The new trial date will take place eight years after he was arrested, over evidence appeal delays
The double murder case of YNW Melly has been delayed yet again. About a month before the trial was set to begin, Broward State Attorney’s Office confirmed to Rolling Stone that the rapper — real name Jamell Demons — will not face his trial until January 2027, nearly eight years after first being arrested.
Judge Martin S. Fein postponed the trial for a second time, and according to Billboard and NBC Miami, it is due to delays on both sides over what evidence will be admitted in the trial. Both the prosecution and Melly’s defense asked for the delay.
Demons’ initial case was declared a mistrial in July 2023 after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict following two days of deliberations. Demons had pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder for the killings of rappers Anthony YNW Sakchaser” Williams and Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
In that trial, prosecutors claimed that Demons conspired to kill Williams and Thomas with co-defendant Cortlen Henry. Authorities alleged that Demons shot the two men inside a Jeep, driven by Henry; afterwards, the car was allegedly driven to an area near the Everglades, where Demons and Henry allegedly shot at the Jeep from the outside to make it look like a drive-by shooting.
Demons’ defense team, however, argued that the rapper had no motive to kill Williams and Thomas, who were described as Demons’ “best friends.” Demons’ defense team has also highlighted the fact that a murder weapon was never recovered.
The case was set to be re-tried in October 2023, but was postponed over evidence issues. That same issue caused the further delay this time after the court was set to hear the trial in September.
“Mr. Demons has now been in custody for 2,202 days, and if one state attorney is not available, maybe one of the other two assigned to this case can stand in, and if all three are not available, maybe one of the 150 state attorneys upstairs might sit in,” said Judge Fein in February, according to NBC Miami.
