Mistrial declared in rapper YNW Melly's double murder trial

A judge has declared a mistrial after the jury failed to reach a unanimous decision over YNW Melly's double murder accusations after 19 days of hearing arguments.

Jamell Demons, whose stage name is YNW Melly, is facing two first-degree murder charges in the Oct. 26, 2018 killings of 21-year-old Anthony Williams and 19-year-old Christopher Thomas in Miramar.

The 12-member panel could not reach a unanimous verdict after three days of deliberations. Broward County prosecutors, who had been seeking the death penalty, will likely choose to retry the case with a new jury. A unanimous verdict is required to convict or acquit a defendant.

Broward Circuit Judge John Murphy twice asked the jurors to keep deliberating after they said they were deadlocked, but relented after they came back a third time.

Demons, now 24, has pleaded not guilty and faces a possible death sentence if convicted.

According to prosecutors, Demons, Williams, and Thomas were riding in a Jeep driven by Cortland Henry, known as YNW Bortlen, after a recording session in Fort Lauderdale on Oct. 26, 2018. They say Demons fatally shot Williams and Thomas. Henry is charged as an accomplice in the case and will be tried separately.

Prosecutors say YNW Melly, whose legal name is Jamell Demons, shot Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr. while they were all inside a Jeep. Williams and Thomas were both part of the YNW collective, known respectively as YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy.

Prosecutors said the shooting was part of a gang action, while defense attorneys said that claim lacks credibility because Demons and the victims were close friends.

After killing Williams and Thomas, prosecutors said Demons and Henry drove the bodies to an area near the Everglades, where they shot at the back and passenger sides of Henry’s Jeep from the outside to make it look like Williams and Thomas had been the victims of a drive-by shooting.

But prosecutors say ballistics tests show the pair were shot from inside the Jeep.

Defense lawyers focused on the fact that the gun was never recovered. They also told jurors that YNW Melly had no apparent motive for the crime.

Thomas went by the stage name YNW Juvy while Williams was known as YNW Sakchaser. They were childhood friends of Demons and part of the YNW collective.