American Rapper And Influencer Ordered To Pay Up Damages To Family Of Teen Found Dead In 2022

Popular YouTuber Ryan Upchurch is facing legal consequences after making controversial remarks about a missing persons case. Upchurch was sued for defamation and has now reportedly been ordered to pay damages to the victim’s family for emotional distress.

The case stems from the 2022 disappearance of Kiely Rodni, a 16-year-old girl who went missing after attending a party near a campground in California. Weeks later, authorities discovered Rodni’s body inside her submerged vehicle in a creek.

Ignoring the sensitivity of the case, Ryan Upchurch uploaded multiple conspiracy theory videos about the disappearance of Kiely Rodni. The videos circulated widely online, including during the period before authorities recovered Rodni’s body and vehicle.

According to court documents, Upchurch allegedly claimed that Rodni was not a real person and accused her family of creating a fraudulent GoFundMe campaign, describing it as a scam.

The now-deleted videos also allegedly revealed personal information belonging to Rodni’s father, Daniel Rodni, including his phone number and home address, by September 2022. Court filings state that the incident forced Daniel Rodni to go into hiding and spend money on increased home security measures.

In one of these videos, Upchurch supported his theory by stating, “I would not say this unless I was 100% confident. Kiely Rodni is not real. Her grandfather is not real. Her dad is not real. Her mom is not real…All the pictures and videos you're seeing of this Kiely Rodni person are actual pictures and videos from someone else named Callie, that are five to seven years old.”

Nearly four years after the disappearance case, a federal jury under the Tennessee court found the YouTuber liable for defamation. The family had already sued the YouTuber back in 2023 for his defamatory statements and spreading of misinformation.

On May 18, 2026, prosecutors argued that he intentionally inflicted emotional distress on Kiely’s father, Daniel and grandfather, David Robertson, with the kind of statements he made about the case.

The 35-year-old accused was thus ordered by the jury to pay up $6.5 million to the teenager’s father and nearly $11 million to Kiely’s grandfather. Additionally, the family was also awarded another whopping $500,000 in punitive damages. The case was tried at the federal court before Judge William Campbell.

After the authorities found Kiely’s body near the Tahoe National Park, an autopsy report by the medical examiner ruled out any foul play. The Coroner’s Division of Nevada County Sheriff’s office confirmed that the teenager died after drowning.

An official statement from the authorities back then had remarked, “This decision is based on the pathologist's report that she drowned and that there was no other evidence to suggest that she was killed by someone else. As always, our office will keep working with the family and look at any new information about this investigation."