Someone stole unreleased Beyoncé music from a car in Atlanta. What to know about the investigation
They lost more than just clothing, sunglasses and headphones. According to an Atlanta police report, the thief also made off with thumb drives containing the singer's 'unreleased music.' Police say they have identified a suspect, but they hadn't announced any arrests as of Tuesday.
Here's what we know about Beyoncé's stolen music.
The break-in and robbery
The theft was reported July 8, which was two days before Beyoncé kicked off four nights of concerts at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium as part of tour of the U.S. and Europe in support of her Grammy-winning album, 'Cowboy Carter,'
Beyoncé's choreographer, Christopher Grant, and dancer Diandre Blue called police after dining at a restaurant at a retail complex a few miles (kilometers) east of the downtown Atlanta stadium.
They said their rented Jeep Wagoneer had been broken into while parked in a nearby garage. They had left it for about an hour after stopping to eat shortly after 8 p.m.
Among the things that were stolen were two suitcases, a pair of sunglasses, Apple headphones, two Apple laptops and five thumb drives, according to the police report.
'They have my computers and it's really, really important information in there," one of the men told a 911 operator in a recording released by police. "I work with, um, someone who's, like, of a high status, and I really need my computer and everything.'
Grant told officers at the scene that he and Blue work for Beyoncé and that he had been "carrying some personal sensitive information for the musician.'
The police report said the thumb drives contained 'watermarked music, unreleased music, footage plans for the show, and past and future set list(s)."
A representative for Beyonce' did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Police zero in on a suspect
Investigators have 'secured an arrest warrant for a suspect,' police said in a news release Monday. They did not release the suspect's name but said the person was at large.
The 911 caller, who isn't identified on the released recording, noted that one of the stolen laptops had tracking software enabled. The police report says officers canvassed an area by following signals from the laptop and the stolen headphones.
Although it's unclear what evidence following the tracking signals yielded, the police report lists a red 2025 Hyundai Elantra as a possible suspect vehicle. It also says an officer inspecting Grant and Blue's rented Jeep was able to retrieve 'two very light' fingerprints.
The police report also mentioned that cameras 'captured the incident' at the garage.
Car break-ins are common in Atlanta
As thousands of Atlanta residents and visitors learn every year, thieves commonly target parked cars with luggage and other potential valuables left in sight.
There were 7,195 thefts from vehicles reported to Atlanta police in 2024, and 3,185 more have been reported since January. Police recorded 105 thefts from cars during the week before Beyonce's unreleased music was reported stolen.
'Take your bags, phone, and anything important with you every time you leave your car,' police said in their news release about the thefts from Beyonce's choreographer and dancer. 'Don't give criminals an easy win.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
30 minutes ago
- BBC News
Grenfell survivors visit cladding firm Arconic's Pittsburgh HQ
Two bereaved survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire have travelled from west London to the US headquarters of cladding manufacturer Arconic. Nick Burton and Marcio Gomes made the trip to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to mark the recent eighth anniversary of the tragedy, which claimed the lives of 72 company was criticised by the Grenfell Tower public inquiry for its role in the refurbishment of the 23-storey tower block.A recent Netflix documentary also alleged a senior executive based in Pittsburgh was aware of the sale of its aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding for Grenfell Tower. Arconic has always denied wrongdoing and maintained its product was not unsafe. Others were to blame, it has claimed, for the incorrect installation and usage. Pittsburgh, known as the Steel City of the USA, is the home of Arconic, a multibillion-dollar global manufacturing cladding Reynobond PE 500 was used on the outside of Grenfell Tower. It was made of ACM - sheets of thin metal with a flammable plastic core. 'Systematic dishonesty' The fire at Grenfell Tower in North Kensington started in a kitchen on the fourth floor and in less than 20 minutes climbed 19 storeys to the top of the tower. The public inquiry found the cladding was the "primary cause" of the rapid spread of the fire and should not have been used on a building of that inquiry concluded Arconic promoted and sold the product knowing it presented "a significant danger" and behaved with "systematic dishonesty". Nick Burton was rescued from the 19th floor of Grenfell Tower with his wife of 30 years, Pily. Soon after she suffered a stroke and when she died became the 72nd victim of the says it was important for him to go to Arconic's Pittsburgh headquarters."For all these years they're going about their business making record profits," he says. "We wanted to give them a wake-up call and show them we are still here."Nick's friend and fellow survivor Marcio Gomes escaped from the 21st floor with his two young daughters and his then wife, who was heavily was carrying their baby son - who they'd called Logan. But while she was in a coma Logan was stillborn. He was the youngest victim of the fire. Marcio says it was "emotional" to be in the city of Arconic's HQ. "There was a lot of anger and rage but also power and strength."Nick and Marcio spoke to people on the streets of downtown Pittsburgh about their personal stories and how a local company was connected to says it was positive to meet locals who were "fantastic and really lovely" and that engaging with them was "amazing".They made the trip with friend and campaigner Moyra Samuels. "The reception was really welcoming," Moyra says. "People wanted to listen. We didn't get any negative responses, so it was really hopeful." The group also met some firefighters from a local fire department. "They knew about Grenfell but they didn't know about the links to Arconic," Nick are tougher fire safety restrictions regarding the use of ACM cladding on high-rise buildings in the US. "They had training about cladding fires but the fire chief told us Grenfell would probably not have happened in America," Marcio adds. The group's visit was documented by Pittsburgh filmmaker Chris Ivey. He's been following the Grenfell justice campaign for many years and highlighting Arconic's connection locally. He says he wants to "educate people in Pittsburgh but also to do justice to the community in London that has been suffering for so long".Over the past few years, he's put on local exhibitions and documentary films about Grenfell, laid flowers outside Arconic's offices on the fire's anniversary and also driven video billboards by the homes of their executives."Arconic have kept Grenfell very quiet in Pittsburgh," Chris says. "Even when I try to talk to local politicians, they hear it but they don't respond."If it's not happening at home they disregard it and people say 'we didn't know about this'," Chris says. "Well, they didn't want you to know." Arconic rejected this suggestion and told the BBC it had made several public statements about Grenfell, which were also made available to its local its website, the company has posted: "Arconic Architectural Products (AAP) is a leading manufacturer of composite material, pre-painted, light-to-heavy gauge aluminum and bonded sheets."With manufacturing facilities in Europe and North America, our products are produced with precision and contribute to distinctive building facades around the globe."The panels used on Grenfell Tower were manufactured by Arconic Architectural Products SAS at a factory in Merxheim, another statement made in response to the public inquiry, Arconic said: "AAP sold sheets of aluminium composite material as specified in the design process. This product was safe to use as a building material, and legal to sell in the UK as well as the more than 30 other countries in which AAP customers purchased the product."We reject any claim that AAP sold an unsafe product. AAP did not conceal information from or mislead any certification body, customer, or the public."On the eighth anniversary of the fire, Arconic said it had "made financial contributions to settlements for those impacted, and we support all efforts to strengthen regulatory oversight in the construction industry".It added that it would "fully engage with ongoing legal processes".Arconic also said American senior executives were "not responsible for products, process, markets and certifications" in other countries. "As president of the Alcoa Building and Construction Systems, Diana Perreiah supported the management of AAP SAS in relation to financial matters and strategic oversight only. She was not responsible for the performance and day-to-day running of the business." The group's visit ended with a video projection of flames at night against the outside of Arconic's office building."It looked so real," Nick says. "We never wanted to burn their building down. We need to make that clear. But to look at their building and see the flames projected, it was very emotional.""This isn't just about Grenfell," Marcio says. "This is about going forward. We need to be able to hold these companies to account.""Someone has to be prosecuted," Moyra adds. "That will bring us a sense of justice, healing and peace."The Metropolitan Police investigation into what happened at Grenfell Tower is still ongoing. They Met has said it expects it to conclude by the end of 2026.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Teen describes moment she was choked by father in attempted 'honor killing' after refusing arranged marriage
A teenage girl sobbed as she told a court how she feared for her life as her own father choked her during an alleged 'honor killing'. Fatima Ali, 18, was giving evidence against her parents Ihsan Ali, 44, and mother Zahraa Subhi Mohsin Ali, 40, at their attempted murder trial on Tuesday. The couple are accused of trying to strangle their daughter outside Timberline High School in Lacey, Washington, on October 18 last year. Terrifying footage first published by the Daily Mail before the trial, and shown to the court today, shows Ihsan put her in a chokehold on the ground until her boyfriend Isiah, classmates, and bystanders rescued her. Fatima, who was just 17 when she was attacked, bravely told the jury of the agonizing moments her consciousness slipped away in her father's grasp. The petite 5ft 1in girl weighting just 101lbs felt his arms around her throat and 'dirt on my face' from the ground, couldn't breathe, and had pain in her neck. Prosecutor Heather Stone asked what Fatima was thinking as she struggled to stay alive. 'Heartbroken for what my dad did,' she said. 'Did you have any fear?' Stone asked. 'Yes.' 'Fear of what?' 'Of dying,' Fatima choked out, her voice breaking into a sob. She was barely able to respond 'no' when asked if she could say anything during the attack. Fatima was in such a state that Thurston Superior Court Judge Christine Schaller called a recess. The teenager explained she lost consciousness four times during the attack and only has flashes of memory. 'I could see my hand reaching my neck... because I knew my dad was choking me,' she said of one of them. 'I saw darkness at first. [Then] I saw Isiah and a friend standing above me.' Ihsan and Zahraa are accused of attempting to carry out a Muslim 'honor killing' on Fatima 'for refusing an arranged marriage with an older man in another county'. Fatima told police at the time her father threatened her with the barbaric practice multiple times, and was furious she was dating an American boy. Her parents planned to send her to their home town of Najaf in Iraq on a one-way ticket hours before she sneaked out of the house about 6am with just $100 she took from her mother and a bag of clothes. Fatima told the court she never told her parents she didn't want to get on the plane because 'no matter what I say it doesn't really change'. When she got to Timberline, the school counselor helped her find a place at Haven House, a youth crisis center, and gave her a blanket and a laptop to continue her studies. But the school didn't offer her a ride to the shelter, so when school ended at 2pm she walked to the bus stop with Isiah, who was 16 at the time. They saw what they thought was Ihsan's pickup truck but hoped it wasn't. He was already at the bus stop when they arrived. Fatima testified that at first her father didn't appear angry as he asked her to come home with him, but she 'felt the energy and intensity [increase]'. '[I told him] I didn't wanna go back home,' she said. Did he accept that? 'No.' 'Every time that I backed away, he comes closer.' Fatima said Isiah was by he side patting her back to comfort her as she argued with her dad in Arabic, but this seemed to make Ihsan angrier. When the bus finally arrived, Fatima turned to get on it and Ihsan grabbed her hoodie and said 'my daughter' in Arabic, she told the court. Isiah tried to push Ihsan away, but footage from the bus cameras showed the much larger man punch him in the face and send him flying. With the teen boy out of the way, he went after his daughter, grabbing her by the throat as she tried to flee. The girl's boyfriend jumped to his feet and along with two others boys charged at Ihsan and tried to pull him away, knocking both to the ground. The boys began punching, kicking, and stomping Ihsan as he put his daughter in a chokehold and refused to let go despite the flurry of blows. Fatima told the court she woke up hearing her mother saying 'my daughter' and felt feels Zahraa holding onto her chest and her neck. Prosecutors and witnesses alleged Zahraa was trying to finished the honor killing by strangling Fatima after Ihsan was subdued. Fatima said she initially couldn't get up and eventually when she was pulled away from her mother's grasp and tried to walk away, her legs were weak. She said her older sister Haneen, 21, who is not charged with a crime, was holding on to her sleeve and she tried to get her to let go. Eventually Haneen released her and she ran towards the school. Fatima told the court she was trying to get away from mother and sister because 'I was afraid'. She said she couldn't have gotten away if she was alone, but wasn't asked if that meant she would have died. Fatima ran into the school office, pursued by her mother. 'I told them he (Ihsan) was trying to kill me,' she said. Prosecutors did not ask the teenagers about the years of abuse she told police her father subjected her and her siblings, or about Ihsan's alleged threats to kill her. Judge Schaller ruled prosecutors couldn't bring up the arranged marriage or allow Fatima to talk in detail about a family trip to Iraq when she was 16. She only told the court 'I felt unsafe' when she was there. Fatima told police in her interview last year that the trip made her fearful of being sent there to be married off and never allowed to return to the US. Ihsan's lawyer Erik Kaeding and Zahraa's attorney Tim Leary will continue cross-examining Fatima on Wednesday. Isiah is also expected to give evidence this week. Witnesses, including Isiah and Fatima's classmates, gave evidence earlier in the trial about what they saw during the horrifying attack. John Denicola, a bus driver who stopped to help and whose cameras recorded the melee, told the court how he frantically tried the save the girl. 'Obviously, she was in distress, her eyes were rolling into the back of her head, you could tell she was not able to breathe,' he said. 'The look on [Ihsan's] face and the way he was squeezing, he was choking her.' Denicola said Ihsan didn't say anything as he choked Fatima, but his eyes were 'wide open' and he 'was focused on his task at hand'. Josh Wagner, a motorist who stopped his car in the middle of the road and ran to help, described how he freed Fatima from her father's chokehold. 'Her face was changing color as she was being choked... she was gonna lose consciousness if it continued... it was very obvious she was being choked,' he told the court. Wagner, a 13-year US Army veteran, held Ihsan down until police arrived and handcuffed him. Both Denicola and Wagner said the dozens of punches and kicks Isiah and his classmates laid into Ihsan were ineffective at getting him to stop choking Fatima. Wagner's wife Mary Wagner described how Fatima ran in front of her behind the tree pursued by Zahraa and her eldest sister Haneen, 21, then ran towards the school - as shown on the video Wagner's wife Mary, who watched the attack from her car before crossing the road moments later after Fatima was back on her feet. 'She appeared incredibly confused, she seemed not to know what her surroundings were, she was in kind of a panic,' she said. 'She turned around and looked at me, and her eyes were huge, she had hair in her face, she looked completely disheveled, she looked very confused, absolutely terrified.' Two of the teens' classmates also testified on Tuesday to seeing Fatima in similar distress as her father choked her. Both Ihsan and Zahraa are charged with second-degree attempted murder and attempted kidnapping, along with lesser crimes. They have been behind bars since soon after the attack on bonds of $1 million and $500,000. The trial is expected to continue for the rest of the month.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Will Sydney Sweeney become the next 007 Bond Girl?
Sydney Sweeney is NOT currently slated to play a Bond Girl in the upcoming James Bond adaptation from Amazon MGM Studios. The 27-year-old actress is not currently in negotiation to join the long-running series of spy movies, an insider told TMZ Tuesday. Speculation of Sweeney signing on with Amazon MGM for the big budget blockbuster came after the rising star was in attendance at the Italy wedding of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez earlier this month. Sweeney is in business with Bezos and his new bride Sanchez on a separate project - a lingerie line that the wealthy tandem is funding via their venture capital company Coatue. Reports of the Emmy-nominated actress' potential involvement in the project came amid widespread speculation she would steer her surging career in the direction of the venerable film franchise. Daily Mail has reached out to reps for Sweeney and Amazon MGM for further comment on the story. Reports of the Emmy-nominated actress' potential involvement in the project came amid widespread speculation she would steer her surging career in the direction of the venerable film franchise Sweeney has been on a professional roll in recent years, she's been seen in the 2023 romantic comedy Anyone But You alongside Glen Powell; and starred in the 2024 horror movie Immaculate and 2025 AppleTV+ thriller Echo Valley. Insiders told TMZ that tidbits the Euphoria actress will be cast in as a Bond Girl are simply instances of 'wishful thinking on the part of her fans' - and not grounded in reality. Production on the motion picture has not yet advanced to the point where the roles were being cast. Producers last month earmarked filmmaker Denis Villeneuve to helm the director's chair, and have not replaced the outgoing Daniel Craig in the title role. Villeneuve delved into detail about his appreciation for the James Bond franchise throughout the years in a statement confirming his involvement with the blockbuster film. 'Some of my earliest movie-going memories are connected to 007,' the four-time Academy Award nominee said last month. 'I grew up watching James Bond films with my father, ever since Dr. No with Sean Connery. 'I'm a die-hard Bond fan. To me, he's sacred territory. I intend to honor the tradition and open the path for many new missions to come.' The Dune director said of the 007 job: 'This is a massive responsibility, but also, incredibly exciting for me and a huge honor.' The most recent release in the film franchise was the 2021 movie No Time to Die, which marked the final performance from Daniel Craig in the legendary role of the secret agent. Craig, 57, told The Sunday Times last year about the impact the role, which he played across five feature films from 2006 thru 2021, had on his career as a whole. 'Early on with Bond I thought I had to do other work, but I didn't,' Craig said. 'I was becoming a star, whatever that means, and people wanted me in their films. Incredible.' He added, 'Most actors are out of work for large chunks so you take your job offers - but they left me empty. Then, bottom line, I got paid. 'I was so exhausted at the end of a Bond it would take me six months to recover emotionally. I always had the attitude that life must come first and, when work came first for a while, it strung me out.'
