The ascent of David Anthony Burke, known professionally to millions of fans as D4vd, was a quintessential modern success story. Rising to prominence through TikTok with viral, atmospheric low-fi R&B hits like “Romantic Homicide” and “Here with Me,” the 20-year-old singer-songwriter had amassed a massive, dedicated following and secured deals with major labels. His music often delved into themes of heartbreak and emotional turmoil, resonating deeply with a Gen Z audience. Yet, beneath this meteoric rise, a horrifying narrative began to unfold—one that would link the musician’s fame to the tragic and brutal death of a teenage girl, culminating in a shocking discovery made not by law enforcement, but by an amateur online investigator.

The case that has shattered D4vd’s career and captivated true crime communities worldwide centers on the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, a 15-year-old girl from Lake Elsinore, California, who was reported missing in April 2024. The case went cold for over a year, leaving her family desperate for answers, until a routine impound lot inspection in September 2025 yielded a horrifying discovery.

A Body in the Frunk: The Gruesome Discovery

On September 8, 2025, in a Los Angeles impound lot, workers noticed a foul odor emanating from an abandoned Tesla with Texas license plates. The vehicle had been towed five days earlier from the upscale Bird Streets neighborhood in Hollywood. What began as an inspection for a mechanical issue quickly escalated into a homicide investigation: inside the car’s front trunk, commonly referred to as the “frunk,” authorities discovered severely decomposed human remains, specifically a head and torso stuffed into a bag, indicating the victim had been dismembered.

The victim was formally identified on September 17, 2025, as Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The advanced state of decomposition suggested the body had been in the enclosed space of the car’s frunk for a significant period. Compounding the shock, law enforcement sources confirmed the vehicle belonged to D4vd. While the singer was out of state on tour at the time of the discovery, and owned multiple vehicles that were sometimes used by others, the subsequent investigation rapidly uncovered a web of disturbing evidence pointing toward a deeply personal connection between the rising star and the young victim.

Eerie Evidence and Digital Footprints

The circumstantial evidence against D4vd is both pervasive and deeply unsettling, beginning with allegations of criminal grooming. Reports emerged that D4vd had been in contact with Celeste when she was as young as 11, with the relationship allegedly escalating over time despite the significant age gap and her minor status. Screenshots purportedly from D4vd’s Discord server, dating back to 2022 when Celeste was 11 or 12 and D4vd was 17, showed interactions between the two, raising serious questions about the nature of their relationship from its very inception.

The most chilling pieces of evidence involve physical and lyrical connections. Investigators discovered that both D4vd and Celeste shared identical “shh” tattoos on their right index fingers. This shared tattoo, often a symbol of keeping a secret, suggested a level of intimacy and shared experience far beyond a casual fan-celebrity acquaintance.

The geographic and digital footprints further darkened the picture. TMZ reported a photo allegedly placing D4vd in Lake Elsinore—less than half a mile from Celeste’s family home—around April 2024, the critical time she vanished.

However, it is D4vd’s own music that provides the most sinister parallel. His 2022 breakthrough hit, “Romantic Homicide,” which brought him international fame, explicitly features a reference that now seems tragically prophetic. The lyrics directly mention a girlfriend named Celeste in a narrative detailing themes of killing and hiding a body. Furthermore, the music video for the track included scenarios that eerily depicted the disposal of a body in a car trunk, creating a horrifying symmetry with the actual crime scene. A leaked demo track, surfacing in December 2023, professed love for someone named Celeste, with lyrics referencing tattoos and obsessive devotion, taking on a deeply disturbing meaning in light of the physical evidence.

The Key Card: A Shocking Amateur Discovery

The investigation was already focused on this web of circumstantial evidence when a single, unexpected discovery provided a potential physical link directly to the suspect. On the morning of September 27, 2025, a Redditor using the handle “throwaway_sleuth42,” claiming to be an amateur investigator who lived nearby, visited D4vd’s Hollywood Hills address. While inspecting the area from the public sidewalk, the individual spotted a Tesla key card hidden in the gutter behind some leaves near the singer’s front entrance.

The discovery immediately sent shockwaves through the true crime community. Here was a key card for the exact type of vehicle where Celeste’s body was found, located mere feet from D4vd’s residence. The implications were immense. Why would the key to the crime vehicle be hidden in such an easily accessible yet concealed location near the suspect’s home? The timing also raised questions, as the key was found shortly after a period of intense media coverage and public scrutiny. Some speculated the key might have been washed into a visible position by the recent rain, or that it was the result of a panicked, hasty attempt to dispose of evidence, dropped during a critical moment.

The discovery was immediately controversial. The amateur investigator was swiftly criticized for handling the evidence with bare hands, potentially compromising any fingerprints or DNA evidence. Despite the risk of contamination, the Redditor followed through on community demands, contacting the LAPD non-emergency line and documenting the hand-over of the key card. The LAPD collected the key as evidence, though the incident highlighted the dangers and potential contamination risks associated with amateur sleuthing in active homicide investigations.

The discovery’s location also sparked broader criticism of the initial police search procedures, with many asking how law enforcement could have missed such a crucial piece of evidence in the immediate vicinity of D4vd’s home.

Professional Fallout and Lingering Questions

The weight of the mounting evidence has already inflicted immediate and severe professional consequences on D4vd. By September 17, 2025, major corporate brand ambassadors, including Crocs and Hollister, publicly announced they were dropping D4vd, removing all promotional content featuring him. High-profile collaborators, such as Kali Uchis, announced they were pulling their joint tracks from streaming platforms, effectively isolating the singer from the industry that had celebrated his rise.

As of the video’s production, D4vd had not been formally charged with any crime related to Celeste’s death. The investigation continues to focus on filling the timeline gap—namely, where Celeste was during the months between her disappearance and the discovery of her body. However, the sheer volume of circumstantial evidence—digital grooming records, shared “shh” tattoos, geographic proximity, and the unsettling musical references—combined with the physical discovery of the hidden Tesla key card, paints a compelling, dark picture.

The simple key card, found by chance in a Hollywood gutter, represents more than just a piece of evidence. It symbolizes how even crimes allegedly planned with the cold calculation suggested by the singer’s own lyrics can ultimately unravel through small mistakes and the persistent efforts of those seeking justice. The case serves as a disturbing reminder of the hidden darkness that can lurk beneath the surface of modern celebrity, and the systemic failures that leave vulnerable young people exposed to online predators. The world now waits to see if this single, silent key card will finally unlock the truth and bring justice for Celeste Rivas Hernandez.