The rapper Silentó, real name Ricky Lamar Hawk, spoke about his mental health before killing his cousin in 2021.
He yesterday (11 June) pleaded guilty but mentally ill to voluntary manslaughter aggravated assault, possessing a gun while committing a crime and concealing the death of another.
He had made a plea deal with prosecutors that resulted in a murder charge against him being dropped.
On 21 January, 2021, Hawk's cousin Frederick Rooks III was found by police with gunshot wounds to his leg and face outside a home near the city of Decatur, Georgia.
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He was pronounced dead at the scene, with police saying they found 10 bullet casings near Rooks' body and a security video showing a white BMW driving away after gunshots.
A family member told the investigation that Silentó had picked up Rooks, 34, in a car matching that description, with the vehicle's GPS and other footage confirming it.
After he was arrested, Silentó confessed to shooting his cousin and tests matched the bullet casings to a gun he had in his possession upon his arrest.
Who is Silentó?
27-year-old Ricky Lamar Hawk, rapper name Silentó, first reached viral fame in 2015 when he released the song 'Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)' that quickly propelled him to stardom.
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He had released the song after losing a high school talent show and it kicked off a dance craze.
Silentó went on to release more music that turned out to be less successful that his breakout song.
He also spoke about the difficulties of his childhood, having said he grew up in a family that led him to witness violence and mental illness during his younger years.
Prior to being arrested for killing his cousin he had been arrested in August 2020 on a domestic violence charge, and he was then charged with assault with a deadly weapon after he'd entered a house looking for his girlfriend and swung a hatchet at two people.
He was arrested again in October 2020 after police clocked him doing 143mph on Interstate 85 in DeKalb County.
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What was Silentó's sentence?
Having made a plea deal, a judge has sentenced Silentó to 30 years in prison for his crimes.
The initial charge of malice murder brought against him when he was arrested has been reduced to voluntary manslaughter.
The 27-year-old's 30 year sentence will include the time he has spent behind bars since being arrested in 2021.
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According to The Independent, the siblings of Frederick Rooks told DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Courtney L. Johnson that there should have been a longer sentence.
His mental health
Silentó spoke about his mental health on several occasions, including during an appearance on medical talk show The Doctors in 2019.
He said: "I’ve been fighting demons my whole life, my whole life.
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"Depression doesn’t leave you when you become famous, it just adds more pressure. And while everybody’s looking at you, they're also judging you.”
"I don’t know if I can truly be happy, I don’t know if these demons will ever go away."
His publicist said that in 2020 the rapper had attempted to take his own life, and added that at the time he was arrested for killing his cousin he was 'suffering immensely from a series of mental health illnesses'.
Topics: US News, Music, Celebrity, Crime, Mental Health
Joe Harker