The body of singer Oliver Tree has been returned to the United States, one week after the internet personality was listed as a passenger on a helicopter involved in a fatal crash near Rio de Janeiro that killed six people.
On Sunday, Tree’s team shared an Instagram post on his official account, honouring the late singer and revealing that his body had been transported back to California following the June 14 collision of two helicopters.
“Rest in peace Oliver Tree Nickell June 29th, 1993 – June 14th, 2026. Your legacy will live on forever. Thank you to everyone who has reached out, shown love, support and has done incredible tributes for Oliver,” the post began.
“The constant love, support and positivity is helping the family, friends and collaborators make it through these extremely difficult times.”
His team said Tree’s body is back in California, “where he can finally rest.”
“His legacy will live on through his foundation/endowment named ‘Dr. Oliver Tree’s Extremely Epic Grant For Baby Geniuses’ coming soon,” his team announced. “This is something that Oliver had put together before his passing, written in his will. We will make sure his wish comes to fruition so that more joy, love and art can be spread into the world, that was his final wish.
“Love you all so much, Oliver would be so proud of every one of his supporters, friends and family. Peace be with Oliver.”
In April, Tree spoke about wanting to give his “wealth or the things that get made from it” away.
“When I die — I’ve set it up — my will is set up that when I pass, my family, no one’s going to get a penny,” he said during an appearance on The Zach Sang Show.
Tree was among those listed on the passenger list filed with aviation authorities for one of the helicopters that crashed into a parking lot of a car dealership last week.
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Police also confirmed the death of Gaspar Prim Díaz — an Argentine content creator known as Gaspi with more than 2.8 million followers on YouTube — another Argentine, Lucas Vignale, and three Brazilians — Lucas Brito, Charles Marsillac and Alexandre Souza, according to The Associated Press.
The Associated Press reports that human error might have led to the collision between the two helicopters, according to Rio de Janeiro police investigator Alan Luxardo. He added that authorities were investigating whether air traffic controllers or one of the pilots was responsible for the crash.
Rio de Janeiro’s Military Fire Department said one of the helicopters crashed in the parking lot of a car dealership, where several electric vehicles were parked, igniting a fire that was extinguished.
Tree performed in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on June 4 and shared videos on Instagram Saturday, where he was playing soccer in a Brazilian neighbourhood.
The 32-year-old singer was in the middle of his headlining world tour for his fourth studio album, Love You Madly, Hate You Badly, which began on May 30 in Mexico City.
Tree, who has more than three million followers on Instagram and 17.2 million followers on TikTok, debuted his first EP, Demons, in 2013 and spent his early career producing dubstep and performing under the artist name “Tree.”
In 2017, Tree signed with Atlantic Records and released his single Welcome to LA under the name Oliver Tree in 2018.
Tree went on to release four studio albums with Atlantic, including Ugly Is Beautiful (2020), Cowboy Tears (2022), Alone in a Crowd (2023) and Love You Madly, Hate You Badly, which was released in April.
Along with his music career, Tree also broke the Guinness World Record for the largest kick scooter on Earth in 2020, measuring more than 4.16 metres tall and 3.13 metres long.
— with files from The Associated Press
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