YNW Melly's attorneys have once again requested to push back his double murder retrial.
On Dec. 20, Broward Circuit Court Judge John Murphy granted Melly an extension in his retrial that was supposed to resume in February, and his attorneys also waived his right to a speedy trial. Now, court records obtained by the Miami Herald state Melly has a new trial date set for March 5.
The Miami Herald stated a speedy trial in Florida is when someone arrested for a felony "must be brought to trial within 175 days with no unnecessary delays." The COVID-19 pandemic and other delays pushed back the trial.
Judge Murphy will be moving forward with the case and is currently in the jury selection phase. The outlet also wrote the defense team has time to get more depositions and interviews done with state witnesses. Several depositions that were scheduled for late December and early January were canceled this week.
Over a dozen new witnesses and a list of 55 songs were added into evidence after the case was taken over by lead prosecutor Alixandra Buckelew. The court filing read, "These are the defendant's own songs, and as such are clearly on notice of them. They are the defendant's own words and therefore amount to an admission and/or adoptive."
Last week, Judge Murphy partially granted 13 defense motions to exclude key evidence. According to the Miami Herald, Judge Murphy prohibited the admission of digital evidence, including messages, to the day of and after the murders.
Melly's first trial included text messages from before the murders, including back-and-forth spats between Melly and his mother, Jamie Demons-King. Judge Murphy will consider several pending motions at a hearing scheduled for January.
