Rising Musician D4vd Faces Grooming and Murder Allegations
On April 5th of 2024, a girl went missing in Lake Elsinore, CA. A year later, fifteen-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found deceased inside the impounded Tesla of indie-pop artist “d4vd”. This discovery has stunned fans and raised urgent questions about the young musician’s rapid rise and sudden fall. What once seemed like the story of a promising star is now clouded by tragedy and controversy.
The Murder and Connection to David
American singer David Anthony Burke first gained traction on TikTok in 2022 from his song “Romantic Homicide.” By early September 2022, the song was being used in over 245,000 videos on TikTok and charted on the Billboard Hot 100. He then signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records.
“In the back of my mind, you died,” – a lyric from the song that was so viral, is now being analyzed in a completely different way. The internet has uncovered numerous clues connecting David to the murder case, apart from Celeste being found in his car.
“One of his most popular songs, “Romantic Homicide,” [had the music video] released on the birthday of the girl who was found dead in her car…. It gives me a chilling feeling. Also, a lot of his songs are about love, so I wonder how many were devoted to the girl in the car,” said Junior Alana Russell.
The main reason people are connecting David to this is that Celeste had a “Shhh” tattoo on the same finger that David has his “Shhh” tattoo. Alongside this, a recent interview with Celeste’s mother shows that, from what she knew, Celeste did have a boyfriend named “David.” People believe this could be a typical parasocial relationship that often happens with teenage girls and celebrities; nothing has been confirmed.
David’s anime music video “Rehab” continues the story from his song “Here With Me,” showing him battling his alter ego IT4MI. A young female character, appearing to be a teen or young adult, manipulates IT4MI, ultimately leading to her being killed by David himself. Some fans speculate that this character, wearing a tube top like Celeste Rivas Hernandez at the time of her death, is meant to represent her.
Romantic Relations with Celeste
In his music video for “Here With Me”, we are shown IT4MI washing up on the shore of a beach, coughing up water as if he had almost drowned, which also occurs in the Rehab music video. A few seconds later, we are introduced to another young lady who, in the eyes of many, resembles Celeste’s appearance. This song specifically shows IT4MI’s relationship with this young lady as very close and possibly signifying a romantic relationship between the two.
Recently, discord messages have resurfaced of David and Celeste first interacting in October of 2022. A month later, the Here With Me music video was released. One of the lyrics in the song is “I don’t care how long it takes, as long as I’m with you, I’ve got a smile on my face.” People connect the meaning of these lyrics to Celeste, who at the time of the messages would have been 12, interpreting that he was “waiting for her to be of age.”
One of the latest songs being dissected online is David’s unreleased track, titled “Celeste Demo Unfinished.” Fans have pointed out that the song shares a name with the girl who was found dead in his car, sparking rumors that there may have been some kind of relationship between them. Online discussions focus on the age difference; she was 15 at the time she was found, whilst he’s 21, and many are connecting the dots, though nothing has been confirmed.
Another thing about the unreleased track is that it was recorded and leaked in December of 2023, which is shortly before Celeste went missing. The lyrics to this song are as follows:
“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 / Oh, Celeste.”
The final song mixed up in all of this is his song “Decide” from 2022. The lyrics “I know what the problem is / Save your tears, seven years / I know life is complicated” are hypothetically linked to the fact that Celeste was around 11 years old in 2022. Meaning that this song was also supporting the claim that he was “waiting for her to be of age.”
“I never really [messed with] his songs. If it wasn’t worth listening to before, I’m definitely not starting now. I think people should distance themselves at least until it is safe,” said senior Raquel Weaver.
So far, another conspiracy theory is that there are two different Celestes. Celeste Hererra is a 23-year-old social media user. Her account is a private Instagram account that David follows, and some people noticed her name in other posts discussing the case before wrongly tying her to the criminal reporting.
The last thing social media has had to point out for the time being is the fact that he announced he would be releasing a new album with 15 songs, coincidentally on Celeste’s 15th birthday, September 7th.
“Most of the media I have seen covering this have had people have counter-arguments to, so I don’t think the full story is being covered at all. I will add that a lot of the videos/photos going around are really incriminating, to say the least. It’s hard not to be against him with everything I’ve seen,” said junior Melanny Mayora.
What’s Really Going On?
Some people believe that it’s possible he was framed, considering that at the time the body was discovered, he was on tour. As of right now, no further information has been provided apart from the fact that he is being very cooperative with the LAPD, he has not been charged with anything, and he has cancelled the rest of his United States tour.
It’s crucial to remember that most of this information is complete speculation, and it should be taken with a grain of salt. This tragedy ended in the loss of a young girl, and all our hopes and prayers are for her grieving family so that she may receive justice.
Rest In Peace, Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
