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DALLAS, TEXAS, USA — Rapper Yella Beezy on Trial, Accused of Paying a Hitman to Kill Rival Rapper MO3

Dallas rapper Yella Beezy, whose real name is Markies Conway, 35, is on trial for capital murder (the most serious murder charge in Texas) in the killing of rival Dallas rapper MO3, whose real name was Melvin Noble Jr., 28. MO3 was shot and killed in traffic on Interstate 35E in Dallas, near the Dallas Zoo, on Nov. 11, 2020. Prosecutors say Conway paid a hitman, Kewon White, to carry out the shooting because of a feud between the two rappers that began in 2017. White was found guilty in September 2026 and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Conway was arrested in March 2025 and has pleaded not guilty. A jury was picked on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, and witnesses began testifying on Tuesday, Oct. 27, before Judge Chika Anyiam. The trial is expected to last two to three weeks. If found guilty, Conway faces up to life in prison.

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Date
October 27, 2026
Location
Dallas County court, Dallas, Texas
Victims
Melvin Noble Jr. ("MO3"), 28, Dallas rapper and father of three, shot and killed Nov. 11, 2020
Suspect
Markies Conway ("Yella Beezy"), 35, charged with capital murder, pleaded not guilty
Stage
COURT HEARINGS

Last updated:

Evidence

Markies Conway, the Dallas rapper known as Yella Beezy, in a Dallas County courtroom as his capital murder trial began on Oct. 27, 2026. Photo: CBS News Texas
Markies Conway, the Dallas rapper known as Yella Beezy, in a Dallas County courtroom as his capital murder trial began on Oct. 27, 2026. Photo: CBS News Texas

Timeline

  1. NEW COURT HEARINGS

    Update #13 — Day 9: detective walks jurors through Ramona Avenue payment video

    On Day 9 of the Yella Beezy murder-for-hire trial, Dallas police detective Eric Barnes testified as jurors were shown surveillance video from a house on Ramona Avenue which he said shows the convicted killer Kewon White and Conway's associate Jerry Johnson arriving and leaving the house where he says White was paid. Barnes said Conway flew back to Dallas from Los Angeles, withdrew $40,000, met Johnson at his home in Frisco, and flew back to Los Angeles that same night — about 11 days after Melvin "MO3" Noble was killed, on the night of November 22. He said White was later arrested in Mount Pleasant with about $9,670 on him, seized several hours after Johnson met Conway. Conway has pleaded not guilty.
    We are following this case and will update it again as soon as new information comes.

  2. COURT HEARINGS

    Update #12 — Day 8 — prosecutors show nightclub video and raise rap-lyrics evidence

    Day 8 of the Yella Beezy murder-for-hire trial took place in Dallas on Thursday, November 5. Prosecutors presented video of a 2020 Dallas nightclub altercation and raised questions about rap lyrics as the capital murder trial of Markies Conway continued. Conway, known as Yella Beezy, has pleaded not guilty to capital murder over the November 11, 2020 killing of fellow Dallas rapper MO3, whose legal name was Melvin Noble, on Interstate 35E. No verdict has been reached, and the trial is continuing. We are following this case and will update it again as soon as new information comes.

  3. COURT HEARINGS

    Update #11 — Day 7 — informant says the gunman confessed to him and was angry he had not been paid

    On Day 7 of the trial, Wednesday, November 4, prosecutors called Cedric Bradley, a childhood friend of convicted gunman Kewon White who is in federal custody under a cooperation plea deal. Bradley told jurors White confessed the killing to him — that White fired at Melvin "MO3" Noble from a vehicle on Interstate 35, then chased him on foot and shot him in the back — and that White was angry because he had not received the money promised for the killing. The defence attacked Bradley's credibility, pointing to his federal drug-conspiracy and machine-gun plea, the up to 30 years he faces, and a September 2024 meeting with detectives at which he reportedly said he knew nothing about the murder; Bradley denied officials had asked him to lie. Jurors also heard from a District Attorney's Office financial analyst who traced more than $1.44 million through Conway's accounts in 2020, including two $40,000 cash withdrawals — the second on November 20, 2020, nine days after the shooting — and from lead detective Eric Barnes on the early investigation. The trial was due to resume at 9 a.m. on Thursday, November 5. No verdict has been reached. We are following this case and will update it again as soon as new information comes.

  4. COURT HEARINGS

    Update #10 — FBI agent and security officer testify in Yella Beezy trial, Nov 3

    Testimony continued on Tuesday, November 3 in the murder-for-hire trial of Markies Conway, known as Yella Beezy. FBI Special Agent Taylor Page testified that devices associated with Conway and convicted gunman Kewon White pinged the same Houston cell towers on October 31 to November 1, 2020. Page conceded the tower records cannot show the two were together, in the same vehicle, or communicating, and the defence established there were no direct phone communications between Conway and White or Devin Brown in the records discussed. Dallas Officer Nicholas Brooks, who worked off-duty security for Conway, testified he sometimes waited a day or so to be paid and once paid other guards from his own money before Conway settled. Brooks did not link any delayed payment to White or the homicide, and said he contacted Conway after learning of the November 11, 2020 freeway shooting because of reported tensions between Conway and MO3. (Sources: Baller Alert courtroom reporting, November 3; Law & Crime testimony videos.) We are following this case and will update it again as soon as new information comes.

  5. COURT HEARINGS

    Update #9 — Key witness testifies he lied to the grand jury

    Theodore Thomas, known as Jose Bodega, testified in the Yella Beezy murder-for-hire trial on Monday, November 2, under a grant of use immunity, and told the Dallas court he lied when he gave evidence to a Dallas County grand jury in February 2025. Prosecutors walked Thomas through his grand jury answers line by line; he did not deny giving those answers but said he made them up. On cross-examination he agreed he had not taken the answers back for about a year and a half, and first said he lied the day before Kewon White's trial. The judge told jurors they may use Thomas's earlier statements only to judge how much to believe his testimony, not as evidence that the statements are true or that Markies Conway is guilty. Conway has pleaded not guilty to paying $40,000 to have rapper MO3, Melvin Noble Jr., killed in 2020. (Source: WFAA, November 2.) We are following this case and will update it again as soon as new information comes.

  6. COURT HEARINGS

    Update #8 — Jurors hear about cash serial numbers and a West Hollywood hotel stay

    On day four, a Federal Reserve Bank of New York official testified about photos of cash with serial numbers. A West Hollywood hotel worker said Conway was listed as a guest on a reservation in November 2020, when MO3 was killed. A Mount Pleasant officer said he found guns, drugs and just under $10,000 in cash during a traffic stop of Kewon White.

  7. COURT HEARINGS

    Update #7 — Key witness back in court Friday — did not testify, ordered back Wednesday

    The first week of Yella Beezy's murder-for-hire trial wrapped up in Dallas on Friday. Theodore Thomas — the rapper's childhood friend known as Jose Bodega, who pleaded the Fifth to nearly every question put to him on Thursday — was back in court on Friday as Judge Chika Anyiam had ordered, this time with his lawyer. He did not take the stand. The judge ordered him to return again on Wednesday, November 4. Thomas was expected to be a key prosecution witness: he previously testified before the grand jury that indicted Markies Conway (Yella Beezy) over the 2020 killing of rapper MO3, but on the stand Thursday he refused to repeat that account. The trial continues.

    We are following this case and will update it again as soon as new information comes.

  8. COURT HEARINGS Court

    Update #6 — Trial Day 3 — key witness Jose Bodega pleads the Fifth; ordered back Friday at 9 a.m.

    The murder-for-hire trial of Markies Conway, known as Yella Beezy, took an unexpected turn on Thursday, October 29, the third day of testimony. Theodore "Jose Bodega" Thomas, Conway's longtime friend, who had been expected to cooperate with prosecutors under a deal in his separate federal drug case, took the stand and repeatedly answered, "I'm going to plead the Fifth to that," refusing to answer virtually every material question from prosecutors and from the defense. Prosecutors confronted him with more than 140 pages of testimony he gave a Dallas County grand jury in February 2025. Judge Chika Anyiam dismissed Thomas from the stand subject to recall and ordered him to return on Friday, October 30 at 9 a.m. with his lawyer. The court has not yet ruled on whether he can keep invoking the Fifth or what his refusal means for his cooperation deal. Conway has pleaded not guilty to capital murder. We are following this case and will update it again as soon as new information comes.

  9. COURT HEARINGS

    Update #5 — Trial Day 3 — eyewitness describes the shooting

    The trial entered its third day of testimony on October 29, with the prosecution still presenting its case; there is no verdict yet. Neurosurgeon Dr Randall Graham testified that a bullet pierced his windshield and that he performed CPR on MO3 for about 25 minutes. We are following this case and will update it again as soon as new information comes.

  10. COURT HEARINGS Court

    Update #4 — Trial Day 2 — testimony continues in Dallas

    Testimony continued on Wednesday, October 28 in the capital murder-for-hire trial of rapper Yella Beezy (Markies Conway), accused of paying a hitman to kill rival rapper Mo3. The court heard from Mo3's mother, highway witnesses, a first responder and the medical examiner, and saw dashcam footage from the shooting. There is no verdict yet — the trial is expected to run for up to three weeks.
  11. Yella Beezy (Markies Conway) in a Dallas courtroom during his trial. Photo: FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth

    COURT HEARINGS Court

    Update #3 — Yella Beezy Trial Day 1: Defense Says Cash Was Drug Money; Doctor and MO3's Girlfriend Testify

    More testimony came on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, the first full day of the Dallas murder trial of rapper Yella Beezy (real name Markies Conway, 35). Prosecutors say he paid a hitman $40,000 to kill rival rapper MO3 (real name Melvin Noble Jr., 28), who was shot dead on Interstate 35 in Dallas on Nov. 11, 2020.

    Prosecutor Tommy Adams told jurors the killing grew out of a feud between the two rappers that started in 2017. Defense lawyer Toby Shook said the cash police found on the convicted gunman, Kewon White, was drug money, not payment for the killing, and that police wrongly focused on Conway.

    A Dallas Fire-Rescue captain described trying to save MO3's life. A retired medical examiner (the doctor who examined his body) said a gunshot to the heart was the fastest-killing of his wounds. A video expert showed security photos taken outside MO3's girlfriend's apartment in the days before the killing. MO3's girlfriend, Jocylynn Jackson, said she did not want to testify. She told jurors she has two children with Devin Brown, another man charged in the killing.

    Conway has pleaded not guilty. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of capital murder. The judge expects the trial to last two to three weeks. Brown's own trial is expected to start in early November.

    Watch the video: https://www.wfaa.com/video/news/crime/yella-beezy-trial/yella-beezy-trial-the-medical-examiner-takes-the-stand/287-96625474-65ed-4fae-a9bd-4275958d4b51 (Video: WFAA)
  12. Yella Beezy (Markies Conway) in court during his capital murder trial. Photo: FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth

    COURT HEARINGS

    Update #2 — What Happened and How They Were Caught

    What happened: On Nov. 11, 2020, in the middle of the day, Dallas rapper MO3 (Melvin Noble Jr., 28, best known for his 2018 song "Errybody") was driving on Interstate 35E near the Dallas Zoo. A masked gunman got out of his car in traffic, chased MO3 on foot across the highway and shot him 11 times. MO3 died. The attack was caught on camera.

    The victim and his family: MO3 was a father of three who helped support his mother so she could help raise his children. His family called him "Bubba." His mother has now testified at both trials in his killing.

    How they were caught: Dallas police say the killing was a murder for hire, meaning someone was paid to do it. Police arrested Kewon White as the gunman. At White's trial in September 2026, lead Dallas police detective Eric Barnes testified that Conway's bank records showed a $40,000 cash withdrawal on Nov. 20, 2020, two days before what prosecutors say was a payment handoff in Irving, Texas. Detectives also showed text messages they say used code words about money, concert video from Oct. 31, 2020, showing White on stage with Conway days before the killing, and a since-deleted Instagram post where White held a stack of cash with a caption about someone "putting a bag" on MO3, which the detective said means paying for a killing. Police say White never spoke directly with Conway and that go-betweens were used. A Dallas County grand jury indicted Conway, and he was arrested in March 2025.

    What happens next: White was found guilty of capital murder in September 2026 and sentenced to life without parole; his case is on appeal. Conway has pleaded not guilty and his trial is expected to last two to three weeks. If found guilty, he faces up to life in prison. A third man, Devin Brown, is also charged with capital murder; prosecutors say Conway paid him too. Court records show Brown's trial is expected to start in early November.
  13. Markies Conway (Yella Beezy) in court on the first day of testimony, Oct. 27, 2026. Photo: CBS News Texas

    COURT HEARINGS

    Update #1 — Trial Begins: MO3's Mother Is the First Witness

    The capital murder trial of Dallas rapper Yella Beezy (real name Markies Conway) began on Tuesday morning, Oct. 27, 2026, in Dallas. Prosecutor Tommy Adams told jurors the killing of rapper MO3 grew out of a feud that started in 2017 and said the evidence leads to Conway. Defense lawyer Toby Shook told jurors police had "tunnel vision" and said cash found with the gunman was drug money, not payment for a killing. MO3's mother, Nichole Noble, was the first witness. She said she thought her son was in California filming a music video, then found many missed calls, rushed to the hospital and waited for hours before learning he had died. Two women who were driving on I-35 that day described the shooting, and jurors were shown dash camera video from a delivery truck that captured it. Watch the video: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/yella-beezy-mo3-capital-murder-trial-10-27-2026/ (Video: CBS News Texas)

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