Safiyya was sound asleep at her parents’ apartment when the unthinkable happened. It was almost midnight on a Monday last September, and her phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. She got out of bed and went over to her computer, her body pulsing with adrenaline. Messages were pouring in on the Discord server she moderated.

The Discord server known as “d4vd’s closet,” for fans of the Soundcloud-native singer-songwriter D4vd, was processing horrific news in real time. Hours earlier, on the afternoon of September 8, a decomposing body had been discovered in the front trunk of a black Tesla in a Los Angeles tow yard. It was registered, in Texas, to then-20-year-old David Anthony Burke, the real name of D4vd.

In “Romantic Homicide,” one of his breakout hits, D4vd plays “Itami,” a murderous alter ego who sings from behind a blindfold. The music video shows Itami dragging and burying a lifeless body. Now D4vd’s fans wondered in the Discord server: Was D4vd’s art imitating his life, or was it the other way around?

Safiyya joined D4vd’s Discord more than two years earlier. She liked staying up late after work and chatting with the thousands of people in D4vd’s Discord. She didn’t know much about anyone beyond their avatars and usernames, but they all had one thing in common: D4vd’s music. Members debated their favorite tracks, compared merch, and shared tour dates they planned to attend.

In the early hours of September 9, though, Safiyya started to resent her role as moderator. There was confusion, pandemonium, and jokes—many in exceptionally poor taste. Some speculated that D4vd had been framed, or that this was all promo for his forthcoming album. As anxious as Safiyya felt, discussing a murder case in real time—one involving someone they all had at least a parasocial relationship with—was also kind of thrilling.