Rapper Yella Beezy Sentenced to Life Without Parole After Guilty Verdict in Mo3 Murder Case
The 35-year-old, whose real name is Markies Conway, was unanimously convicted on Wednesday, November 11, of hiring the gunman who fatally shot Mo3, whose real name was Melvin Noble. The judge sentenced him immediately after the verdict. Under Texas law, life without parole is the mandatory punishment for an adult convicted of capital murder when prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.
The verdict came exactly six years to the day after Mo3 was killed — a coincidence that was not lost on anyone in the courtroom.
A Six-Year Case Comes to an End
Mo3, 28, was driving on Interstate 35 in south Dallas around noon on November 11, 2020, when the gunman pulled alongside him and opened fire in a brazen daylight attack on a busy highway. Prosecutors said the killing was the result of an escalating feud between Conway and Noble that had lasted years, and that Conway paid the gunman, Kewon White, $40,000 to carry out the shooting.
Conway pleaded not guilty and denied taking part in the killing. But the jury, after a trial built largely on circumstantial evidence — including DNA evidence, iCloud messages and mapping analysis — found him guilty of capital murder by remuneration, the Texas term for a murder-for-hire.
Jurors began deliberating at 9 a.m. and reached their verdict around 2:30 p.m. local time, after about six hours. Prosecutor Tommy Adams said the jury reached the right result, pointing to the DNA evidence, the iCloud messages, the mapping analysis by a special agent and the work of Detective Eric Barnes — and noting the timing of the verdict, six years to the day after Noble was killed, which he said he believed showed a higher power had a plan.
White was separately found guilty of capital murder in September 2026 and was also sentenced to life in prison without parole. A third defendant, Devin Brown, remains charged in connection with the killing and is awaiting trial. Conway was indicted by a Dallas grand jury and arrested in March 2025, and his lawyers are reported to be planning an appeal.
A Closely Watched Trial in Hip-Hop
The case has been one of hip-hop's most closely watched murder trials, drawing intense attention in Dallas and across the music world. Mo3 was a rising star in the Texas rap scene when he was killed, and his death sent shockwaves through the community. For his family and fans, the verdict closes a six-year wait for accountability — even as the appeal process may yet keep the case in the courts.
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