The trial of Michael Boatwright, Trayvon Newsome, and Dedrick Williams began on February 7, 2023, after ten days of jury selection, nearly five years after the death of Jahseh Onfroy.
Opening statements Prosecution Lead prosecutor Pascale Achille gave the opening statement for the state. She gave an overview of the state's case, that the three defendants, along with Allen, tracked and targeted Onfroy and that surveillance video, among other evidence, will prove it. She said that the defendants trapped Onfroy in his black
BMW i8 with their rented
Dodge Journey, and stole Onfroy's
Louis Vuitton bag containing $50,000 in cash. She stated that Boatwright then murdered Onfroy without provocation, and that the defendants later boasted on social media about the cash which they robbed from Onfroy.
Defense Michael Boatwright's attorney, Joseph Kimok, stated in his opening statement that Michael Boatwright was innocent and had been falsely accused of murdering Onfroy. He alleged that Broward County authorities rushed the investigation, and that Boatwright took some "very stupid" photos with the stolen money, but that he was not the murderer. He claimed that the fact that Boatwright searched "
accessory to murder" proves that he is innocent. Newsome's attorney, George Reres, similarly claimed that his client was not there, and Williams's attorney, Mauricio Padilla, alleged that authorities did not investigate the possibility that rapper
Drake, whom Onfroy had feuded with, was involved, and similarly to Kimok, accused authorities of rushing the investigation. Robert Allen, who had pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Onfroy (with the premeditated first-degree murder charge dropped) and armed robbery in exchange for testimony against the other three defendants, testified against the three on day two of the trial on February 8, 2023. Allen stated that he had been closest with Dedrick Williams out of the three defendants, and had been friends with him for about five years and hung out almost every day. Allen stated that Trayvon Newsome had been living with him for about two or three weeks at the time of the murder. When Allen was asked by Williams's attorney if he was testifying against the other three defendants to "save [his] own skin" to get a lighter sentence or if he genuinely had remorse, Allen responded, "Well, I definitely would like to get a lighter sentence, yes, but I definitely have remorse ... I mean, I sit and look at the stand and see people crying, and I'm trying to do my best to get [Onfroy's] family and friends and his fans justice." He stated that his time in jail has given him much time to reflect on the situation.
Tenell Carter On February 15, 2023, Dedrick Williams's former girlfriend, Tenell Carter testified against Williams for the prosecution. She testified that Williams confessed to her that he orchestrated the robbery and murder of Onfroy, and that he had attempted to have her write an
affidavit lying that he was not the driver of the murder vehicle. Countering the defense's narrative, Carter stated that Williams never said anything about Drake or the rapper group
Migos being involved in the murder, a conspiracy theory proposed by Williams's defense attorney.
John Curcio The lead detective in the murder investigation, John Curcio testified for the prosecution on February 23, 2023. He led the jury through the stages in the investigation. He stated, "The two different timelines mirrored each other. When the phone arrived, the car, the journey is seen, when the phone leaves Riva, the journey is leaving Riva." He denied conspiracy theories brought up by the defense regarding any involvement of Drake.
Nicole Ihnat Nicole Ihnat, a forensic DNA analyst from the Broward County crime laboratory testified for the prosecution on February 28, 2023. She stated that forensic DNA evidence, including DNA on the masks used during the murder, were consistent with the defendants'. She stated that the DNA linked to the suspects was extremely rare. Specifically, that Dedrick Williams' was rarer than 1 in 831
octillion, and DNA linked to Michael Boatwright was rarer than 1 in 929
nonillion.
Witness intimidation allegations against Trayvon Newsome During the third day of the trial, Allen and a prison officer alleged
witness intimidation against Trayvon Newsome. Allen and the prison officer stated that earlier that day while Allen and the other co-defendants were in their holding cells, Newsome yelled at Allen that he was a "police ass nigga", "work[s] for the police", that he is "working for the white man", and is "a sell out". The prosecution stated that this was a clear attempt to influence Allen's testimony.
Involvement of conspiracy theories regarding Drake February 9, 2023, the third day of the trial, mainly featured Robert Allen confirming and corroborating information and details about the murder that the prosecution had present. Rapper
Drake was also ordered to testify on February 27, and could be charged with
contempt of court if he did not appear. On February 13, 2023, Drake's lawyer
Bradford Cohen appeared in court requesting for the cancellation of the requested deposition.
Defense In his closing argument, George Reres, Newsome's lawyer, said that the witness intimidation allegations do not prove Newsome's guilt, and contended that Newsome was not "bragging" when he was in videos with his co-defendants flashing Onfroy's stolen money, and that it was instead "something done by young people these days".
Prosecution rebuttal In her rebuttal to the defenses' closing arguments, Achille said in response to defense attorneys saying Allen was not credible since he was an admitted criminal, "Plans hatched in hell don't have angels for witnesses." She responded to Williams's lawyer saying Allen could not be trusted because he has tattoos by bringing up that Williams himself has numerous tattoos. She also responded to Boatwright's lawyer by saying that the reason so much evidence was found weeks after the murder was because Boatwright attempted to flee to Georgia. Michael Boatwright made headlines for the fact that he blew a kiss to Onfroy's family as the guilty verdicts were read, with many online expressing their contempt for Boatwright's conduct. == Sentencing ==