US News
Florida Rapper YNW Melly Face Possible Death Penalty in Murder Trial
Reporter Eden Smith
Jamell Demons, 19, was accused of killing two of his longtime best friends, Anthony Williams (21) and Christopher Thomas Jr.(19), in Miramar, Florida last October. A grand jury indicted Demons and co-defendant, Cortlen Henry, on two counts of premeditated murder.
Prosecutors filed notice to seek the death penalty due to the "capital felony was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel," and "committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification."
The four grew up together in Vero Beach and moved to Miramar to get more publicity for their rap careers. Thomas goes by the stage name YNW Juvy and Williams went by YNW Sakchaser.
According to the criminal affidavit, police said after the shooting Demons and Henry drove their bodies to the hospital and staged their Jeep to make it look like they shot up in a drive-by shooting.
When questioned, investigators said the evidence did not match up with the Demon’s and Henry’s story. Demons surrendered to police in February.
Henry told police he and the two victims had just finished a late-night recording session in the studio when a car pulled up on his driver’s side and opened fire as he was pulling off the freeway, TMZ reported. Cops confirmed there were eight bullet holes along the right side of the vehicle where Williams and Thomas Jr. sat, and Henry escaped injury.
People.com states, “Cops found a shell casing inside Henry’s vehicle, along with eight matching shell casings in a different location, where they think Melly and Henry shot the car to make it look like a drive-by, according to TMZ, who also reports that cops believe that the initial shot was fired from inside the car on the left rear passenger side. After reviewing surveillance footage, cops were able to determine that Melly had been sitting on the left rear passenger side of the car.”
People.com also reported “Evidence from the autopsy revealed that both victims’ wound paths to their heads were from a left to right direction. This directly contradicts the statements made by Henry and do not support the statements of a drive-by shooting that occurred on the right side of the vehicle,” Complex quotes the court documents as saying.
Additionally, the outlet reports that the police allege Melly and Henry drove around with the bodies of Williams and Thomas Jr. after they had been shot “for a period of time” before driving to the hospital. Henry later told police that Melly was, in fact, in the same car with them but eventually got into another vehicle.
On Feb. 13, Melly, revealed on Instagram that he would be turning himself in. “To all my fans and supporters… I am turning [myself] in today,” Melly wrote.
“I want you guys to know I love you and appreciate every single one of y’all, a couple months ago I lost two brothers by violence and now the system want[s] to find justice… unfortunately a lot of rumors and lies are being said but no worries god is with me and my brother @ynw.bortlen and we want y’all to remember it’s a ynw family.”
Melly concluded the post by saying “I love you” to Williams and Thomas Jr.
Henry was arrested in January in Houston and was extradited to Broward.”