A GoFundMe set up by the family of Nicholas “Panda” Davila alleges that he was killed while attending Envision Festival.
An Envision Festival 2024 attendee named Nicholas “Panda” Davila was allegedly murdered while visiting Costa Rica to attend the festival in beachside Uvita.
In a GoFundMe page set up by Davila’s family to help cover his repatriation and funeral expenses, among other things, his father, Carmelo, claimed that he was killed under “very suspicious circumstances” while attending Envision with his sister and four friends. “This case is currently under investigation with the Costa Rican O.I.J and the US Embassy, and we are eagerly waiting for the results and arrests of those involved in my son’s death,” he wrote.
In a post in the Envision Festival Facebook group, Davila’s brother Joey alleged that he was kidnapped in the gathering’s parking lot and killed three hours away.
Costa Rican authorities have told EDM Identity that they were investigating two potential kidnappings. They said that in one, an individual presumed to be American but not identified due to lack of documentation was found dead not far from the festival. They suspect that the other individual is now across the border in Panama.
Envision Festival was not able to respond to EDM Identity’s request for comment.
Launched in 2011, Envision has touted itself as a permaculture festival, meaning that it aims to make a net positive impact on the nearby environment and community through a series of initiatives. In 2018, a 32-year-old man named Wesner Camareno passed away at the festival of an apparent drowning.
The 2024 edition of Envision, which ran from March 4-11, was also complicated by widespread social media reports of attendees succumbing to an illness that caused diarrhea and vomiting. Others reported incidents of robberies and break-ins once uncommon at the festival.
According to his father, Nicholas Davila was a kind and generous animal lover who would “give his shirt off his back to anyone in need.” One expense that his family aims to cover with the fundraiser is an eye surgery needed by Nicholas’ pet dog, Chopper.
At the time of writing, the Davila family’s GoFundMe campaign is sitting at nearly $8,800 of its $25,000 target.
