Celeste Rivas believed to be 19-year-old USC student, D4vd's friends say: report

What's the connection between D4vd and Celeste Rivas?

An investigation continues into the death of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas. Meanwhile, singer D4vd has canceled the rest of his world tour.

LOS ANGELES - Friends of singer D4vd believed the missing teen found dead in his Tesla earlier this month was his 19-year-old girlfriend, TMZ reports.

D4vd and Celeste 'romantically involved," friends say

What we know:

According to TMZ, friends of D4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, believed 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez was a 19-year-old student at USC.

His friends told the publication they "frequently" saw the couple together and believed they were "romantically involved."

The friends described D4vd as a "very shy, quiet person" and that Rivas-Hernandez "seemed to mirror that as well."

They told TMZ they were shocked she was underage because she was present at 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.

According to TMZ, D4vd's friends said they didn't know too much about her and that they only saw her with D4vd at social events.

LAPD's investigation continues

What we don't know:

The Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner released Rivas Hernandez's remains back to her family on Tuesday, Sept. 23.

Her cause of death has not yet been determined.

The medical examiner has only stated her place of death as "vehicle" (where her body was recovered) and her date of death as Sept. 8 (when her body was found).

It's unclear if Rivas Hernandez was living with D4vd during the time she was reported missing.

Celeste reported missing multiple times before she was found

The backstory:

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

Most recently, she was reported missing in April 2024, before her body was found over a year later on Sept. 8.

Her mom reportedly claims that before the teen went missing, she was dating someone named David, although she'd never met him. The two shared matching "Sshhh" tattoos on their right index fingers.

Rivas Hernandez's remains were found in the trunk of D4vd's Tesla in a Hollywood tow yard a day after her 15th birthday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Employees at the tow yard called police to report a strong odor emanating from the car. When officers arrived, they discovered the dismembered body wrapped inside a plastic bag inside the trunk.

The LAPD said the Tesla was impounded and towed to the yard because it was parked on a public street for more than 72 hours. Neighbors reported the Tesla was moved several times over the past three months before it was found on Bluebird Avenue in the Hollywood Hills.

That location is not far from the $20,000 a month home D4vd was reportedly renting with his manager. The home was searched by LAPD's Robbery Homicide Division detectives on Sept. 17. A computer and several bags of evidence were seized from the rental.

On Wednesday, Sept. 24, movers were seen hauling boxes and other items from the home into a moving truck. The homeowner told TMZ he spoke with D4vd's manager, Josh Marshall, last weekend and was informed they'd be breaking the lease and that their belongings would be moved out by the end of this week.

D4vd has remained silent

What's next:

D4vd has not made any public appearances and has been silent amid the ongoing 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 highly-anticipated deluxe version of his album was supposed to be released last week but that never happened.

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.

Police said D4vd is cooperating with the investigation, and he is not a suspect or person of interest at this time.

The Source: This report is based on information from TMZ, which spoke with friends of the singer D4vd and law enforcement sources. Details regarding the ongoing investigation were also provided by the Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner and the Los Angeles Police Department, while information about the victim's past was reported by the Los Angeles Times. Information was also sourced from previous FOX 11 coverage on the case.

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