What happened to XXXtentacion? Drake, 6ix9ine, and more named as potential witnesses in rapper’s murder case

New details have emerged in American rapper XXXtentacion's murder case, where defense attorneys of one of the four people convicted for his death have named several celebrities as witnesses.

As per court documents, on December 13, Mauricio Padilla, the defense attorney for accused Dedrick Williams, submitted a list of potential witnesses in the 2018 murder case. The list included famed rappers like Drake, Joe Budden, Offset, Tekashi 6ix9ine, and late Migos rapper Takeoff.

The trial for XXXtentacion's murder is scheduled to begin on January 9 in Broward County, Florida, with the four convicts attached to the case.

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Drake's name is dragged into the list due to his beef with XXXtentacion

During his music career, XXXtentacion was involved in several feuds, including one with Drake. This led to several conspiracy theories on the internet that the One Dance singer was somehow involved in his murder.

In 2017, Drake and XXXtentacion had beef over the former's song KMT which the latter believed was a knock-off of his own 2015 track Look at Me! The drama went on for a year, after which the Hope rapper posted a story on Instagram, which read:

“If anyone tries to kill me it was @champagnepapi. I'm snitching right now."

Although the late rapper claimed that his account was hacked at the time, he was shot and killed four months later in Florida.

XXXtentacion, whose real name was Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, was attacked by two men and shot dead on June 18, 2018, when he was leaving the Riva Motorsports Motorcycle & Marine Superstore, Florida. The 20-year-old rapper was shot several times and even robbed in the attack. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

According to the Miami Herald, on December 15, Broward Circuit Judge Michael Usan asked the defense attorney why the involvement of the aforementioned rappers was relevant while the prosecutors called it a stunt.

They also stated that the attorney did not provide any contact information of the celebrities where they could be served subpoenas.

According to the publication, prosecutor Pascale Achille wrote:

“It is apparent from the deliberate, late disclosure of the defendant’s witnesses and comments made between the parties that [the] defendant intended to ‘surprise’ the state and create a trial by ambush.”

Mauricio Padilla shot down Achille’s claims and blamed the depositions being delayed in the matter.

Padilla told the judge it's "not easy" for him to subpoena "high-profile people" but that does not mean he won't be able to.

“Trying to subpoena Drake is not easy — you need a drone.”

Even if the all-star rappers are named as possible witnesses, this does not necessarily imply that they will be required to appear in court. Their presence would be dependent on Padilla establishing that they are relevant, which is something that is yet to be determined.

Aside from Dedrick Williams, three other people - Robert Allen, Michael Boatwright, and Trayvon Newsome - were charged with shooting XXXtentacion and robbing him of $50,000.

XXXtentacion had a short-lived career, with his hit song Look At Me making its SoundCloud debut in 2015. During his lifetime, he released two studio albums, while two more were released after his death.