YNW Melly murder trial gets abruptly halted until Monday. Here’s why.
The double murder trial of rapper Jamell “YNW Melly” Demons came to a halt and won’t resume until Monday.
The judge told jurors in the high-profile trial Wednesday that one of the defense attorneys became ill during the lunch break and was unable to come back to the courtroom.
“There’s nothing anybody can do about it,” Broward Circuit Judge John Murphy told jurors, apologizing for their inconvenience. “You’re sick, you’re sick.”
Prosecutors say Demons was in the back of a Jeep driven by Cortland “YNW Bortlen” Henry early on Oct. 26, 2018, along with the two victims, when Demons opened fire and killed them.
Dead are Christopher Thomas and Anthony Williams. Thomas went by the stage name YNW Juvy, while Williams was known as YNW Sakchaser.
Prosecutors say the victims were shot from the inside of a Jeep that Cortland Henry was driving at the time. Experts have testified that the shots were fired from inside the Jeep, by a person sitting behind the driver.
Henry will be tried separately.
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Defense lawyers made a point during opening statements last month that Demons had no motive to kill his friends.
But Tuesday, jurors learned Demons appeared to be upset because his fellow rappers were getting too much money and credit for his artistic contributions to their work. Text messages that are purportedly between Demons and Williams were displayed in court Tuesday, offering jurors their first indication that Demons’ relationship with the eventual victims sometimes could be contentious.
Demons has denied being in the Jeep at the time of the shooting. If he is convicted, prosecutors will ask the jury to approve the death penalty. The judge can only impose the death penalty if at least eight jurors agree to it.
Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Twitter @LisaHuriash
