The 2021 murder of Young Dolph has gone to trial, and one alleged detail about the incident has the internet in shambles — specifically, the amount of money over which the beloved rapper lost his life.
Suspects Cornelius Smith and Justin Johnson testified in court on Monday (Sept. 23) and admitted to participating in the murder. The accused killers said the hit was allegedly put out by rapper Yo Gotti’s older brother, Anthony “Big Jook” Mims, but officials have not publicly identified “Big Jook” as being responsible for Dolph’s death.
Smith and Johnson were expected to be paid $40,000 each to murder the Memphis native. But Smith only received $800 before he was arrested, according to USA Today.
“Reading about Young Dolph’s trial and he didn’t deserve that. He lost his life over $800. A man who was actually doing something positive for his community. A man who had a family. Senseless,” a user on X wrote.
Dolph was known for his commitment to community service — every year, he would work with the Memphis Athletics Ministries in South Memphis and donate holiday turkey’s to struggling families. He was also known to mentor young teens and encourage them to go to college and pursue their education.
“Killing a guy who was in town to help the less fortunate is a wild f***ing concept that only a f***ing idiot can come up with. It be your own people for real. Some people cannot be saved,” another user on X wrote.
“Cornelius Smith killed Young Dolph for a $40,000 hit but didn’t receive nothing but $800. That’s insane throwing your life away over money he never saw and didn’t even know existed. That young man will spend the rest of his life in prison over killing a man he never met,” a user on X wrote.
One of the shooters said they knew Dolph would be at a turkey giveaway drive for the holidays and waited until they spotted the rapper’s vehicle and followed him into a parking lot of Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies and shot him.
If Smith and Johnson are convicted, they will be sentenced to life in prison without parole.
