Yella Beezy trial day 1: defense says the $40K was drug money, MO3's mom testifies first

Testimony began Oct. 27 in Yella Beezy's capital murder trial in Dallas. Prosecutors allege he paid $40,000 to have MO3 killed; the defense says that cash was drug money and police had tunnel vision. MO3's mother Nichole Noble was the state's first witness. Yella Beezy has pleaded not guilty.

Day one of testimony is underway in Dallas in the capital murder trial of Yella Beezy, real name Markies Conway. Prosecutor Tommy Adams told jurors the story of MO3's killing starts with a feud between MO3 (Melvin Noble) and Conway that goes back to 2017. He called the case a puzzle and said the evidence, even if it isn't a straight line, leads to Conway. Defense attorney Toby Shook fired back that the state's theory, that Conway paid $40,000 in cash through a middleman to Kewon White to kill MO3, is flawed. Shook said the cash police caught White with wasn't fresh out of the bank, it was drug money with nothing to do with the killing, and that police had tunnel vision and zeroed in on the wrong man. He told jurors they'll hear plenty of reasonable doubt. The first witness for the state was Nichole Noble, MO3's mother. White was convicted in September and is serving life without parole; a third man, Devin Brown, is set for trial in early November. Yella Beezy has pleaded not guilty. The trial is expected to run two to three weeks.

Sources: WFAA and CBS Texas (Oct. 27, 2026). The murder-for-hire accusation is an allegation; Yella Beezy has pleaded not guilty. Photo: via @_LaJanee_ on X.