According to friends and family, Dan Robert Bettencourt, Jr. was someone you would love to have around. He had a beautiful smile, was thoughtful and funny, and was very special to all who loved him. Dan was the only son born to Dan and Martha Bettencourt, Sr., and was a father to three children. He enjoyed working out and riding in Mardi Gras parades. Dan was a bartender at the Oz Nightclub on Bourbon Street in New Orleans until three days before his passing. He was planning on moving out of town but was still friends with the employees at the club.

It was Labor Day in the early morning hours on Monday, 09/07/2017. Dan had finished washing his clothes at his friend's home and decided he wanted to return to the Oz Nightclub. So, around 3:30 am, his friend walked him back to the club. Approximately two hours later, authorities received a call requesting assistance due to a disturbance or a fight that was taking place at the club.

Upon arrival, authorities found Dan lying face down in his friend's lap. EMS started CPR and headed to the hospital, but Dan didn't make it and was pronounced dead at the hospital. Almost immediately, rumors began amongst Dan's friends and co-workers, and everyone started asking many questions. In the initial police report, Dan had become "irate" and "uncontrollable" while trying to fight the callers. The report also stated that Dan had pulled a tooth out of one of the bartender's mouths. Still, they said they were able to control him until authorities could arrive. The report also described how Dan was held down in a headlock by his previous co-workers until he was lifeless on the floor. But the investigation would soon take another turn when authorities stated that the call was considered a medical call. It switched gears once more when the homicide detectives started looking into the case. The Orleans Parish Coroner said there were no gross anatomical signs of trauma in the initial autopsy, but it did reveal a potential cardiac abnormality. Yet, during their investigation, the coroner stated that he and his investigators found the circumstances "sufficiently suspicious to warrant alerting NOPD." So, they assigned a homicide detective to the case even though the initial cause of death was undetermined. The coroner was waiting on the toxicology tests to officially classify his cause of death.

The circumstances of his death are still under investigation.