The harrowing investigation into the death of 14-year-old Celeste—the victim who was allegedly in a secret relationship with the pop star D4VD (real name David)—has spiraled far beyond a simple criminal case. It has exploded into a ruthless, multi-front media war that involves armed police raids on family homes, the sudden severance of ties by a major music producer, and a shocking campaign designed to posthumously assassinate the victim’s character. As questions mount regarding D4VD’s involvement, the efforts to control the narrative are revealing a terrifying display of power and influence in the shadows of the music industry.

At the heart of the current chaos lies a blatant attempt to distract the public and muddy the waters surrounding the key suspect. This campaign has focused less on addressing the devastating allegations against D4VD, and more on digging up the troubled, private life of a child who can no longer defend herself. The ultimate goal, it appears, is to erode public sympathy for Celeste and dilute the severity of the charges facing the rising music star.

Armed Raids and the Mother’s Fear

The intensity of the scrutiny surrounding D4VD and his family reached a terrifying peak when his parents’ home in Texas was subjected to a swatting incident. A swatting is a dangerous criminal hoax where a false report is made to law enforcement, typically involving a serious crime like a hostage situation or a shooting, in order to draw a large, armed police response.

In this case, local authorities received a 911 call claiming they heard gunshots, a woman screaming, and that someone was dead at the Texas residence. Police body cam footage, which captured the scene, revealed D4VD’s confused parents encountering a police force deployed with large guns, genuinely convinced they were walking into a dangerous situation.

D4VD’s mother, Colleen Berg, could be heard on the body cam audio telling the officers that her daughter and younger son were upstairs, but confirming D4VD was not home. The father expressed distress that “somebody’s messing with us,” revealing the paranoia the family is now living under.

The anxiety generated by this violation was immediate and profound. Shortly after the news broke, D4VD’s mother, Colleen Berg, was photographed leaving a Texas pond and gun store. In her hand, she visibly carried an instruction manual for an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. This stark image—a suburban mother spooked by a violent online attack and seemingly arming herself—underscores the psychological trauma the D4VD scandal has inflicted on his family. For those close to the star, the online scrutiny has become a tangible, terrifying threat.

The Unfollow: Benny Blanco Cuts Ties

The web of D4VD’s celebrity connections has also begun to unravel in the glare of the controversy. The public has been demanding to know the connection between the accused artist and the renowned, chart-topping music producer Benny Blanco. The two, it turns out, were more than just industry colleagues.

They had recently participated in a written and video interview together for Hero publication. During their conversation, D4VD and Blanco discussed their unusual working dynamic. Blanco revealed that they had worked in the studio, with the producer actually seeking to learn D4VD’s unconventional, phone-based music creation strategy. Blanco recounted D4VD coming to the studio without a traditional mic, saying, “I remember the first time that you came to work with me you were like oh I don’t have my mic. And I was like, ‘Uh what’s your mic?’ And you were like, ‘Apple headphones.’”

The fact that these two artists had a collaborative history, with Blanco actively engaging with D4VD’s process, immediately raised eyebrows given the horrific nature of the current allegations. The video of their interview, which had previously garnered little attention, suddenly spiked in views after the scandal broke, with many commenters noting D4VD’s “normal” demeanor in the clip. As one user pointed out, no one would have “ever imagined he dated underage girls and possibly very possibly could be a murderer.”

However, in a move that speaks volumes about the celebrity world’s urgent need to distance itself from toxicity, Benny Blanco has now publicly unfollowed D4VD on Instagram. This action is the digital equivalent of a full severance, a calculated attempt to erase the professional and personal connection and signal a retreat from the spiraling narrative. In an era where online image is paramount, this “unfollow” is a damning condemnation from the industry itself.

The Smear Campaign: Attacking the Dead Victim

Perhaps the most sickening aspect of the entire affair is the active campaign underway to undermine the victim, Celeste. It increasingly appears that D4VD’s legal or public relations team is intentionally leaking or pushing information to tarnish the image of the 14-year-old girl, seemingly attempting to make the public “less bad” for her tragic fate.

The first major piece of evidence in this smear campaign was a video, released by TMZ, that was captured on a Nest camera by Celeste’s neighbors on September 8th, 2024. This date is notable because it is one day after her 14th birthday and nearly a year before D4VD was seriously investigated. Celeste had been reported missing in April 2024, yet the video clearly places her home in September, suggesting a period where she had returned to her family.

The footage shows a visibly aggressive and turbulent interaction between Celeste and her neighbors. Celeste is captured screaming, arguing, and using swear words, even allegedly using a racial slur toward a neighbor who identifies as a “Southsider,” not Black. The neighbors mock her, repeatedly calling her a “little girl” and shouting, “Go call her dad!” The video, according to the transcript, has no purpose “besides the fact of making Celeste look like she got into an argument with her neighbors.” It doesn’t aid the murder investigation; it only damages the victim’s reputation.

Compounding this character assassination was a separate interview TMZ conducted with Celeste’s 13-year-old ex-boyfriend, Damian, and his mother, Jamie. While Damian was able to confirm that Celeste had a troubled home life and was planning to run away due to her “mean” parents, the context felt intrusive and exploitative. The visible smirk on Damian’s mother’s face during the interview, seemingly enjoying the “15 minutes of fame,” added a distasteful layer to the public airing of a dead child’s personal struggles. The overall effect of this evidence—from the hostile neighbor footage to the details of her “turbulent” past—is to paint a picture of a dysfunctional, defiant, and rebellious teenager, thereby normalizing her proximity to danger.

The Unanswered Questions and the Chilling Art

Despite the intense scrutiny on Celeste’s character, the core questions about D4VD’s alleged involvement remain terrifyingly relevant. The timeline of the relationship is deeply concerning: Celeste was 14 when she was killed, and it is entirely possible, based on her ex-boyfriend’s timeline, that she met D4VD when she was even younger, possibly 12 or 13. Given D4VD’s status as an adult, the relationship itself is highly problematic.

Furthermore, the eerie resonance of D4VD’s own music with the tragic events is inescapable. His viral hit, “Romantic Homicide,” which vaulted him to fame, contains chilling lyrics that now read as prophetic: “I got time to kill, you got time to feel / We got blood to spill all over seats, bleeding out.” The unsettling overlap between the song’s violent themes and the circumstances of the investigation casts a long, dark shadow over the artist and his work.

The pressure on the Houston authorities is immense. One individual online pointed out the chilling summation of the tragedy: “Poor girl was the victim and what teen doesn’t act out and rebel… she was a child and last seen with an adult.” The orchestrated campaign to expose Celeste’s flaws, seemingly designed to make the public question her innocence, is a chilling demonstration of how celebrity power and money can manipulate public opinion and impede the pursuit of justice for a dead child. As the investigation continues, the world is watching to see if the legal system will be able to resist the powerful forces attempting to bury the truth under a vicious pile of smears and sensationalism.