Celeste Rivas Hernandez Was 11 When They Met. She Was 14 When She Died. This Is Her Story.
Most coverage of this case has focused on the singer. This piece focuses on Celeste — who she was, what her family has said about her, and what the documented timeline shows about how a child can be failed by the adults and systems around her, repeatedly, before anyone intervenes.
By Sara Alba·May 3, 2026·Brewtiful Living·Updated as proceedings continue
Important: All allegations in this piece are attributed to prosecutors and documented court filings. David Anthony Burke has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. His lawyers and family have maintained his innocence. All sourced claims are attributed below. This piece is based on publicly available court documents, DA press statements, and published reporting from ABC News, CNN, NBC Los Angeles, and the LA County District Attorney's Office.
Who She Was
Celeste Abigail Rivas Hernandez
Celeste Abigail Rivas Hernandez was born on September 7, 2010, in Lake Elsinore, a city of about 75,000 people in Riverside County, California, roughly an hour southeast of Los Angeles. She was the daughter of Jesus and Mercedes Rivas Hernandez, and the sister of Matthew. She was, by her family's account, a child full of personality — she loved to sing, she loved to dance, and she was the kind of person who always told her family she loved them.
Every Friday night was movie night. That detail comes directly from her family's statement, released through their attorney in April 2026, and it is the kind of specific, small, ordinary detail that tells you more about a person than any description can. A child who has a standing weekly tradition with her family. A child who was present. A child who was loved and who knew it.
She was 14 years old when she died.
A photo of Celeste Rivas Hernandez displayed on April 20, 2026, at the Los Angeles press conference announcing charges in her death.
Photo: AP / Damian Dovarganes · Via MSN
Statement from the Rivas Hernandez family · Released through their attorney · April 2026
"Celeste was a beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance. Every Friday night was movie night and we spent wonderful times together. We love her very much and she always told us that she loved us. We miss her deeply. All we want is justice for Celeste."
— The family of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, through their attorney, April 2026
The Documented Timeline
What the Court Documents Show — From Beginning to End
What follows is based entirely on publicly available court filings, the LA County District Attorney's complaint, and published reporting. All allegations are those of prosecutors. Burke has pleaded not guilty and his defence team maintains his innocence.
January 2022 — Celeste Is 11
They meet for the first time.
According to prosecutors, Celeste Rivas Hernandez and David Burke meet when she is 11 years old. Burke is 17. The circumstances of how an 11-year-old girl from Lake Elsinore came to meet a teenager who would later become a music industry figure have not been fully detailed in public filings. What prosecutors allege happened in the years that followed is documented below.
2022–2023 — Celeste Is 11 to 13
Burke's music career begins. Celeste remains in contact with him.
In 2022, Burke releases his first single, which reaches the Billboard Hot 100. He is a teenager creating music from his bedroom, gaining an audience on TikTok and YouTube through Fortnite content before transitioning to music. He accumulates nearly four million TikTok followers. During this period, according to prosecutors, his contact with Celeste continues. She is a child in Riverside County. He is becoming a public figure with an industry around him. The age gap between them is constant. The power gap is widening.
November 2023 — Celeste Is 13. Burke Is 18.
Prosecutors allege the sexual abuse begins.
According to the prosecution's complaint, Burke — now 18, a legal adult — begins sexually abusing Celeste, who is 13 years old, in November 2023. Prosecutors allege he "resided with, and had recurring access" to her. Evidence cited by prosecutors includes photographs of sexual activity between them, which investigators say began at this age. A child of 13. An adult of 18 with an established music career, a management team, and a public profile.
February 2024 — Celeste Is 13
Celeste goes missing for the first time. Law enforcement contacts Burke.
Celeste's family reports her missing to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department in February 2024. Detectives identify Burke's phone number in Celeste's phone records and contact him. According to prosecutors, Burke tells detectives he had only met her once and did not know her age. That same night, Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies conduct a welfare check at Burke's Hollywood Hills home and inform him that Celeste is a runaway — and that she is only 13 years old. He is told. Explicitly. On the record. She is a 13-year-old runaway. He is told this. Two days later, Celeste returns home to her family. Her parents take away her phone.
Late 2024
Their relationship officially ends. Contact continues.
According to prosecutors, the relationship between Burke and Celeste formally ends in November 2024. They continue to communicate and have sexual contact after the ending. Text messages from March 2025, cited in prosecution filings, show Celeste writing to Burke: "All we do is have sex and just hang out man I want more than that for myself." She is 14 years old. She is asking for more than what she is being given. The message is in the court documents. It does not require commentary.
April 22, 2025 — Celeste Is 14
A final argument. Celeste threatens to go public.
The night before Celeste's suspected death, she and Burke have what prosecutors describe as a "lengthy argument" via text message. Celeste confronts Burke about his relationships with other women — she had been led to believe they had a future together. According to prosecutors, she threatens to expose their relationship and end his career. His debut studio album, "Withered," had been released on April 25, 2025. He was at the peak of his public profile. Prosecutors allege the motive for what followed was financial gain and self-preservation — that he killed her to protect his career.
April 23, 2025 — Celeste Is 14
Celeste goes to his home. She is never seen alive again.
At approximately 8:40 pm, according to prosecutors, Burke sends an Uber to pick up Celeste from her home in Lake Elsinore. She arrives at his Hollywood Hills home around 10:10 pm. Her brother Matthew later tells media that she had told the family she was going to see a movie with Burke. The family had no knowledge of the extent of their relationship. At approximately 10:30 pm, Burke sends Celeste a text message — what prosecutors describe as part of a premeditated plan, because, they allege, she was already dead by this time.
April–July 2025
Burke performs. Goes on tour. Tells people the smell is from something else.
According to prosecutors, Burke keeps Celeste's body in the front trunk of his Tesla. People around him notice a strong smell coming from his home and his vehicle. Prosecutors allege he lied to friends, business associates, and others who asked about it. He performs at Coachella on April 18, 2025 — five days before the night Celeste came to his home. In August 2025, he launches his "Withered" tour, beginning with a show in Del Mar, California. He also releases a Fortnite collaboration. In late July, before the tour, he parks the Tesla around the corner from his home.
September 8, 2025
Celeste's remains are found.
The Tesla, having been reported as abandoned, is towed to an impound lot in Los Angeles. On September 8, 2025, workers at the lot discover what they find in the front trunk. Celeste's remains are inside. She has been there, in her absence from her family's Friday movie nights, since April. She is identified several days later. She is 14 years old. Her funeral is held on October 7, 2025. The community of Lake Elsinore turns out in large numbers.
September–November 2025
Investigation begins. LAPD publicly names the investigation as murder.
Sources confirm to media that Burke is considered a suspect. He is not cooperating with investigators, despite statements from his PR team. On November 24, 2025, the LAPD publicly characterises the case as a murder investigation for the first time — a shift from earlier public statements. LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton states publicly that "accountability is coming" and that "no one is off the table, including Burke."
December 2025
The Medical Examiner rules the death a homicide.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner determines that Celeste Rivas Hernandez died from two penetrating wounds to the torso. One wound to the upper abdomen penetrates the liver. The other to the left chest damages the ribs. The Medical Examiner's report is sealed following a request from the LAPD and is not released to the public until April 2026.
January–March 2026
Grand jury investigation. Celeste's passport found. Burke's family subpoenaed.
Multiple grand juries review the case. In January 2026, a Caltrans worker finds Celeste's passport in Santa Barbara County, off SR-154 — an area prosecutors allege Burke had visited multiple times after April 2025. In January, Burke's parents are subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury. His family challenges the subpoenas in Texas. The courts eventually require them to comply.
April 16, 2026
Burke is arrested.
LAPD officers arrest David Anthony Burke at a residence on Marmont Avenue in Hollywood Hills at 5 pm. He is booked at 11:12 pm. He is held without bail. The LAPD announces the arrest on social media, posting photos of multiple officers in tactical gear approaching the building.
April 20, 2026
Charges announced. Burke pleads not guilty. Celeste's family speaks.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announces charges: first-degree murder with special circumstances of lying in wait and financial gain, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and mutilation of human remains. Prosecutors indicate they will consider seeking the death penalty. Burke appears in court and pleads not guilty to all charges. Outside the courthouse, Celeste's mother Citlali Hernandez tells reporters she wants "justice for my daughter" and will not rest until everyone responsible is held accountable. The family releases their written statement through their attorney.
April–May 2026
Further details emerge. Preliminary hearing set for May 26.
Additional court documents are released, including an updated death certificate that states it is unclear whether Celeste was pregnant in the year before her death. The Medical Examiner's full report is unsealed on April 22. The preliminary hearing — where evidence will be presented and witnesses called — is scheduled for May 26, 2026. The case remains under active investigation by the LAPD's Robbery-Homicide Division.
The Bigger Question
What the System Saw — and When
One of the most important documents in this case is a brief, documented exchange in February 2024. Celeste goes missing. Her family reports it. Detectives find Burke's number in her phone and call him. He tells them he barely knows her, doesn't know her age. And then — on the same night — Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies go to his home and tell him, explicitly, that she is 13 years old and a runaway.
He is told. She is 13. She is missing. His number is in her phone. Law enforcement is at his door.
Celeste returns home two days later. Her parents take her phone. The contact, according to prosecutors, continues. A year later, she is dead.
This is not an argument about what law enforcement should have done — investigations are complicated, evidence takes time, and hindsight is not a fair standard to apply to any single decision made in real time. But it is worth sitting with the documented fact that there was a moment — in February 2024, a full year before Celeste died — when the people around this situation had information. When the phone records pointed to a name. When a welfare check was conducted. When someone said, out loud, that she was 13.
None of that stopped what prosecutors allege happened next.
There is also the question of the music industry infrastructure around Burke during this period — the management, the label, the touring apparatus, the people close enough to notice, as prosecutors allege, a persistent and serious smell coming from his vehicle and his home. People who were told it was something else. People who, according to the prosecution, were lied to. Whether any of those people had reason to know more than they were told is a question the investigation may yet address.
Celeste's family's statement uses specific, careful words. She was beautiful and strong. Not just a victim. Not just a case number. Not just a name in a charging document. A person who loved to sing and dance. A child who told her family she loved them. A girl who, in the last year of her life, sent a text message to a man who prosecutors say exploited her for years, asking for more than she was being given.
She deserved more than she was given. The least her story deserves now is to be told with her name at the top.
"Celeste was a beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance. Every Friday night was movie night. All we want is justice for Celeste."
— The Rivas Hernandez family, April 2026
What Prosecutors Have Presented
The Evidence, as Documented
From prosecution filings and the LA County DA's complaint — all allegations
Photographs of sexual activity between Burke and Celeste, beginning when she was 13 years old, cited in the prosecution's complaint as evidence of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14
Text message records showing the relationship's progression, including Celeste's March 2025 message: "All we do is have sex and just hang out man I want more than that for myself"
Uber records showing Burke sent a car to Celeste's Lake Elsinore home on the night of April 23, 2025, and that she arrived at his Hollywood Hills home at approximately 10:10 pm
Text messages sent by Burke at 10:30 pm on April 23, described by prosecutors as part of a premeditated plan to create a paper trail while, they allege, Celeste was already dead
Forensic evidence including blue plastic fragments from a pool inflatable, which an LAPD expert matched to fragments embedded in Celeste's remains
Celeste's passport, found by a Caltrans worker in January 2026 off SR-154 in Santa Barbara County — an area Burke had reportedly visited multiple times
The Medical Examiner's determination that Celeste died from two penetrating wounds to the torso, ruling her death a homicide in December 2025
The updated death certificate noting it is unclear whether Celeste was pregnant in the year before her death
Where Things Stand
The Case as of May 2026
David Anthony Burke is currently held without bail. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His lawyers and family have maintained his innocence throughout. His preliminary hearing — at which evidence will be presented and witnesses called — is scheduled for May 26, 2026. The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman of the Major Crimes Division. Prosecutors have indicated they will consider whether to seek the death penalty.
The Rivas Hernandez family, through their attorney, described Burke's arrest as "a first step toward justice" and urged prosecutors to pursue the maximum possible charges.
Celeste's community in Lake Elsinore held vigils in her honour after her remains were found. Her funeral, on October 7, 2025, drew large numbers from the community. Her brother Matthew said she had told the family she was going to see a movie on the night she died. The family had no knowledge of the extent of what had been happening.
She was 14 years old. She loved to sing and dance. Every Friday was movie night.
This piece will be updated as proceedings continue.
Questions People Are Asking
Celeste Abigail Rivas Hernandez was a 14-year-old girl from Lake Elsinore, Riverside County, California, born September 7, 2010. She was described by her family as a beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance, with Friday movie nights a beloved family tradition. Her remains were found on September 8, 2025, in a Tesla registered to singer David Burke, known as D4vd. Her death was ruled a homicide in December 2025. Burke was charged in April 2026 and has pleaded not guilty.
According to prosecutors, David Anthony Burke met Celeste when she was 11 years old. Prosecutors allege he began sexually abusing her at age 13 when he was 18. She was reported missing twice by her family. On April 23, 2025, prosecutors allege Burke sent an Uber to bring Celeste to his Hollywood Hills home, where she was killed. Her remains were found in the trunk of his Tesla in September 2025. Burke was arrested April 16, 2026, charged with first-degree murder with special circumstances, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and mutilation of remains. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd, appeared in court on April 20, 2026 and pleaded not guilty to all charges. His lawyers and family have maintained his innocence. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 26, 2026.
The family released a statement through their attorney: "Celeste was a beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance. Every Friday night was movie night and we spent wonderful times together. We love her very much and she always told us that she loved us. We miss her deeply. All we want is justice for Celeste." Her mother, Citlali Hernandez, told reporters she wanted "justice for my daughter" and would not rest until everyone responsible was held accountable.
David Anthony Burke was charged by the LA County District Attorney's Office on April 20, 2026 with: first-degree murder with special circumstances of lying in wait and financial gain, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and mutilation of human remains. Prosecutors are considering seeking the death penalty. Burke has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The preliminary hearing is May 26, 2026.
