US rapper YNW Melly has been charged with the murder of two of his closest friends, prompting his 2017 single 'Murder on my Mind' to rise to number one on Apple's music charts. The 19-year-old was charged with double-murder on Wednesday, after the fatal shootings of YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy last year. He maintained his innocence on Instagram before his arrest. "A couple months ago I lost my two brothers by violence and now the system want to find justice," he wrote.<doc-sep>A rapper who currently has his highest-ranked hit called Murder On My Mind is now facing two counts of first-degree murder in real life. YNW Melly, a young rap star in Florida, was arrested and charged with the shooting deaths of two men, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. YNW Melly, who's given name is Jamell Maurice Demons, and Cortlen Henry were charged with two counts of first-degree murder of Anthony "Sak" Williams and Christopher "Juvy" Thomas Jr. on Oct. 26, 2018, according to the Miramar Police Department. "The investigation, supported by forensic evidence, has concluded that Demons shot and killed Williams & Thomas Jr. and that Demons and Henry staged the crime scene to resemble a drive-by shooting," Miramar PD sent out in a tweet Wednesday evening. (1/2) Jamell Demons, a.k.a. YNW Melly & Cortlen Henry have been arrested and charged with two counts of first degree murder. The victims, Anthony Williams & Christopher Thomas Jr., were killed on 10/26/2018. The investigation, supported by forensic evidence, has concluded that pic.twitter.com/ArzVCLRxjd — Miramar Police (@MiramarPD) February 14, 2019 (2/2) Demons shot and killed Williams & Thomas Jr. and that Demons and Henry staged the crime scene to resemble a drive-by shooting. pic.twitter.com/EukFxD4OEq — Miramar Police (@MiramarPD) February 14, 2019 Williams and Thomas were reportedly good friends with YNW Melly, and they were also aspiring young rappers. According to the original story in the Sun-Sentinel, someone driving a Jeep took Williams and Thomas to Memorial Hospital Miramar. The driver of the dark grey Jeep with a shattered rear window was never named, according to the report. The two young rappers were last seen alive in Ft. Lauderdale around 3:20 a.m. on Oct. 26, just more than an hour before they were pronounced dead at the hospital. Authorities in Texas arrested Henry last month in Houston, and he was extradited to Broward County in South Florida on Tuesday night. Henry made his first court appearance on Wednesday, but no bond was set as neither Henry's defense attorney nor the state attorney had much familiarity with the case, so it was postponed for 24 hours. Detectives haven't revealed Henry's connection to the murder as it's an ongoing investigation. YNW Melly, 19, was born in Florida in 1999. He has a rap sheet that includes weapons and drugs charges. He released his first project, an EP called Collect Call, in late 2017 while he was in prison. He released his debut album I Am You in 2018, and he signed with Young Thug's YSL Records later in 2018. Ironically, his top chart single is a tune called "Murder on My Mind," which is currently at 73 on the Billboard hits, the top spot he's held in his young career. This song currently has 3.9 million streams on Spotify and 87 million views on the official video posted on YouTube. The video begins in an urban neighborhood with the sound of gunshots and someone comforting a person who's obviously been shot. The song talks about guns, drugs, yellow tape on a body and, of course, murder on his mind. In the video, it depicts a person dying in YNW Melly's arms.<doc-sep>Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A rapper who recently collaborated with Kanye West was arrested Wednesday for allegedly killing two of his friends and trying to cover up the crime by making it look like a drive-by shooting. YNW Melly — whose real name is Jamell Demons — was busted on two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the Oct. 26, 2018, slayings of two other aspiring rappers, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “I want you guys to know I love you and appreciate every single one of y’all,” Demons wrote on Instagram before surrendering to the police. “A couple of months ago, I lost my two brothers by violence and now the system wants to find justice. Unfortunately, a lot of rumors and lies are being said. But no worries, God is with me.” Police say Demons, 19, killed pals Anthony Williams, 21, and Christopher Thomas Jr., 19, and then tried to stage the crime scene with a Jeep to make it look like they had been the victims of a drive-by shooting. Cops didn’t say what prompted the shooting. Another man, Cortlen Henry, 20, is accused of helping Demons to stage the crime scene. He also allegedly drove the victims to the emergency room entrance of Memorial Hospital Miramar, where they later died. Henry was arrested in Houston last month and extradited to Broward County on Tuesday and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Demons was an emerging talent in Florida’s thriving hip-hop scene and had worked with West on a song released last month. The victims — Williams was known as YNW Sakchaser and Thomas as YNW Juvy — were trying to forge their own rap careers. Demons’ attorney, Bradford Cohen, told the Sun-Sentinel in October that Demons was “sad” and “upset, obviously” over the deaths of the two rappers. “Those were his best friends,” he said.<doc-sep>Rapper YNW Melly, Who Recently Collaborated with Kanye West, Charged with Murders of 2 Friends Florida rapper YNW Melly, né Jamell Demons, has been arrested after allegedly fatally shooting two of his close friends in October. Melly, 19, who recently collaborated with Kanye West on the track “Mixed Personalities” and is best known for his song “Murder on My Mind” allegedly shot aspiring rappers Anthony Williams, 21, and Christopher Thomas Jr., 19, on Oct. 26. (West was not related in any way to the incident.) Get push notifications with news, features and more. Following the incident, which took place in Fort Lauderdale, Melly — allegedly with the help of another rapper identified as Cortlen Henry aka YNW Bortlen — covered up the murder by making it look as if it was a drive-by shooting, Miramar Police said in a statement shared on Twitter Wednesday. The victims were then allegedly driven to Memorial Hospital Miramar by Henry, 26, in a Jeep Compass at around 4:35 p.m., Sun-Sentinel reported. Williams and Thomas were both pronounced dead at the hospital. Williams was also known as YNW Sakchaser and Thomas was known as YNW Juvy. Both rappers were featured on a documentary about Melly posted on Melly’s YouTube page. It is not immediately clear as to what sparked the alleged altercation. ynw-melly-3 YNW Melly | Credit: Miramar Police Department ynw-melly-2 YNW Melly and Kanye West | Credit: YNW Melly/Instagram At the hospital, Bortlen gave a statement to police that contradicted the evidence present at the scene of the crime, Miramar police told the Sun Sentinel. Bortlen was arrested in Houston last month and extradited to Broward and booked Tuesday, the outlet reported. Henry appeared in court Wednesday, but no bond has been set as attorneys on both sides have asked for time to get more familiar with the case, the Sun-Sentinel reported. WARNING VIDEO BELOW CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE A lawyer for Henry could not immediately be found. On Wednesday, revealed on Instagram that he would be turning himself in. “To all my fans and supporters… I am turning my self in today,” Melly wrote. “I want you guys to know I love you and appreciate every single one of y’all, a couple months ago I lost two brothers by violence and now the system want[s] to find justice… unfortunately a lot of rumors and lies are being said but no worries god is with me and my brother @ynw.bortlen and we want y’all to remember it’s a ynw family.” Melly concluded the post by saying “I love you” to Williams and Thomas. Just after the murder, Melly’s attorney Bradford Cohen said, according to the Sun Sentinel, the rapper is “sad, he’s upset, obviously.” “Those are his best friends.” ynw-melly-1 YNW Melly | Credit: YNW Melly/Instagram Cohen did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment following Melly’s arrest. Melly and Henry have been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, police said. Prior to his arrest, Melly released his debut album We All Shine in January and was expected to embark on a tour in support of the project this month. On Jan. 3, Melly was arrested on two misdemeanor drug charges, the Miami Herald reported. According to jail records, Melly was charged with one count of possession of marijuana and one count of possession of drug equipment and booked the Lee County Jail in Florida, the Miami Herald reported.<doc-sep>
Rapper YNW Melly has spoken out after being charged with the murder of two of his friends. The rising star - real name Jamell Maurice Demons - was arrested and charged with two counts of first degree murder in Florida on February 13. It follows the deaths of his friends Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr, who were fatally shot on October 26, last year. But the 19-year-old rapper insisted he handed himself over to the police voluntarily. Sharing his side of the story, he said on Instagram: "To all my fans and supporters no I did not get locked up in Washington , but I am turning myself in today I want you guys to know I love you and appreciate every single one of y’all, a couple months ago I lost my two brothers by violence and now the system want to find justice.. (Image: Getty Images for 2wenty 2wenty M) "unfortunately a lot of rumors and lies are being said but no worries god is with me and my brother @ynw.bortlenand we want y’all to remember it’s a ynw Family I love you @ynwsakchaser1 and @ynwjuvy #freeus" Police say the rapper staged the crime scene with accomplice Cortlen Henry to make it look like his two friends had been killed in a drive-by shooting. A statement released by authorities said: "Jamell Demons, a.k.a. YNW Melly & Cortlen Henry have been arrested and charged with two counts of first degree murder. The victims, Anthony Williams & Christopher Thomas Jr., were killed on 10/26/2018. (Image: Splash / SplashNews.com) "The investigation, supported by forensic evidence, has concluded that Demons shot and killed Williams & Thomas Jr. and that Demons and Henry staged the crime scene to resemble a drive-by shooting." The charge comes just one month after YNW Melly released his biggest hit to date, We All Shine, which features a sample from Kanye West.