On 20 March 2023, the murder trial of famous rap artist XXXTentacion (20-year-old Jahseh Onfroy) came to close, with a Florida jury deliberating for more than a week before finding three men, Michael Boatwright (27), Dedrick Williams (26), and Trayvon Newsome (24), guilty of first-degree murder.
The murder happened nearly five years ago, taking place in broad daylight in Florida in June 2018 outside of a motorcycle shop.
During a struggle that lasted approximately 45 seconds, at least one of the men shot XXXTentacion, before fleeing the scene with a Louis Vuitton bag full of $50,000 cash that he had just withdrawn.
The trial took place in the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where it was declared that all three men would possibly face life sentences.
At the time of his death, XXXTentacion was facing 15 felony charges, which included aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic violence, and witness tampering.
Before his death, the rapper posted a video on social media in which he said, ““If I’m going to die or ever be a sacrifice, I want to make sure that my life made at least five million kids happy, or they found some sort of answers or resolve in my life, regardless of the negative around my name, regardless of the bad things people say to me.”
Much of his music gained popularity in the time after his death, with many of his songs climbing both the UK and US charts, and thousands of fans attended a memorial service for him.
