YNW Melly Double-Murder Case Declared a Mistrial

July 22, 2023 365 46 5

After jurors deliberated for roughly two days, a mistrial was declared in the double-murder case of YNW Melly, who is accused of killing his two friends.

YNW Melly Double-Murder Case Declared a Mistrial

On Saturday (July 22) in Broward County, Fla, a mistrial was declared in the double-murder case of YNW Melly, who is accused of murdering his friends YNW Juvy and YNW SakChaser in October of 2018. The decision came after the jury was unable to come to a unanimous verdict.

Early Friday afternoon (July 21), following multiple requests to see evidence and testimony a second time, Circuit Court Judge John Murphy III read a letter asking what would be the outcome if they could not come to a decision.

“Everyone is stuck on what side they’ve chosen,” the letter read.

After discussing an Allen charge, where the judge would request the minority in the group to reconsider their decision, Judge Murphy asked the jury to go back and deliberate one more time, and if they still couldn’t come to a verdict, then he would declare it a mistrial. After looking over more evidence, the jury still could not come up with a unanimous decision.

Jury Deliberations Began on Friday Morning

Jury deliberations began following the closing arguments from the defense and the State’s rebuttal. The State had the last word just before 3:30 p.m. on Thursday (July 20). The jury was then excused later that afternoon and resumed deliberations on Friday morning (July 21). Law & Crime correspondent Cathy Russon reported that there are a total of 12 jurors, five men and seven women.

YNW Melly Trial Closing Arguments

On Thursday (July 20), both sides of the YNW Melly double murder trial rested their respective cases. In their closing arguments, attorneys for the prosecution revisited evidence such as DNA that was found within the Jeep in which the murders took place, the victims’ autopsy results, Melly’s cell phone records and surveillance footage from a Florida recording studio just prior to the fatal shooting.

As for the defense, they argued in their closing arguments for over an hour that due to a lack of concrete evidence from the State of Florida as well as threatening tactics used by lead Detective Mark Moretti in order to get witnesses to testify should result in YNW Melly being found not guilty.

It’s a Mistrial – Now What?

Due to the fact that a mistrial means the jury was unable to come to a definite verdict of guilty or not guilty, the prosecution can ultimately decide to pursue a new trial should they so choose. According to Miami law firm, Valient Law, the State of Florida now has 90 days to bring forth a new double murder trial against YNW Melly. If the prosecution fails to do so, Melly’s defense can inform the court that the 90-day period has expired and can move to have the charges dismissed. Friday’s result is the second time YNW Melly’s defense has pushed for a mistrial. The previous motion was denied by Judge John Murphy III back on June 20.