NEW YORK — Two men accused of murder in the death of Run-DMC star Jam Master Jay are set to go on trial Monday, more than 20 years after the trailblazing DJ was shot in his New York City recording studio.
Opening statements are scheduled in Brooklyn federal court for the murder trial of Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington , who prosecutors say killed the 37-year-old Jay over a drug deal in 2002. Both men have pleaded not guilty.
Jay, whose birth name was Jason Mizell, worked the turntables alongside rappers Joe “Run” Simmons and Darryl “DMC” McDaniels as the group helped bring hip-hop into the mainstream in the 1980s with hits like “It’s Tricky” and a remake of Aerosmith’s ” Walk This Way .”
His slaying rocked the hip-hop world and led the group to disband, but the case went unsolved until the two men from his Queens neighborhood were arrested in 2020.
“They walked in and murdered him in cold blood,” acting U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme said in 2020 when the indictment was unsealed. “The charges announced today begin to provide a measure of justice to the family and friends of the victim, and make clear that the rule of law will be upheld, whether that takes days, months or decades.”