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YNW Melly's double murder trial took a twist when his defense lawyer called for a mistrial.
On Thursday, June 15, Melly appeared at courtroom in Fort Lauderdale for the fourth day of trial. Felicia Holmes, who is the mother of Melly's ex-girlfriend Mariah Hamilton, took the stand gave interesting testimony. The witness for the prosecution started off her testimony by stating she felt "uncomfortable" and "threatened." Holmes was eventually labeled a "hostile" witness after she failed to remember a lot about her past statements to investigators, described threats of arrests from police and claimed the State lied about a subpoena. That's when things began to go left.
At one point, prosecutors showed evidence of what they believe amounted to witness tampering. In recovered Instagram messages, Holmes reportedly complained that promises made by Melly's camp, including his manager Jamison “100K Track” Francois were "lies." She also claimed to have received $5,000 to rent an Airbnb but "not for personal use."
"Wait until this trial," the Instagram message from Holmes concluded. "I'm not holding anything back. I'm doing what I should have done in the beginning. They can call me Mrs. Snitch B***h."
After Holmes testimony, defense attorney David Howard motioned for a mistrial due to what he believed was a “prejudicial fiasco” in court. He also accused the State of violated a court order to not read out-of-court documents in an effort to make accusations of witness tampering.
“This jury sat there and watched this fiasco unfold with at least 10, maybe 15 sidebars, after every two questions," Howard said. "For that reason, we think it was deliberate. It was highly prejudicial. This jury has been tainted, and we move for a mistrial."
YNW Melly's legal team said they had to review the exact transcript of Holmes' testimony for they ultimately decided to move forward with the motion. The trial will continue at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.