Del was gunned down in a drive-by shooting along with Russel's other high school friends one night outside a 7-Eleven Store. Almost immediately after his death, Del's spirit took residence inside of Russel's body along with other friends. He would come out of Russel's body, in the form of a ghost, on multiple occasions, usually while he was sleeping, and interact with the members of the band, sometimes even during the recording of songs. During the band's first hiatus, Del was reaped from Russel's body by The Grim Reaper, as shown on the Gorillaz biography Rise of the Ogre. Afterwards, Del and Russel bid farewell to each other before Del finally went to his proper resting place in the afterlife. This experience of both meeting The Grim Reaper face-to-face for the second time and having Del forcibly removed from his body caused Russel to be completely disoriented for a few hours, until he was found by musician Ike Turner, who took him to his place to rest and recover from the event. This also later led him to develop strong anxiety whenever telling or remembering the story. From this point to the present, Del hasn't made any appearance (not even a cameo) since his departure to the afterlife, although on occasion a band member would mention him and his exorcism. He was partially responsible for assisting the Gorillaz in composing the band's hit single, "Clint Eastwood", which sent the band on its way to super-stardom, by providing his rap verses for the song.