The 'Murder on My Mind' rapper, who has spent more than one year behind bars, is sued for tens of millions of dollars by families of his two friends he is accused of murdering.
- Nov 6, 2020
AceShowbiz - YNW Melly has another thing to worry about while waiting for his trial in a double-murder case. The rapper, who has been placed behind bars since February 2019 for allegedly killing his two friends Christopher "YNW Juvy" Thomas Jr. and Anthony "YNW Sakchaser" Williams, has been sued by the alleged victims' families.
The Gifford-born star, his mother mother Jamie King, his manager Jameson Francois, and his co-defendant Cortlen "YNW Bortlen" Henry are named in both civil suits, which seek for "millions or tens of millions of dollars or more" in damages.
Attorney John M. Phillips, who is representing Thomas' family, says in filing the civil suit, "In a wrongful death such as this, no amount of money will make the family whole, make the family happy. But that's the way the civil justice system works." He tells Complex that the exact amount will be left up to a jury to decide.
Todd Baker, who is representing Williams' family, alleges in the suit that prior to the killings, "tension began to develop between the once cohesive group of friends about how the money should be distributed. When there are less people splitting up the prospective money, the people on the receiving end will get more."
The Williams family claims Melly's manager played a role in the alleged murders by "encouraging, inciting, soliciting, and/or making possible" the shooting that killed Williams. Francois is additionally alleged of having transported Melly from the shooting location.
Meanwhile, the Broward County court system is reviewing a video of Melly allegedly confessing to the double-murder of his two friends. In the video that was played during a hearing for the case in August 2019, the 21-year-old reportedy said, "There's no regret for the s**t that I did for that n***a to die."
In the video, Melly allegedly put a pen he's holding to his head as if it's a gun, mimed pulling the trigger and made a Bloods gang sign. Melly then said, "Both of them never say when."
Melly and Bortlen's lawyers try to block the release of the video.
