D4vd’s friends believed Celeste was his 19-year-old girlfriend: report
(NewsNation) — Friends of singer D4vd, 20, believed the 15-year-old girl found dead in his Tesla was his college-aged girlfriend, NewsNation has learned.
TMZ senior news reporter Charlie Neff told “Banfield” on Thursday that D4vd’s friends in the Los Angeles music scene were shocked to hear that Celeste Rivas-Hernandez’s decomposing body was discovered inside his trunk.
They told Neff that D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, is a “very gentle person,” adding, “for it just to be his car, they thought was just extremely disturbing and confusing.”
Questions about D4vd’s connection to Celeste have swirled for weeks after her body was found Sept. 8. Her cause of death remains a mystery after it was listed as deferred by the coroner.
D4vd and Celeste were ‘romantically involved,’ friends say
Neff said friends of the singer informed her they “frequently” saw the two together and believed they “were romantically involved.” However, they did not mention anything about “PDA.”
They also described the singer as “a very shy, quiet person,” adding that “Celeste seemed to mirror that, as well.”
“Everything he did in his life, she kind of seemed to follow,” Neff added.
D4vd’s friends believed Celeste was a college student
According to Neff, D4vd’s friends had no idea that the girl they had seen him with was underage, and believed that she was a 19-year-old college student.
“She attended USC from what they believed,” Neff said. The friends also mentioned to Neff that they had seen Celeste at age-restricted events, “including clubs and parties.”
Law enforcement sources previously confirmed to TMZ that Celeste had multiple fake IDs, which could have granted her access into such events.
The friends told Neff that they didn’t know much about Celeste and only saw her with D4vd at social gatherings.
“No one really questioned much about her background … they just knew her as this college student that went to USC,” Neff added.
Celeste had been reported missing multiple times before she was found
According to a report from the Los Angeles Times, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said Celeste was reported missing at least three times in 2024.
Most recently, the teen was reported missing in April 2024, before her body was discovered over a year later in the trunk of D4vd’s Tesla.
Celeste’s mother also reportedly claims that before the teen went missing, she was dating someone named David.
It remains unclear if Celeste was living with D4vd at any point while she was missing.
D4vd hasn’t been spotted since his tour ended
Since canceling his tour after the news of the teen’s body being found in his car, D4vd hasn’t made a public appearance or issued any statements.
On Sept. 17, police raided D4vd’s Hollywood Hills home. The singer subsequently terminated his $20,000-a-month lease on the property.
D4vd rose to prominence online over the past couple of years, in part thanks to a large amount of success on TikTok, where he has over 3 million followers. He released his debut album, “Withered,” in April of this year.