On September 8, Los Angeles police made a grim discovery: a dismembered, decomposing body in the trunk of a 2023 Tesla. The car was registered to David Anthony Burke, known to indie fans as D4vd. The victim was later identified as Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
Contrary to the saying, the dead can leave clues. As more surfaced about Celeste’s identity and her apparent connection to D4vd, the story grew more disturbing. So who was this girl, and how did she tie to the rising indie star?
Here’s everything currently known about Celeste Rivas—and the tragic circumstances linking her to D4vd.
What do we know about Celeste Rivas Hernandez? What were the circumstances of her disappearance?
Celeste was from Lake Elsinore, roughly a 90-minute drive from where her body was found. According to one TikTok user claiming to be her cousin, she had a history of running away—allegedly at least four times—and sometimes stayed with extended family during those periods. Friends and acquaintances described her as “bubbly and sweet.”
Her mother says she was dating someone named David when she went missing. A photo places D4vd in Lake Elsinore prior to her disappearance, just a short walk from Celeste’s home.
Do we have any visual evidence that D4vd and Celeste knew each other?
There are photos of D4vd with a girl who strongly resembles Celeste from before she disappeared. In many of the images, she covers her mouth or hides part of her face with a designer bag or hoodie. The clearest view appears in a livestream video of D4vd with a similar-looking girl; in it, he instructs mods to delete the stream once it ends.
If this is Celeste, it suggests people around him were aware he was seeing an underage girl.
Beyond visual evidence, is there text evidence of a relationship?
Yes. On D4vd’s Discord server, flirtatious exchanges between him and “Celeste” date back to 2022. If this is the same Celeste, she would have been 11 at the time. Fans also speculated on the server that his girlfriend was named Celeste.
On September 19, a Discord moderator posted a message essentially validating the messages’ authenticity and claimed he didn’t know Celeste was underage.
There’s also a January 2024 clip where D4vd tags a user “0907.” Celeste’s birthday is September 7.
Additionally, images show the pair with matching “Shhhh” tattoos on their right index fingers. Celeste’s “Shhhh” tattoo helped authorities identify her. D4vd did not appear to have the tattoo through August 2024, per TMZ, implying he got it after she went missing in April 2024. It doesn’t prove a link, but it raises questions.
Wait, what about those songs that D4vd allegedly wrote about Celeste?
A D4vd demo leaked in December 2023 is titled “Celeste,” with lyrics about obsession: “Oh, Celeste / The girl with my name tattooed on her chest / Smell her on my clothes like cigarettes / I hear her voice each time I take a breath / I’m obsessed.”
Other possible nods include “Hello Kitty Shirt,” with the line: “Tell me where you want it, tell me if it hurts.”
The “Romantic Homicide” video, released in September 2022, predates Celeste’s disappearance but features ominous imagery, including D4vd looking at the bloodied body of a girl in bed.
In the “Rehab” video, his anime avatar dismembers a girl.
What have the people in Celeste’s orbit said about all this?
Alongside her mother’s comments to TMZ, screenshots of a DM exchange purportedly with Celeste’s brother show him alleging that D4vd killed his sister. He says she wanted to wait until 18 to marry and claims he reported his concerns to police without follow-up.
A teacher also went viral claiming he taught Celeste before she vanished, recalling that she previously ran away to Hollywood to be with D4vd (whom she met online), before police found her and returned her to her mother.
I’m seeing a lot of references to Hello Kitty?
In several photos and videos, the girl resembling Celeste wears Hello Kitty pieces, including Hello Kitty crocs. Her missing poster notes Hello Kitty crocs/sandals as the last footwear she had on.
Hello Kitty is a recurring theme for D4vd—he’s frequently pictured in the merch and has used Hello Kitty avatars (including a bloody one) online.
There are also older clips where he references a “Hello Kitty girl” he met in 2021 and makes a so-called “joke” about torture (pouring boiling water) if she looks at other boys.
So, when did the authorities identify Celeste’s body?
Authorities found the remains on September 17 and announced the identity as the 15-year-old girl. That age reflects the date of discovery. Celeste actually went missing on April 4, 2024—over 17 months earlier—and was 13 at the time.
What now? Is D4vd guilty? And has he been arrested?
That’s not established. But the picture is troubling so far.
On September 17, police executed a search warrant at an address less than two blocks from where the Tesla was found. While D4vd doesn’t own the property, he had been living there. TMZ reports investigators were seeking “blood evidence.”
Professionally, fallout has begun—Interscope has halted his promotion.
This story is still unfolding. We’ll be tracking updates as they come.
