Illness prevented the YNW Melly murder trial from moving forward on Wednesday (July 12).
YNW Melly’s lawyer Raven Ramona Liberty got sick during Wednesday’s lunch break, putting the trial on hold. The Florida trial is scheduled to resume on Monday (July 17).
“There’s nothing anybody can do about it,” Judge John Murphy told the jury, per the Sun Sentinel. “You’re sick, you’re sick.”
YNW Melly was charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of his friends YNW Juvy and YNW Sakchaser. Prosecutors accuse the rapper of shooting and killing the victims after a studio session in 2018.
The rapper, whose real name is Jamell Demons, pleaded not guilty to the murder charges. He faces the death penalty if convicted. He has remained in jail since his 2019 arrest.
YNW Melly’s trial began on June 12. His alleged accomplice YNW Bortlen will be tried separately in October.
Prosecutors claim YNW Melly and YNW Bortlen tried to cover up the murders by staging a drive-by shooting. One of the prosecution’s witnesses was a crime scene reconstruction expert, who said the shooter was inside the same vehicle as the victims.
The first few weeks of the trial featured testimony from detectives, medical examiners and YNW Juvy’s mother. The trial was in recess during the first week of July.
