Melly’s ex-girlfriend is in the Broward County Jail for civil contempt, which is an uncommon circumstance in which someone who has not been charged with a crime can be put in jail.
Mariah Hamilton, 24, was arrested by federal authorities at Miami International Airport on Monday as she returned from a three-day vacation in El Salvador.
When Hamilton failed to appear at YNW Melly’s double murder trial in 2023, she disobeyed a judge’s order for her to testify. However, law enforcement became aware of the warrant for her arrest only after she had fled the country.
YNW Melly’s true name is Jamell Demons. He is suspected of shooting and killing his companions, Christopher Thomas Jr. and Anthony Williams, in Miramar in 2018.
Prosecutors say Hamilton’s testimony “vitally bears on the case and cannot be obtained from any other available witness.”
According to court documents, Hamilton agreed to “sign a written promise that she will appear for all future court dates and maintain contact with her attorney and prosecutor to ensure her compliance.”
Her counsel said in a court filing that keeping her in jail for an indefinite period is punitive.
In late 2023, after Demon’s trial ended in a mistrial, Broward Sheriff’s investigators accused Demons and Cortlen Henry, his alleged collaborator in the murders, of witness tampering after prosecutors claimed the two conspired to have a key witness not testify.
Hamilton’s lawyer has asked the judge in the case to hold an emergency hearing to examine her release from detention. He claims she has a college degree and works in medicine, and that she has no criminal record.
Hamilton is still not facing any criminal charges. However, she is being kept in detention without release for breaching the judge’s 2022 order to testify.
