Note: An earlier version of this story originally appeared under the same headline on Wednesday, February 20, 2019.
In February 2019, Florida hip-hop artist YNW Melly was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Police said he and another rapper, YNW Bortlen, killed two of their friends and staged the crime scene to look like a drive-by shooting. In June 2023, YNW Melly went on trial in Florida, pleading his innocence on all charges. The judge declared a mistrial, but the rapper is expected to be retried in the fall. Melly may face the death penalty if guilty of first-degree murder.
The gravely serious criminal case came as Melly, who was born Jamell Demons, was in the midst of an upward career trajectory. A month before his arrest, the then-19-year-old from the small South Florida community of Gifford released We All Shine, a mixtape featuring Kanye West, and his biggest hit, the chilling 2017 single “Murder on My Mind,” had just gone gold. By January 2022, it had been certified six times multi-platinum.
Here’s a brief rundown of how Melly, now 24, went from sharing freestyles on SoundCloud to working with Kanye West and Young Thug to going on trial for the murders of his friends.
May 1, 1999
Jamell Maurice Demons is born. His mother was 14 years old when she got pregnant with him, she recalls in an official YNW Melly documentary posted online in December 2018; she was in 9th grade when she gave birth.
Demons had an early love of music. In interviews, as well as in the doc, he describes a childhood fascination with Chris Brown and Michael Jackson. He also recounts an all too precocious interest in guns, saying he found a revolver under his uncle’s couch in fourth grade and took it “everywhere,” including school.
October 19, 2015
Melly has a run-in with the law that will become a recurring part of his media coverage. According to a local Florida newspaper, the 16-year-old was charged with three counts of aggravated assault and one count of discharging a firearm in public. He allegedly fired a gun toward three other students near their high school. It was after this incident, Melly has said, when he “was locked up,” that he got the inspiration for “Murder on My Mind”: “I woke up and I had that chorus.”
March 4, 2017
“Murder on My Mind,” a piano-based hip-hop murder ballad that’s striking in its almost-diaristic intimacy, is uploaded to SoundCloud. “His body dropped down to the floor and he had teardrops in his eyes/He grabbed me by my hands and said he was afraid to die,” Melly sings. He was already posting rough freestyles to SoundCloud under his birth name when he was around 15; by 2016, he had started using his current rap name. The YNW crew (short for “Young N***a World,” he has said, unless he’s on TV or someplace where he can’t cuss—then it’s “Young New Wave”) includes his longtime friends Anthony Williams (YNW Sakchaser), Christopher Thomas Jr. (YNW Juvy), and Cortlen Henry (YNW Bortlen).
May 1, 2017
Melly’s troubles with the court system continue. The details aren’t entirely clear, but on April 15, 2017, he posted on Facebook that he was “on home detention.” On May 1, his 18th birthday, he wrote: “I apologize to all my fans ... I’ll be locked up in level 6 program for 6 months I was sentenced on my 18th birthday MAY 1st 2017 due to negative music 🖤 Just know I did it for y’all I’ll be back shortly 🏆💰🌎” He added, on June 23, “Turning myself in today.”
In an interview shortly before Melly’s 2019 arrest, he claimed to Billboard that prosecutors had used “Murder on My Mind” against him. “Basically, I was on probation [in 2017],” he said. “I’m off that now. I put out ‘Murder on My Mind.’ It was out for about seven months, but I was in and out of jail at that point. I probably went to jail at least six or seven times then. It was just for little shit too.”
December 25, 2017
Melly’s hip-hop career goes on despite his legal issues. He signs with a manager, and, on Christmas Day of 2017 releases the Collect Call EP, with guests including Kodak Black’s older brother John Wicks and Northern California cloud-rap progenitor Lil B. (The record was available a week early on Spotify). By January 7, 2018, “Murder on My Mind” has been streamed more than 1 million times on YouTube.
February 25, 2018
Melly gets out of jail again. He soon moves to Miami, according to the documentary and interviews. In the meantime, Melly performs a string of sold out shows, and a new video, “Melly the Menace,” premieres on WorldStarHipHop. Another of his most-streamed songs, “Virtual (Blue Balenciagas),” debuts via WorldStar in April.
June 30, 2018
Melly returns to jail. Police records show he was arrested in Lee County, Florida, on June 30, 2018, for one count of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and another count for possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana. (Fellow rapper Cortlen Henry, aka YNW Bortlen, was arrested here, too.) According to court records viewed by Pitchfork, the state attorney’s office concluded there was insufficient evidence to prove the weapon charge beyond a reasonable doubt and downgraded the drugs charges to misdemeanors.
August 3, 2018
Melly releases his first album-length mixtape, I Am You. It includes “Murder on My Mind” and a song from the opposite perspective, “Mind on My Murder,” plus “Virtual (Blue Balenciagas),” maternal ode “Mama Cry,” and Chris Brown–interpolating “Slang That Iron.” Later that month, he tells Billboard he’s working on “a whole project of songs” with Detroit rapper Tee Grizzley (in November 2018 they’d share collaborative tracks “Freddy Krueger” and “Lost and Found,” and would go on to make “Game,” “Young Grizzley World,” and “Careless”).
October 26, 2018
YNW Juvy, aka 19-year-old Christopher Thomas Jr., and YNW Sakchaser, aka 21-year-old Anthony Williams, are shot and killed. Miramar, Florida police say the two were last seen around 3:20 a.m. Eastern in Fort Lauderdale, arriving at Memorial Hospital Miramar around 4:35 a.m. “with multiple gunshot wounds.” A police spokesperson said, “They were dead already.” Melly mourned on his social media accounts. “They took my brothers from me over jealousy,” he wrote. Melly added that the killers “want to see [him] break down and stop or in jail or a box.”
December 4, 2018
Melly’s official documentary arrives on YouTube. YNW Juvy and YNW Sakchaser are featured prominently. At the end of the 21-minute video, text reads, “Four days after the completion of this film, YNW Melly and his friends were the targets of a drive-by shooting in Miami, Florida. YNW Juvy and YNW Sakchaser were killed.” The documentary also reveals Melly and his mother are moving from Florida to Atlanta.
The same day, Melly shares a photo of himself with Kanye West on Instagram. Rumors follow that the two are recording in Miami together for what might be West’s long-delayed album Yandhi. The album never materialized and West instead released Jesus Is King in 2019; the record did not feature YNW Melly.
December 12, 2019
A Genius video of Melly breaking down the lyrics to “Murder on My Mind” is posted on YouTube. “I’m a pussy murderer,” he says around the 4:40 mark. “I murder the vagina. And I murder the beat. I am not no hu—human murderer.” As he pauses on the phrase “human murderer,” Melly’s eye catches the camera, in a moment that will later go viral.
January 3, 2019
Melly is arrested again in Lee County in connection with his June 2018 charges. In his mugshot, he can be seen smiling. According to court records viewed by Pitchfork, Melly pleaded no contest to misdemeanors for possession of paraphernalia and possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana. He is ruled guilty and sentenced to jail time, with credit for time served.
January 18, 2019
Melly releases We All Shine, his second mixtape. West trades vocals with Melly on single “Mixed Personalities” and appears in the video.
January 25, 2019
Melly is released from Lee County jail, police records show.
February 5, 2019
In a Billboard interview, Melly says of YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy, “They were my brothers—they were my day one brothers.” Asked if he was targeted in the incident as well, he says, “Nah, I can’t really speak on that.” He also says he has recorded “like six songs” with Young Thug and is working on a “project” with Juice WRLD. His project with Tee Grizzley is finished, too, he says: “My year’s finna be crazy.”
February 12, 2019
Melly talks Kanye West with Power 106. “He heard my music in Paris,” Melly says. “He flew me to L.A. and then I just showed him some of my music.” Melly says West is naming a Yeezy sneaker after him, too: the Mellys.
February 13, 2019
Melly is arrested on murder charges. Police allege that he shot and killed Williams and Thomas while Cortlen Henry, aka YNW Bortlen, tried to stage the deaths as a drive-by shooting. Under Florida law, Melly could face life imprisonment or the death penalty. He maintains his innocence on Instagram: “Unfortunately, a lot of rumors and lies are being said but no worries god is with me.” (The post is eventually deleted.)
February 25, 2019
In public court documents, investigators reveal more details about the charges against Melly. Police officers cite phone records which allegedly confirm that Melly was at the scene of the crime. They also reference autopsy reports and crime scene details, which allegedly confirm that Melly shot YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy from inside the car. Police argue that the “drive-by” bullet holes on the outside of the car were “staged in an effort to misdirect law enforcement investigation.”
March 6, 2019
Melly pleads not guilty.
April 18, 2019
Florida prosecutors file paperwork signaling their intent to seek the death penalty against YNW Melly.
August 6, 2019
Melly’s 12-year-old brother YNW BSlime releases the single “Free Melly (YNW Melly Tribute).” The brothers would go on to collaborate on “Dying for You,” “One Step,” and “Really Be Slime.”
November 22, 2019
Melly releases a new album, Melly vs. Melvin, which eventually goes gold. It spent 31 weeks on the Billboard 200 albums chart, beginning with its debut at No. 8 on December 7, 2019.
April 2, 2020
A since-deleted Instagram post announces that Melly has tested positive for COVID-19 while in a Florida jail. The rapper’s teams seek his restricted release, which a judge later denies.
May 23, 2020
YNW Bortlen, who was arrested for double murder along with Melly in 2019, is granted house arrest.
August 20, 2020
YNW Bortlen releases the new single and music video “Been Thru.” It’s his first piece of new music after being granted his restricted release and just his second-ever solo track, following 2018’s “Came From.” The single and visual refer to his incarceration, and Bortlen also raps, “Free Lil Melly.”
October 23, 2020
The estates of the rappers that Melly and Bortlen were arrested for murdering, Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams and Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas Jr., file a wrongful death suit against them. According to the complaint filed on behalf of YNW Sakchaser’s estate, the shooting followed “tension” among the group of friends over “the prospect of large amounts of money coming in” and “how that money should be distributed.” The lawyers for Sakchaser’s estate write, “When there are less people splitting up the prospective money, the people on the receiving end will get more.”
April 14, 2021
Bortlen is arrested again for allegedly violating the terms of his house arrest by visiting strip clubs, according to court records.
August 13, 2021
Melly releases another album, Just a Matter of Slime, which features Young Thug, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Future, Kodak Black, Tee Grizzley, and more. It debuts at No. 11 on the Billboard 200 on August 28, 2021, spending three weeks on the chart.
August 25, 2021
Bortlen is re-released on house arrest after a judge finds that he did breach the conditions of his previous bond but did not commit any new crimes, court records show.
September 27, 2021
Complex and Spotify launch the podcast Infamous: The Story of YNW Melly, hosted by rapper Ace Hood.
July 6, 2022
It’s reported publicly that YNW Melly is no longer facing the death penalty.
July 11, 2022
Prosecutors push once more to seek the death penalty in YNW Melly’s case. The original attempt was shot down when, despite a new indictment against Melly, prosecutors failed to file a new notice of intent to seek death.
November 10, 2022
A Broward County appeals court clears a path for prosecutors to once again seek the death penalty against YNW Melly. The court found that prosecutors were not required to notify repeatedly that they’re seeking the death penalty just because a new indictment had been brought against the rapper.
April 19, 2023
Jury selection begins, overseen by Broward County Circuit Judge John J. Murphy III.
June 12, 2023
The trial of YNW Melly begins with opening arguments.
June 16, 2023
The first week of YNW Melly’s trial comes to a close. The final day of the first week featured extensive testimony from Felicia Holmes, a registered nurse whose daughter, Mariah Hamilton, is said to have been dating YNW Melly when his two friends were killed in 2018.
June 20, 2023
The judge denies a motion for a mistrial by the defense, who objected to the state’s questioning of Felicia Holmes the previous week and claimed the prosecution had invoked impermissible evidence. The judge had criticized the state’s prosecution at the time, but, after some consideration, allowed the trial to go ahead.
June 28, 2023
On Day 10, the prosecution presents evidence from a detective sergeant in support of its argument that the victims could not have been killed in a drive-by shooting, and were, in fact, shot dead from within the car. The medical examiner said Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams was shot multiple times after being killed by a gunshot wound to the back of the head.
July 17, 2023
Over one month after the trial began, the prosecution rests its case against YNW Melly. The state brought witnesses who discussed and examined footage from the night that Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams and Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas Jr. died. Prosecutors also had witnesses go through a litany of messages that Melly purportedly sent, trying to establish that a cell phone apparently present at the scene of the crime belonged to the rapper.
Witnesses included people from Melly’s personal life, namely Felicia Holmes (a registered nurse whose daughter, Mariah Hamilton, is said to have been dating YNW Melly when his two friends were killed) and Treveon Glass (a friend and musical collaborator of YNW members who was at a recording studio with the collective in the hours preceding Sakchaser and Juvy’s deaths). The state also examined Jorge Bello, a Broward Sheriff’s Office firearms expert, and the lead detective on the investigation, Mark Moretti.
Moretti, who was on the stand for more than a week, is considered the state’s star witness, and Melly’s defense team sought to discredit his expertise. For example, the defense questioned Moretti’s qualification to discuss topics like cell phone data location. The defense, during cross-examination, also argued that investigators zeroed in on Melly as the primary murder suspect without considering other potential suspects. (The state and Moretti pushed back against the defense’s claims.) The defense also motioned multiple times for a mistrial, but Judge Murphym denied the motions.
July 18, 2023
The defense calls its one and only witness, YNW Melly’s friend Adrian Green. With the jury not present in the courtroom, Melly informed the judge that he is electing not to testify in the case.
July 20, 2023
The prosecution makes closing arguments. It hopes to prove, through reconstruction images, that YNW Cortlen could not have fired the shots that killed YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy. It also presents phone tracking data allegedly showing YNW Melly’s movements, though the defense has consistently argued that the phone was used communally. The defense also makes closing arguments before the jury begins its deliberations.
July 22, 2023
After three days of jury deliberations and apparent deadlock, Judge John J. Murphy III declares a mistrial. “These types of decisions, they’re hard decisions,” the judge said. “We very much appreciate the fact that you gave us the time because we’ve been here a long time. We understand that. You gave us the time and you did your best effort to [bring about resolution], but unfortunately that wasn’t able to happen.”
July 25, 2023
Prosecutors indicate that they intend to seek a new trial of YNW Melly. New jury selection is expected to begin on October 2.
August 24, 2023
YNW Melly’s mother’s lawyer files a complaint against the lead prosecutor, claiming Detective Moretti is under investigation for an alleged incident involving the use of excessive force against a potential witness in Melly’s case. The detective was also alleged to have executed an unauthorized search warrant to obtain Melly’s mother’s cell phone.
September 22, 2023
YNW Melly is denied bond as he awaits retrial.
October 3, 2023
YNW Bortlen is arrested on a warrant accusing him of witness tampering.
October 4, 2023
The Broward County sheriff’s office lists a new charge of witness tampering against YNW Melly.
October 12, 2023
A judge recuses former lead prosecutor Kristine Bradley from the case. YNW Melly’s team had requested the removal of Bradley, along with the entire Broward County state attorney’s office, after the assistant state attorney, Michelle Boutros, testified that she heard Detective Moretti urge a deputy to lie that they were present during the contentious search warrant on the phone. Prosecutors claim the comments were made in jest.
October 18, 2023
The new lead prosecutor, Alixandra Buckelew, who previously prosecuted XXXTentacion’s murder, files seven new charges against YNW Melly as jury selection begins. The new charges include directing the activities of a criminal gang, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, and solicitation and conspiracy to commit tampering.
This article was originally published on Wednesday, February 20, 2019, at 12:59 p.m. Eastern. It was last updated on Thursday, October 19, 2023, at 11:06 a.m. Eastern.
