A Los Angeles tattoo artist has been arrested for murder following an alleged drunk driving car crash that killed YouTube star Corey La Barrie on his birthday, authorities said.
Daniel Joseph Silva, 27, who was previously featured on the reality TV show Ink Master, was arrested on a murder charge in connection to the Sunday night crash of a 2020 McLaren 600LT that killed his passenger, according to the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division.
The passenger has been identified by family members as La Barrie, who died on his 25th birthday. According to TMZ, the two men were previously celebrating Le Barrie’s birthday at his house before getting in the car.
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“My heart breaks right now,” La Barrie’s mother, Lisa Burton, wrote on Instagram Monday evening. “On my son’s 25 birthday today he was very drunk and got into a car with a drunk driver. The accident killed him instantly. No words can describe the sadness I feel in loosening [sic] a child. It just feels so unreal and I’m overwhelmed with grief. I love you so much Corey and will miss you so so much. It’s just so unfair.”
Authorities say the “DUI fatal incident” occurred just after 9:39 p.m. on Sunday when Silva was traveling “at a high rate of speed” in the Los Angeles valley. Losing control of the car, Silva allegedly ran off the road and collided with a stop sign and a tree.
“The driver of the McLaren exited the vehicle and attempted to leave the scene but was stopped by citizens who came to render aid,” police said. “No other vehicles were involved in the collision.”
Silva and his passenger were transported to a local hospital, where La Barrie was pronounced dead, the police said. It was not clear what injuries Silva sustained, but he was photographed by Los Angeles Daily News being stretchered to an ambulance.
Tattooist Daniel Silva was arrested on a murder charge.
YouTube/Daniel SilvaThe L.A.-based tattoo artist, best known for his appearance in season 10 of Ink Masters—a competition series for tattoo artists—is being held on $200,000 bail, online jail records show.
Prior to his death, La Barrie had garnered over 330,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel and 269,000 followers on Instagram where he shared his daily life in L.A. Over the last few weeks, the 25-year-old was focusing on quarantine-themed videos with his roommates, fellow content creators CJ Caylen, Crawford Collins, and Chelsey Amaro.
In his last video uploaded to YouTube on Saturday, La Barrie revealed he was planning to live-stream his birthday celebrations with a few friends the following day. He encouraged his followers to tune in.
“Let’s fucking go!” he said in the video. “We might get a little bit drunk but who knows.”
His brother, Jarrad La Barrie, also paid tribute to the late star on Instagram on Monday evening, calling his post “the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.” He also alleged that his brother’s death was caused by “a car accident with his drunk friend driving.”
“This isn't something I thought I would ever have to sit here and type out for a very long time or what I wanna do right now but everyone deserves to know, my brother Corey passed away last night in a car accident with his drunk friend driving,” Jarrad wrote.
He added, “Thank you for always being the best big brother I could ask for I love you so fucking much life’s never gonna be the same without you.”
Silva, who finished in seventh place on Ink Masters in 2018, returned for a spinoff of the show, Ink Master: Angels. The 27-year-old also started a YouTube channel featuring slow-motion videos of him creating intricate tattoo designs.
The Los Angeles Police Department declined to provide additional details on the ongoing investigation or confirm La Barrie was the 25-year-old passenger in the fatal accident. It was not immediately clear if Silva has a lawyer.
