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Jury Begins Deliberations in Yella Beezy Capital Murder Trial Over 2020 Freeway Killing of Dallas Rapper MO3
A Dallas County jury began deliberating Wednesday in the capital murder trial of Markies Conway, the rapper known as Yella Beezy, accused of hiring a gunman to kill fellow Dallas artist MO3 in a 2020 freeway shooting. Prosecutors allege a murder-for-hire plot rooted in a years-long feud; the defense says the case is built on speculation.
A Dallas County jury began deliberating Wednesday morning in the capital murder trial of Markies Conway, the Dallas rapper known professionally as Yella Beezy, who is accused of orchestrating the 2020 freeway killing of fellow artist MO3 in what prosecutors describe as a murder-for-hire scheme.
Conway has pleaded not guilty to capital murder in the death of MO3, whose legal name was Melvin Noble. The case went to the jury after closing arguments Tuesday capped more than two weeks of testimony that centered on a burst of gunfire on a Dallas freeway and the feud prosecutors say preceded it.
According to the prosecution's account, Conway hired Kewon White to kill Noble, following a dispute between the two rappers that dated back to 2017. White was convicted of capital murder in September and sentenced to life in prison. Jurors in Conway's trial heard from witnesses who described the chaotic shooting scene, and the panel must now decide whether the evidence proves Conway arranged the killing.
The trial has drawn intense attention in Dallas, where both men were prominent figures in the local hip-hop scene and where the killing on a public roadway underscored concerns about gun violence spilling into everyday spaces. A conviction on capital murder would carry a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole; prosecutors did not seek the death penalty in this case.
Deliberations are expected to continue Wednesday. The jury's verdict, when it comes, will close one chapter of a case that has wound through Dallas courts for more than six years.