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A Broward County judge is considering calling a mistrial in YNW Melly’s double murder case after only one week of testimony due to a “hostile witness” tainting the jury.
On Thursday, Judge John Murphy agreed to review transcripts after Melly’s lawyer filed a motion for mistrial, according to the Miami Herald.
The mistrial motion in question reportedly concerns the prosecution’s questioning of a “hostile witness,” Melly’s ex-girlfriend’s mother, Felicia Holmes.
Defense attorney David Howard accused the state of tainting the jury by making “implication after implication” backed by “inadmissible evidence” gleaned from Holmes’ testimony.
“The jury sat there while the state made implication after implication, introduced inadmissible evidence after inadmissible evidence to the substantial prejudice of this defendant,” Howard said. “This jury sat there and watch this fiasco unfold.”
Amongst that “inadmissible” evidence that potentially tainted the jury was Holmes’ testimony on behalf of the state, which Melly’s legal team objected to.
She was deemed a “hostile witness” against Melly by the rapper’s attorneys due in part to a series of June 2022 Instagram messages where Holmes reportedly threatened, “y’all can call me Mz Snitch B**** bc I’m airing his a** out to the prosecutor.”
Holmes allegedly made the threat after accusing YNY Melly’s team of failing to care for her financially despite promising to do so, Holmes claims.
Meanwhile, defense attorney Stuart Adelstein said, never “in my entire career… (have I) heard the state imply with no evidence that the defense team would take care of this witness.”
“Not only does it taint our client…but it taints everybody at this table,” Adelstein told the judge, according to the Herald.
For her part, Holmes says the case has basically “ruined her life.”
“The state basically has me on a monitor,” Holmes said. “I have to go to my job like this. People think I’m a criminal. The state has ruined my life.”
The rapper is on trial for allegedly shooting and killing his childhood friends Christopher Thomas Jr. and Anthony Williams back in 2018.
Murphy will decide on the motion on Tuesday (June 20), according to the Herald.
However, a mistrial wouldn’t mean YNW Melly is innocent.
Prosecutors may typically pursue a new trial within 90 days of the original if the judge declares a mistrial.
