Casey Anthony is reportedly helping prepare YNW Melly’s defence ahead of his retrial on two murder charges in Florida, working as a research assistant for a private investigator employed by the rapper’s legal team.
People familiar with the case said Anthony is assisting investigator Pat McKenna, who was hired by the law firm representing Melly. Her work is understood to involve researching aspects of the case as lawyers prepare for proceedings scheduled to begin in Broward County in January 2027.
Melly, whose real name is not given in the source material, faces two counts of first-degree murder over the deaths of fellow rappers Anthony Williams, known as YNW Sakchaser, and Christopher Thomas Jr, known as YNW Juvy.
Prosecutors allege that the pair were shot inside a vehicle in October 2018 and that Melly and his co-defendant, Cortlen Henry, staged the scene to resemble a drive-by shooting. The allegations have not been proven in court.
Melly’s first trial ended in a mistrial in July 2023 after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict. Henry, also known as YNW Bortlen, later pleaded no contest to accessory after the fact in September 2025 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by probation.
Melly has been held in custody since his arrest in February 2019. His retrial is due to take place in January.
Anthony became a nationally known figure after the 2008 disappearance of her two-year-old daughter, Caylee. She was subsequently arrested and charged with murder after claiming that the child had been kidnapped by a babysitter.
In 2011, a Florida jury acquitted Anthony of murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter. She was convicted of four misdemeanour counts of providing false information to law enforcement, although two of those convictions were later overturned on appeal.
Anthony, McKenna, Melly’s lawyers and members of his family were approached for comment but had not responded.
