The trial surrounding the death of XXXTENTACION has nearly come to an end, though the jury continues to struggle to reach a verdict. Last week, the prosecutors and defense for Michael Boatwright, Dedrick Williams, and Trayvon Newsome provided their closing arguments after several weeks of trial. Over the past few weeks, the jury heard from several witnesses, including XXXXTENTACION’s uncle, and reviewed evidence before they were left to deliberate the verdict. According to CTV, they’ve tried to reach a verdict after reviewing evidence connected to XXXTENTACION's death. They’ll return to court on Thursday (March 16th) to continue.
The jury began to deliberate The reason for the delay surrounds two technical questions as the jury asked Circuit Judge Michael Usan about two specific pieces of evidence. The first surrounded the video of the men revealing $100 bills shortly after X’s death on June 18th, 2018. They also inquired whether they could open an envelope containing a collection of fingerprints before submitting a verdict in the XXXTENTACION murder trial. Judge Usan agreed that they could review both pieces of evidence as deliberation resumes.
Awaiting Verdict In XXXTENTACION Murder Trial
Boatwright, Williams, and Newsome are currently charged with second-degree murder and armed robbery. However, they’ve maintained their innocence since the trial began. The defense claimed that the star witness, Robert Allen, who confessed to taking part in the robbery, was lying to avoid a life sentence. Meanwhile, the jury reviewed plenty of surveillance footage from Riva Motorsports that documented the moments leading up to XXXTENTACION’s death, including one video where two masked gunmen approach X’s car before shooting him and stealing a duffle bag of cash, that most felt would secure a guilty verdict.
In addition to the footage, the jury also reviewed text messages from Boatwright, who’s alleged to be the shooter. The text messages reveal that he sent text messages to 17 people about getting a car while prosecutors claim that a woman rented the vehicle through an app. There was also a text where he said, “Tell my brother I got the money for the new phone.” Another text from Boatwright included a screenshot of the news surrounding X’s murder. Despite the evidence that prosecutors believe ties the three defendants to the crime, the defense argued that detectives didn’t thoroughly investigate other possibilities including Drake’s alleged involvement. We’ll keep you posted on any more updates surrounding the verdict in XXXTENTACION's murder case.