“Murder on My Mind” rapper YNW Melly secured a small victory in his ongoing murder trial as the presiding ruled that Snapchat videos of the rapper having a gun on video won’t be admissible.
On Thursday as Judge John J. Murphy III ruled that disappearing Snapchat videos taken from Melly’s account showing him with a firearm six (6) days before the murders of his two friends would be inadmissible.
YNW Melly and his lawyer were seen fist-bumping each other after the judge made the ruling. Melly’s attorney Howard pointed out that the Snapchat videos were not a relevancy issue but introducing hearsay into the trial.
The ruling comes following testimony from the firearms expert a day before in which he testified that the firearm used was not determined.
“I can’t know which firearm we’re going to use in order to replicate any of my tests,” the expert can be heard saying. Melly’s reaction is interesting as he strokes his chin while tilting his head to the side and raises his eyebrows while pursing his lips.
The video evidence prosecutors were seeking to introduce into evidence was to show that Melly may have used the same gun to kill his friends. A murder weapon was never found, but spent shells were recovered from what prosecutors say was the actual crime scene, and one was found in the car, dispelling the alleged lie by Melly’s co-defendant, YNW Bortlen, that YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy were killed in a drive-by.
This is the second evidence-based win Melly has had this week. On Monday, defense attorney Howard made representations to the court that any lyrics introduced by the prosecution “have no relevance” to the killings that took place on October 26, 2018.
YNW Melly fist bump his lawyer in court after judge made key ruling in his favorhttps://t.co/vicigaG6O3 pic.twitter.com/3uWv3XIOdT
— Urban Islandz (@urbanislandz) June 17, 2023
The matter did not come up for a decision by Judge Murphy because the prosecution had not included lyrics from the song “Murder on My Mind,” in which Melly speaks about killing someone and holding them while they bleed out and die.
There were speculations previously that the lyrics might have been introduced by the prosecutors as many felt that the song spoke to Melly’s state of mind, although it was made in March 2017, more than a year before his friends were killed.
In any case, Melly’s lawyer had sounded the warning as he recited the evidence rule that even if the evidence is relevant, it can be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice.
