procedure, in the event prosecutors continue pursuing the charges, Demons has a right to have a retrial within 90 days of the mistrial declaration. Judge Murphy scheduled a July 28 hearing in the matter.

The rapper faced the death penalty on two counts of first degree murder in the trial.

Demons grew up on the Treasure Coast in Florida.

He had multiple songs go platinum after his 2019 arrest, including "Suicidal," "Butter Pecan," and "Mama Cry," according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "Murder on My Mind," a song he wrote as a teenager after he was charged with shooting a gun at students near his high school in Vero Beach, has sold six million copies in the last three years, according to the RIAA.