Silento Charged With Murdering His Cousin, Is Mental Illness To Blame?

Silento, most notably known for his infectious hit song “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),” is now sitting in a jail cell, charged with the unimaginable crime of killing his own cousin. The story if obviously tragic, but could there be more at play…

The rapper, real name Richard Hawk, was arrested on Monday for allegedly murdering Frederick Rooks who was shot to death in the street on Jan. 21 — this according to the DeKalb County Police Department.

No motive has been revealed, but, according to TMZ, “cops say they obtained Ring camera footage from homes in the area which captured at least one gunshot, and several vehicles fleeing the scene.”

Silento’s camp hasn’t released a statement directly related to the arrest, but his publicist, Chanel Hudson, did post a message on Instagram asking for, “prayer and positive energy.” Hudson also revealed that, “Ricky has been suffering immensely from a series of mental health illnesses.”

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Silento even opened up about his struggle with depression in his song, “I’m Back.”

Unfortunately, this isn’t the 23-year-old’s first brush with the law. He was also arrested twice last year! Let’s definitely keep Silento in prayer.