The hip-hop world is reeling from a new, seismic tremor that has ripped through one of the most closely watched legal dramas in recent memory. Just as the retrial for rapper YNW Melly (Jamal Demons) approaches, a years-old, raw, and unfiltered police interrogation tape featuring a close associate has been leaked, and its contents are not just explosive—they might rewrite the entire narrative of the double-murder case. The footage, surfacing in late 2025, features Jacobe Mills, known by many as Cortez Teezy, a member of the YNW collective and a blood cousin to co-defendant YNW Bortland (Courtland Henry). What Mills revealed to detectives in January 2019, just months after the horrific events, is far more than street gossip; it’s an insider’s account that gives terrifying context to the forensic evidence, detailing a story of profound betrayal, cold-blooded murder, and an elaborate cover-up.
For over six years, the narrative surrounding the deaths of rising rappers Anthony ‘YNW Sackchaser’ Williams and Christopher ‘YNW Juvie’ Thomas Jr. has captivated and divided the public. The two were found dead in a Jeep Cherokee at a Miramar hospital on October 26, 2018. The initial story, presented by Melly and Bortland, was that their friends were victims of a random drive-by shooting—a tragic, all-too-common consequence of street life. But the investigation began to dismantle that story piece by piece, revealing a sinister twist.
The medical examiner’s testimony painted a picture that was fundamentally incompatible with a drive-by. Autopsy reports showed the victims were shot from inside the vehicle. Adding a chilling layer to the deceit, subsequent gunshot wounds consistent with external firing were deemed post-mortem. This meant that Sackchaser and Juvie were already dead when the vehicle was shot up from the outside, turning the scene into a meticulously staged fabrication designed to mislead law enforcement. The prosecution’s theory solidified: Melly and Bortland didn’t just kill their friends; they allegedly drove around with their bodies, taking them to a desolate stretch near the Everglades to stage a random act of violence. This was not a moment of spontaneous rage; this was calculated, cold-blooded planning.
The weight of this forensic reality makes the recent leak of Jacobe Mills’ testimony all the more devastating. Mills was present that night, riding in a red Mitsubishi SUV that followed the victims’ Jeep. This placement gives his account staggering credibility—he was close enough to observe the tensions but far enough removed to survive and offer a first-hand perspective.
Mills’ testimony begins by detailing a toxic atmosphere at the New Era Recording Studio in Fort Lauderdale. The session, which occurred in the early hours of October 26th, was unproductive, marked by strange behavior and palpable aggression. Mills recounts Sackchaser acting erratically, even slapping people for falling asleep. The energy was described as toxic, a mood that speaks volumes about the alleged tensions brewing beneath the surface of the collective.
At the heart of this darkness, according to Mills and corroborated by family audio later revealed in the case, were disputes over money and control. Whispers of a multi-million-dollar record deal and Sackchaser’s alleged belief that he was the CEO entitled to a massive cut of Melly’s earnings fueled the friction. When you mix the high stakes of a sudden cash influx with the volatile dynamics of street hierarchy, the result can often be tragic, but rarely is it this brutal.
The timeline leading up to the murder, as reconstructed by Mills, is full of chilling details that now seem like fateful omens. When the group split into two cars, Mills claims he initially tried to get into the Jeep but felt a spiritual or intuitive resistance, suggesting he was “divinely prevented” from joining the doomed ride. He confirms the vehicle setup: Bortland driving, Sackchaser passenger-side front, Juvie behind Sackchaser, and Melly in the rear driver’s-side seat—the exact location from which the fatal shots allegedly originated based on bullet trajectories. Mills further stated that Juvie had collected weapons before they left the studio and that Melly was carrying a brown satchel that supposedly contained a firearm, details that strongly support the prosecution’s argument of premeditation.
The most damning moments of Mills’ account, however, revolve around the immediate aftermath and the alleged cover-up. While waiting at the Sunset Lakes home, Mills received a chilling phone call from his mother warning that someone had called her to threaten, “Y’all all dead.” This detail underscores the depth of the street politics involved, where fear was already gripping the collective before news of the murders even broke.
Then came the moment of profound betrayal. Mills claims that when Melly FaceTimed him after the murders, the star rapper was “fake crying.”
“He was fake crying with no actual tears,” Mills stated, alleging a clinical performance designed to sell the narrative of a grieving friend. In the context of street culture, the ability to commit such an act of violence and immediately pivot into a convincing performance of innocence speaks to a terrifying level of calculated sociopathy. Mills also provided specific, previously unconfirmed details about Melly’s appearance and actions afterward, noting that Melly had changed into a tank top and gym shorts, suggesting a hasty change of clothes to dispose of blood-stained evidence.
Crucially, Mills also addressed the missing murder weapon, a detail that has long frustrated investigators and aided the defense. Mills described how, the next morning, the crew went searching in nearby woods and found a blood-soaked .40 caliber handgun. In a staggering moment of testimony, Mills claims he actually held the bloody weapon before a manager whisked it away. This revelation provides a logical explanation for why law enforcement, despite extensive searches, never recovered the murder weapon, suggesting the crew disposed of it to shield the accused. The fact that many of Mills’ statements from 2019—such as Juvie’s thumb being shot off and the specific location where Melly was picked up by Fredo Bang—have since been corroborated by later public disclosures and cell phone data gives his overall testimony immense, undeniable weight.
The release of this footage now, on the eve of the highly anticipated retrial scheduled for January 2027, has created a legal and cultural firestorm. The legal implications are immediate and severe. While the interrogation tape itself may face challenges regarding admissibility in the criminal trial due to hearsay or authentication issues, its viral nature has made finding 12 impartial jurors nearly impossible. Defense teams are undoubtedly preparing motions to suppress the evidence and possibly ask for a change of venue, arguing that the public contamination of the case makes a fair trial untenable.
Meanwhile, the victim’s families are pursuing wrongful death civil lawsuits, where the rules of evidence are more relaxed and the burden of proof is lower. Mills’ detailed, time-stamped account will be a cornerstone of that civil pursuit, ensuring that accountability is sought even as the criminal proceedings navigate the complexities of a capital murder case.
On the cultural front, the fallout is a devastating exploration of loyalty and the “no snitching” code. Mills, who repeatedly insisted he was only talking to police to help his friends and expressed genuine fear for his family’s safety, has inevitably been labeled a “snitch” by a vocal portion of the hip-hop community. This case, more than any other in recent memory, forces a confrontation with the impossible ethical dilemma: what does the “code” demand when your own friend allegedly kills two other close members of the collective? Mills chose justice for the deceased, a choice that now marks him forever within the street code.
The revelations underscore a pervasive theme in hip-hop: the deadly intersection of money, fame, and street life. The hundreds of thousands of dollars promised by a record deal became the alleged flashpoint for a conflict that annihilated a budding music crew. The entire story—from the aggression over money in the studio to the alleged fake crying and the cold calculation of staging a crime scene—is a stark reminder of the human cost when ambition, betrayal, and violence collide. As the legal machine grinds toward 2027 with the State of Florida still seeking the death penalty, Jacobe Mills’ chilling testimony ensures that the YNW Melly case will be remembered not just for the murders themselves, but for the shocking depth of the deception involved. This story, rooted in the death of two young men, has now become a powerful, tragic commentary on the fragility of brotherhood and the cost of the ultimate betrayal in the pursuit of success.
