Chicago rapper William ‘GMEBE Bandz’ Pickering, also known as EBE Bandz, BillyDaKid079 & Will Bandz’ has been officially missing since June 1st. His remains were recently located in a so-far undisclosed location in Winnebago County on Thursday 20th [6/20/2019]. Two 22-year-old men have been charged with his murder and attempting to hide his body.

Rockford Police Chief Dan O’Shea announced today [6/21/2019] that Bandz’ body has been discovered outside of the city. Investigators working the case of Bandz’ disappearance located a crime scene in the 5200 block of Indianhead Avenue in Rockford, Illinois on Thursday June 20th and were reportedly “led to” an area in “unincorporated Winnebago County” where his remains were discovered.

The 2 men being charged in relation his death are William Arzate & Manuel Ramirez, both aged 22 and from Rockford. Arzate is to be charged with 2 counts of first-degree murder, and both face additional charges of concealment of a homicidal death. It’s unclear who else Police suspect Arzate of killing at this point. A 3rd man, identified as 20-year-old Dakota Graff, is still wanted by Police in connection to Bandz’ murder, and Bandz’ exact cause of death is yet to be made public.

Bandz was a popular member of the GMEBE rap group based out of the Eastside of Chicago. His following grew dramatically around the time of Slim Jesus’ rise to fame in 2015, with his gritty delivery & real-life lyrics based on experience contrasting Slim’s manufactured ‘street’ image. Bandz had begun to take music seriously again in 2019 after a short break, releasing a number of notable music videos including ‘When I Die’ & ‘Run It Up’.

Tributes to Bandz have begun pouring in on social media, and somebody behind Bandz’ Instagram page (@BillyDakId079) has posted about the murder suspects, appealing for information on the 3rd so-far not located man and stating that either Ramirex or Arzate were “supposed to be [Bandz’] friend”.