The Brief

The remains of missing teen Celeste Rivas Hernandez were found in the trunk of a Tesla registered to singer D4vd.
An ex-boyfriend of Rivas Hernandez has come forward, claiming she had an unhappy home life and had talked about running away.
Her cause of death has not been determined, and police have not named a suspect or person of interest.

LOS ANGELES – An ex-boyfriend of Celeste Rivas Hernandez is speaking out about his alleged past relationship with her in middle school.

‘I should have done something’

What they’re saying:

Damien Hernandez, 15, told TMZ in an exclusive interview that he and Rivas Hernandez dated at a Lake Elsinore middle school when she was in the 7th grade, and he was in the 8th grade.

He told the publication that Rivas Hernandez was “looking for something serious” and that her troubled home life made her unhappy. He further added that the teen’s mom did not treat her well.

Hernandez told TMZ that Rivas Hernandez talked about running away from her Lake Elsinore home and even joked about it at school.

According to Hernandez, he heard about Rivas Hernandez’s alleged relationship with singer D4vd, legal name David Anthony Burke, but was surprised because “he thought she was happy outside of her home life.”

“No one cared. I don’t know, I should have done something,” he told TMZ.

Timeline:

April 2024: Rivas Hernandez is reported missing by her family in Lake Elsinore. She is found by police in Hollywood and returned home.

May 2024: Rivas Hernandez is reported missing again.

Aug. 27, 2025: The position of the tires on a Tesla registered to singer D4vd, legal name David Anthony Burke, is marked by authorities.

Sept. 3, 2025: Parking citation issued.

Sept. 5, 2025: Tesla impounded.

Sept. 8, 2025: Rivas Hernandez’s remains were found in the trunk of the Tesla a day after her 15th birthday.

Sept. 17, 2025: Detectives with the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division served a search warrant on D4vd’s $20,000 a month rental home located not far from where the Tesla was parked. Several bags of evidence were seized from the home.

The body of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez was likely in the car for several weeks before it was discovered in a decomposed state, police said.

Sept. 19, 2025: D4vd cancels his “Withered” world tour.

Sept. 24, 2025: Rivas Hernandez’s body is released back to her family.

The same day, movers are seen hauling boxes and other items from the home into a moving truck. The homeowner confirmed with TMZ that D4vd’s manager, Josh Marshall, informed him they’d be breaking the lease and move out by the end of the week.

Cause of death ‘deferred’

What we don’t know:

Los Angeles Police Department Captain and Commanding Officer Scot Williams told TMZ they are working closely with the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner to determine Rivas Hernandez’s cause of death.

At this point, it has not been established if the teen’s death was the result of foul play or other causes such as a drug overdose, the publication said, so the full autopsy report from the medical examiner is crucial in moving the investigation forward.

He said the LAPD is investigating a “reported relationship” between Rivas Hernandez and D4vd and that the Tesla is still being processed for evidence.

Williams previously told People that Rivas Hernandez was “very likely dead for several weeks prior to her body being discovered.” He clarified this with TMZ, saying the LAPD is “operating on the suspicion of the body being in the car the entire time it was parked and abandoned” in the Hollywood Hills.

According to the publication, the LAPD is “not pursuing a suspect or person of interest” at this stage of the investigation.

Rivas Hernandez found dead in Tesla belonging to D4vd

The backstory:

The medical examiner has stated Rivas Hernandez’s place of death as “vehicle” (where her body was recovered) and her date of death as Sept. 8 (when her body was found). Her manner of death was ruled a homicide.

Rivas Hernandez’s body was recovered at Hollywood Tow after employees at the tow yard reported smelling a strong odor coming from the car. When officers arrived, they discovered the young girl’s remains wrapped inside a plastic bag in the trunk.

According to the LAPD, the Tesla was ticketed just 11 days before Rivas Hernandez was found. The SUV was then impounded and towed after neighbors on Bluebird Avenue in the Hollywood Hills reported the vehicle was parked on the public street for more than 72 hours. Neighbors also said the Tesla was moved several times over the past three months before it landed on Bluebird.

Friends of D4vd believed she was USC student

Dig deeper:

Rivas Hernandez had been reported missing at least three times in 2024, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Her mother reportedly claims that before the teen went missing in April 2024, she was dating someone named David, but she had never met him.

Friends of D4vd told TMZ the two were “romantically involved” but that they believed she was a 19-year-old student at USC. They said they didn’t think she was a minor because she attended multiple age-restricted events.

Law enforcement sources previously confirmed to TMZ that Rivas Hernandez had multiple fake IDs which could have given the teen access into such events.

Rivas Hernandez and D4vd shared matching “Sshhhh” tattoos on their right index fingers.

In a viral video, one of Rivas Hernandez’s former teachers is seen allegedly showing a photo of Rivas Hernandez and another former student of his standing with D4vd in a picture taken near where Rivas Hernandez lived.

“When I taught her, she met this dude on social media. He was a rapper in LA,” he said in the video, referring to Rivas and D4vd. “He came and got her. She ran away from home. She was gone for, like, a month. The cops found her in Hollywood, brought her back to our school.”

He said Rivas Hernandez returned home but disappeared again the following month.

No word from D4vd

The other side:

D4vd has not made any appearances nor has he addressed the public amid the ongoing homicide investigation.

The singer canceled the remainder of his world tour and was also dropped by Crocs and Hollister just days after he was announced as the face of their new collaboration. Additionally, all promotion of his music was pulled by UMG and Interscope. A deluxe version of his album was supposed to be released around the same time Rivas Hernandez’s body was discovered. It’s unclear if that will be released.

Online sleuths were quick to accuse D4vd of moderating his own subreddit then allegedly deleting critical posts of him amid the investigation into Rivas Hernandez’s death.

Because D4vd was listed as the sole moderator of his account, users accused him of trying to control the narrative in favor of portraying him in a more positive light.

Hours later the subreddit was locked.

This all came after someone who claimed they moderated D4vd’s Discord server and Twitch channel posted a message saying they did not know about Rivas Hernandez. In the message, the mod says they were not aware of her true age or that she was a missing person.

According to that admin, based on what was shared in D4vd’s Twitch streams and from Rivas Hernandez’s role in the Discord server, they believed she was around 18 or 19 years old.

It’s unclear who the moderator is, but Twitch told TMZ the mod is not employed by the company and the statement was not made on behalf of Twitch.

D4vd’s songs, lyrics scrutinized

Big picture view:

As the investigation continues into the death of Rivas Hernandez, many continue to analyze D4vd’s songs, with some people drawing parallels between his lyrics and violent imagery as possible breadcrumbs to the missing teen’s murder.

In a viral resurfaced video, D4vd explains the origin of his alter ego in his most popular song, “Romantic Homicide.”  In the interview, D4vd described himself as an anime fan and at one point was writing his own manga series about a detective with a murderous alter ego solving the very murders he committed. The detective’s name was Itami, which means “pain” in Japanese.

“Kinda like ‘Fight Club’ with Tyler Durden. He would commit the crimes that I would have to solve afterwards as a detective. So as the detective, I’d be solving murders that I’m committing myself,” he said.

Some noted the resemblance of the woman in the video to Rivas, and the date of its release coinciding with Rivas Hernandez’s birthday.

In his “Rehab” music video, D4vd revisits the alter ego character in an animation. The Itami character cuts off the arm of a woman with brown hair, with the lyrics talking about “bloody sandals.”

D4vd has not been named as a person of interest or suspect.