FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Rapper YNW Melly returned to a Broward County courtroom on Monday to receive a new trial date for his double murder charge, officials confirmed. The artist, legally named Jamell Demons, is implicated in the 2018 killings of childhood friends Chris “YNW Juvy” Thomas and Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams, in what prosecutors allege was staged to resemble a drive-by shooting.
During the session, presided over by Judge Martin Fein, September 10, 2025 was set as the retrial date, following the previous trial’s declaration as a mistrial last summer. Separate from the murder charges, a pretrial meeting regarding a recent tampering case involving Melly is scheduled for December 5, 2024.
The case against Melly experienced significant delays following a judicial decision earlier in the year, when a promotional video depicting Melly’s life was excluded from evidence. The defense maintained that the video was non-incriminatory hearsay, whereas prosecutors argued it placed Melly at the murder scene. This tampering with evidence led to an appellate court putting a stay on proceedings, further complicating the legal battle.
A recent hearing in late April opened discussions concerning procedural matters. Melly’s legal team pushed for a continuation of discovery processes, including important witness depositions. However, the state countered, reminding the court of the appeals court’s stay, asserting that it should halt further evidentiary exploration.
Judge John J. Murphy III, involved in earlier crucial rulings, had previously determined that a 20-minute documentary about Melly’s rise to fame, filmed shortly before the claimed double murder, should not be shown to the jury. The documentary, portraying Melly wielding weapons and briefly mentioning the deceased, became a point of contention between the prosecution and defense, highlighting the complexities of evidence admissibility in high-profile criminal cases.
The ongoing legal debate also touched on other issues such as the scope of search warrants and the examination of Melly’s text messages from 2018. Despite pressing arguments from both sides, no conclusive decisions were reached during the last hearing, with Judge Murphy opting to take the matters under advisement.
This case has captured nationwide attention, not only because of Melly’s music career but also due to the dramatic and tragic narrative of rising fame intertwined with serious criminal allegations. As legal proceedings continue, the eyes of both the music industry and legal experts remain fixated on how justice will unfold in this convoluted and high-stakes retrial.