The Misery Machine - The Case of D4vd & Celeste Rivas Hernandez

Starting point is 00:00:02 David Anthony Burke was born on March 28, 2005 in Queens, New York, and later moved with his family to Houston, Texas. He grew up in a religious household loved gospel music. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava theater stage on April 30th, the powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th, and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 6th. 19th. Tickets on sale now at yamava Theater.com. Only at Yamava Resort and Casino, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You in? Must be 21 to enter.

Starting point is 00:00:45 You survived the Miami weekend, nailed the speech, and maxed out your credit card in the name of friendship. Now you've got one hangover, four pastel dresses, and zero reasons to wear them again. Sell them on D-pop. Just snap a few photos, and we'll take care of the rest. And you at least get some of your Dignity, money back. Someone on Deepop wants what you've got. Start selling now. Deepop where taste recognizes taste. It's baseball, but so much more.

Starting point is 00:01:18 Go bananas for banana ball with ESPN on Disney Plus. The greatest show in sports? Are you kidding me? It's the phenomenon everyone's talking about. Catch the Savannah bananas and other fan favorite teams all season long. With select games streaming with ESPN on Disney Plus. Let's go! US residents, 18 plus only.

Starting point is 00:01:41 Select Banana Ball games available to all Disney Plus subscribers. Terms apply. I knew about investing, but I really didn't know how to go about it. Meet Corey, a Walthfront client. With Wealthfront, it could put money in, and it would automatically distribute it into a diversified portfolio. Then it starts to compound. The compounding compounds on the compounding.

Starting point is 00:01:58 Just let it run, and it's great. Over 1 million clients trust Wealthfront. Get started at Wealthfront.com. It was paid $1,000 for their testimonial, creating a conflict of interest. Outcomes vary. Investment management and advisory services provided by Wealthfront Advisors LLC and SEC registered investment advisor. Investing involves risk to principle regardless of the strategy used. Task performance does not guarantee future results. And described himself as a devout Christian. In an interview with Astrophy magazine, he shared

Starting point is 00:02:21 that, I get my personal power from God for sure. I'm a heavy believer in the Christian faith. But in that same interview, he said he wanted to take Haley Williams to the Eiffel tower, so make of that what you want. In another interview with YouTuber Takashi from Japan, he also cited anime as one of his biggest influences. What's your most favorite anime of all time? Just one, just one. Shinkekii No Kyojin, a.khaa, attack on Titan.

Starting point is 00:02:50 When he was in sixth grade, David began listening to secular music after downloading SoundCloud on his school laptop. Once he discovered mainstream artists, he claimed that his mind started going crazy. He shared that. My mom was big on like, you're going to be the smartest kid in the world. You're going to be a genius. I listened to Mozart. I listened to Bach.

Starting point is 00:03:12 I listened to Beethoven. He added that. I had to hide it from my parents because my parents would check my phone every week to make sure I was staying on the right track. I found XXXTentasione, smoke perp, little pump, ski mask the slump god, Playboy Cardi, little Uzi. It was like only eating M&Ms your whole life and then figuring out that Skittles exist. Should be noted that after seventh grade, David was homeschooled.

Starting point is 00:03:38 Now, for those unfamiliar, David is a singer-songwriter that stylizes his name with the number four in place of the letter A, and the letter I is dropped entirely. He began creating music at his mother's suggestion to avoid copyright strikes for his Fortnite streams. So basically, I played Fortnite from 2017 to 2021. Game came out of 2017. I was one of the first people to ever to play the game. My goal on Fortnite. How?

Starting point is 00:04:07 I had like this small group of friends that would literally spend eight hours today looking for the newest games that released on PlayStation. And I was playing Fortnite season one, like had all the passes, everything. So I played that game. I became a YouTuber. I was playing Call of Duty for it and all these different types of games. So you had to become like the biggest next thing, streamer, Kaisana, everything. Now then what happened? So then fast forward like a month or two, I'm making a lot of money.

Starting point is 00:04:31 My mom's like, okay, maybe the game's not rotting your brain. I started getting copyright strikes left and right from UMG. And I'm like, where in the world is UMG? Oh, so I'm not making any money now. I got the red money sign on all my videos. And I'm like crying a mom about it. I'm like, yo, I don't know what to do. I'm not making any money anymore, blah, blah, blah.

Starting point is 00:04:48 And she was like on a phone or something. She was like, just make your own music. Go get on my face. Make your own music. I was like, wait a minute. In 2022, he released the single Romantic Homicide, which went viral on TikTok, which led to him being signed to darkroom Interscope Records. Now, even if you're not familiar with his music, you might have seen

Starting point is 00:05:09 his name in the news lately, which brings us to today's story. At around 1230 p.m. on September 8th, 2025, the Los Angeles police were called to Hollywood Toe located on the 1,000 block of North Mansfield Avenue. According to sources, there had been complaints from area residents of a foul odor emanating from a Tesla, which had been impounded after being abandoned. Car had Texas plates and was later revealed to be registered to one David Burke, otherwise known as David. Apparently, the car had been at the impound lot for several days before the call was made. Inside of the front trunk, police located the remains of a young girl. Her body was heavily decomposed and had been dismembered into several pieces and wrapped inside of a plastic bag.

Starting point is 00:05:57 It was clear she had been inside of the car for a very long time. She was wearing a tube top black leggings, a gold chain bracelet, and metal stud earrings. She's described as having wavy black hair and weighing about 71 pounds, standing at five feet two inches tall. On her right index finger was a small tattoo with the word shh. Now it should be noted that David has the exact same tattoo in the exact same spot, which raises the question, why? Well, we'll get to why in just a bit. According to medical examiner, Dr. Ansel Nam, the remains belonged to Celeste Rebus Hernandez, an inland empire resident who had vanished from Lake Elsinore in Riverside County on April 5, 2024. She was just 13 years old at the time for disappearance. Her body was

Starting point is 00:06:48 located one day after what would have been her 15th birthday. The statement, the Los Angeles Police Department shared that at this time, the LAPD does not have a crime classification from the coroner as to the mode or manner of death. Thus, we do not have any suspect information at this time. In September 10th, detectives with the LAPD served a search warrant at a Hollywood Hills home, which the L.A. Times described as being located in an upscale neighborhood on Doheny Drive north of Sunset Boulevard. This was the same neighborhood where the Tesla was found abandoned. According to reports, the home was not owned by David, but he had been staying there prior to touring. Sources claimed that his manager, Josh Marshall, had rented it for him. The LAPD's

Starting point is 00:07:34 robbery homicide division reportedly searched for blood evidence and various items were confiscated, including electronics and computers. According to a neighbor, he noticed the Tesla parked on the street and found it a bit suspicious and shared, it's a little weird to see a car that I haven't seen here for a long time. It had a big dent on it, a Texas plate on it. So all a little odd, but at the same time, you know, people could be hanging out with friends for a long time. Now, while all of this was going on, David was on tour, handing out Lububoos to his audience in Minneapolis. We recently discussed the whole Laboooooo craze on our second channel, so if you've not seen it yet, we'll be sure to link it for you in the description and pin comment.

Starting point is 00:08:17 Allegedly, the LAPD contacted David who claimed to be completely clueless. However, according to sources, he's been cooperating with the police in their investigation. Now, even after the news of Celeste's body being discovered hit the news, David still had tour date schedules, international dates at that. He recently canceled the remainder of his U.S. tour, as well as the release of the deluxe edition of his album Withered, as his record label refused to promote it. As of the date of this recording,

Starting point is 00:08:46 he still got international dates online. However, there have been several credible publications that claim that those dates have been canceled as well. In the wake of the news, Hollister dropped David as their spokesmodel for their collaboration with Crocs. In a statement of footwear news, the brand shared that, we are aware of this developing story. With respect to the current situation, we have removed campaign content featuring David while the investigation continues.

Starting point is 00:09:13 Celeste's family launched a GoFundMe campaign with the goal of raising $20,000 before her October 5th service date. The organizer, Esmeralda Lozano, shared the following. As many of you know, Celeste Revo. Vos Hernandez has been identified as the body found last week. She was a beloved daughter, sister, cousin, and friend. Her family is heartbroken and devastated by this tragic loss. They are seeking help to lay her body to rest. Any funds you are able to donate are greatly appreciated. As of the date of this recording, September of 2025, it has already exceeded that goal.

Starting point is 00:09:50 At 7 p.m. on September 21st, a vigil was held for Celeste in Lake Elsinore on the street where she grew up. Neighbors gathered together to erecting makeshift memorial filled with flowers and heartbreaking messages. One banner read, Justice for Celeste Rivas. Tears flowing during an emotional candlelight vigil in Lake Elsinor, a large crowd gathering near a memorial on the street where Celeste Rivas once lived to mourn the 15-year-old's death. I'm feeling heartbroken, um, devastated for here. hearing about the news. I didn't know so less personally, but it hits home.

Starting point is 00:10:33 Even though I didn't know her, I just couldn't even breathe, knowing that a child had to go through that. My nephew went to school with her since kindergarten. And I just want to say just as a whole, just if it was my daughter, I wouldn't want her to be forgotten. I just want justice for this little girl because whatever happened to her, it wasn't just an accident. I don't want her to be forgotten.

Starting point is 00:10:54 Celeste's 18-year-old brother Matthew shared that his whole family was struggling to cope with her death, stating, I'm just trying to stay positive, I'm just trying to move forward. My mom's grieving really bad. My dad's grieving really bad. Meanwhile, Celeste's mother told news outlets that after police released the descriptions of the remains found in David's car, she had a feeling that they may have belonged to her daughter. Mother also shared that Celeste had been dating someone named David before she disappeared back in 2025. But this wasn't the only connection between David and Celeste that would come to light. There were many. As soon as her identity was announced, information immediately began pouring in all over social media. Now, we're not going to go too deep down the rabbit hole because it feels like the information is literally never ending.

Starting point is 00:11:45 Keeping an eye out for updates, that spiel applies here because the info is changing by the day. As this is an open case, we'll give you just a taste of what. we found. Screenshots of old messages on David's Discord server, David's closet, showed that he was rumored to be dating a girl named Celeste. On July 11th, 2024, user asked David if he was happily married or single, to which he replied, me and deleted user got a kid on the way. Discord shows any messages from the deleted account as deleted user, but in this case, the deleted user is reported to be Celeste by members of the server. In another post, the deleted user account post a picture of an engagement ring on her left finger

Starting point is 00:12:32 in the name David scrawled across her skin. Recently, David's mods made a post claiming that they didn't know that Celeste was underage or that she was even missing. Now, it should be noted that within the last 48 hours, the mods completely locked down the server. I know this because I joined and nothing is viewable. anymore but the announcement. It really feels like someone is trying to do massive damage control.

Starting point is 00:12:57 So if you want to join a Discord server without a bunch of creeps, come join ours. Outside of Discord, several photos began surfacing that depicted David with a young girl that bore a striking resemblance to the missing teen. And even more eerie, David was photographed in Lake Elsinor interacting with a man holding a bag. The picture was taken 0.3 miles from the home that Celeste. was living in with her family. A year prior to her disappearance,

Starting point is 00:13:25 David composed an unreleased track in which he mentioned Celeste, which include the lyrics, O Celeste, the girl with my name tattooed on her chest. Smell her on my clothes like cigarettes. I hear her voice each time I take a breath. I'm obsessed.

Starting point is 00:13:42 As well as, oh, Celeste, afraid you'll only love me when undressed, but you look so damn gorgeous in that dress. Missing you so much makes me to but I digress because. According to reports, the song was leaked in December of 2023 and was titled Celeste Demo on Finn. And if the internet couldn't get disgusting enough, weirdos on TikTok have turned the lyrics into a

Starting point is 00:14:05 trend. Someone resembling Celeste also appeared on a live stream with David, which will play for you now. Please note that part of the audio cuts out and it's not the part that we obviously have to censor. I media trained you. That's controversial. It's controversial of fucking kids. Really good. It's been a good one.

Starting point is 00:14:31 Bye. Bye guys. Mw-Muha, muha, oh my. Delete everything. Delete everything. Everything goes.

Starting point is 00:14:38 Everything goes. Everything goes. Everything. In a post to TikTok made by user David Clips, David explains how he wanted to retire and live off grid on an island with no social media in the next three to four years, which has less some wondering if that time frame has anything to do with the fact that in three to four years, Celeste would have turned 18.

Starting point is 00:14:58 Where do you see yourself in the next five years? Okay, so the plan is hopefully this music thing takes off crazy next year. Why is he saying, why are you saying that like you're not like up there again? Well, it's not there yet, but hopefully it's like even crazier next year. And then I'm going crazy year after year for the next three years. And then on the fourth year, I retire. And on the fifth year, I'm off the grid, living somewhere like on an island with this crazy crib.

Starting point is 00:15:22 No social media, no digital footprint. I'm just gone. I'm just gone. In five years, I'm going to be gone. Will you still remember me? Yeah, bro. You'll have like the secret code to the mansion. You can pull up on a new year.

Starting point is 00:15:34 What's the secret code? Give us the first two numbers of the secret. Absolutely not. On September 19th, user Julian two away posted a video to TikTok that included a video of Celeste's former teacher. In it, he warns students about the dangers of meeting people via social media. However, this teacher is a mandated reporter, which begs the question, If he knew something about the relationship, why wasn't it reported before?

Starting point is 00:15:58 Hold up. That's her in my classroom in front of this poster right here. Okay, hold up. I got another one because I got a picture on TMZ of this other kid exchanging stuff with the rapper who we alleged did this stuff. Hold on a second because he's also in my classroom. How long ago was this? We all just found out yesterday who it was, but she's been missing since I taught her. So when I taught her, she met this dude on social media. He was a rapper in LA. 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. She came back to our school, kind of told people this story. She disappeared again in May of that year, May of 2024. That's when her friends told me what happened. And it was this rap. that they were like blackmailing him, all of this stuff. And then I found out yesterday that she's now dead in that rapper's car cut into pieces. You want to know how they meant? I feel like I just said it.

Starting point is 00:17:07 Social media. Let me tell you another story. Another story. Hold on. Since the news broke, David's song Romantic Homicide has gone viral once again in the wake of recent events. It rose 102 places on Spotify's global top 50, climbing to number 4,000. worldwide and number 13 in the U.S.

Starting point is 00:17:26 It has amassed over 1.7 billion streams. Online discussions have centered around the lyrics specifically in the back of my mind I killed you. I didn't even regret it. I can't believe I said it, but it's true. It's also been pointed out by some that the song was released on Celeste's birthday. Song's sudden surge has divided fans

Starting point is 00:17:49 with some condemning its rise in popularity as exploitation. One commenter made a pretty valid point that a tragedy shouldn't turn into a chart fuel. But that's not all. In an article written by the LA Times, it was noted that The Withered World Tour includes themes of death and remembrance. Fans entering Burke's show are greeted by a casket and guestbook where they can pay condolences to a character Burke's sometimes reprises in his performance and music videos. Part of that character's uniform includes a shirt covered in bloody handprints and a blindfold. similar shirts were available in David's merch store until recently. For $35, you could purchase a white button-down shirt splattered with fake blood.

Starting point is 00:18:34 In April of 2025, David sat for the following interview with Zach Sang. In it, he discusses his album Withered and the success of romantic homicide. To art, like, is a means of coping. Yeah, basically, yeah. But you saying expecting it, meaning like you get into a friendship, expecting it to end in a devastating, tragic, sad way so it can inspire art. But are you manifesting that in a certain area? I don't know.

Starting point is 00:18:59 I hope I'm not. I really hope I'm not because it feels that way. Because I look back to old songs like Life's a Dream and all these songs I wrote in my closet or my sister's closet in 2022 when I'm looking at my life in the past eight to nine months. I'm like, whoa. Like, bro, these songs are soundtracking my life. So I hope I'm not involuntarily doing that. but it might be that way to me,

Starting point is 00:19:22 because that's a real conversation that happened. And the irony of it was that person that was saying, I love you, I love you. She's not in my life anymore. So it's like people say that the string can't be cut and the connection cannot be severed, but I feel like it can sometimes. And that's where I wanted to put, you know,

Starting point is 00:19:36 afterlife and all these songs that feel like endings and conclusions and goodbyes on the project to kind of solidify that message of this is the end of something, not the beginning. You didn't, didn't you say you never experienced love Or how didn't, been in love you didn't? Yeah, I wasn't in a relationship then.

Starting point is 00:19:53 Nah. But today you are? Or you are? I've been through a couple. I'm single there right now. But I've been through a few. And they've taught me a lot of things. And they've shown me what love is and what love isn't and how to approach it and how to

Starting point is 00:20:05 be human with it and not be so artists, you know. And I look for the things to write about in these types of situations. And I've kind of been more mature about it and getting emotionally intelligent with it. As of the date of this recording, a cause of death has not been released for Celeste. And police have an efficient. named David as a suspect. It's not been arrested, and in fact, according to his subreddit,

Starting point is 00:20:25 he's been lurking on Discord and playing Fortnite and Roblox. I wonder if he's trying to find his next underage girlfriend on there. I mean, why was he trying to pass Celeste off as a 19-year-old? See this picture right here? This is when Celeste met David.

Starting point is 00:20:40 She was 11. A fact that David's 22 song, Decide, seems to touch on. And that's not it. Look at the song Decide by David that was dropped in 20, It says, I know what the problem is. Save your tears seven years. I know life is complicated. In 2022, Celeste was 11 years old.

Starting point is 00:20:59 In closing, I'd like to leave you with a title to a post by user Sad Bread 4302 because I feel like it really sums everything up. It reads, A Little Girl is Dead and all you care about is losing your favorite song.

The Misery Machine - The Case of D4vd & Celeste Rivas Hernandez

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.