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A date has finally been set for YNW Melly's retrial of his double murder case.
According to a report NBC 6 published on Monday, July 8, Judge Martin Fein scheduled the upcoming trial for September 10, 2025. The new date comes months after the proceedings were placed on hold due to the prosecution's appeal to another judge's ruling about suppressing a promotional video about the Florida rapper's life from evidence. Back in January, Judge John J. Murphy III decided the jury would not be allowed to see a 20-minute documentary filmed before the murder of his two friends. The defense said the video was hearsay, but the prosecution claimed it was proof of Melly's involvement.
A decision about the video has not yet been made. YNW Melly was charged with killing his two friends Chris "YNW Juvy" Thomas and Anthony "YNW Sakchaser" Williams in 2018. Prosecutors allege Melly and his accomplice Cortlen "YNW Bortlen" Henry made it look like they were shot in a drive-by shooting. The "Murder On My Mind" rapper was arrested in 2019 and has been in custody ever since. Melly pleaded not guilty to the charges and has maintained his innocence.
His first trial was ruled as a mistrial last summer. The trial lasted for 19 days before the jury met to deliberate. They spent two days together but ultimately could not reach a unanimous verdict. Shortly after the trial ended, a judge granted a second trial with a new prosecutor. The second trial was supposed to begin in January but was delayed multiple times.
Another court date was also set regarding a witness tampering charge Melly received last October. Broward County prosecutors alleged that the artist ordered gang members to ensure a key witness did not testify against him during his first trial. A pretrial meeting for that case is set for December 5, 2024.