D4vd and Celeste Rivas Timeline, From Secret Relationship to Tragic Death

D4vd will head to court this month for his preliminary hearing in Celeste Rivas‘ murder case.

The singer — whose legal name is David Anthony Burke — has been charged with killing the teenager. But you may be wondering when everything went down … and how they even met in the first place.

TMZ’s got everything you need to know about D4vd and Celeste. Here’s how the prosecutors say the timeline breaks down:

According to the brief filed by prosecutors on April 29 … D4vd and Celeste first met when she was 11 years old.

Celeste’s former teacher — who tells TMZ he taught her at Lakeland Village School in Lake Elsinore, California — claims the two met on social media.

The brief claims D4vd and Celeste began a sexual relationship the following November — when he was 18 and she was only 13 years old.

The court doc doesn’t elaborate on the accusation or say how prosecutors arrived at this allegation.

You can see Celeste and D4vd on a January 2024 livestream together … answering fans’ questions. At one point, you can hear Celeste encourage D4vd to respond to a specific comment.

According to prosecutors … Celeste’s family reported her missing to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

The D.A. says the RCSD called D4vd on February 17 because they found his number in Celeste’s phone records.

On the phone, D4vd allegedly told authorities he hadn’t talked to Celeste since February 13 or 14 … and claimed he was unaware she was missing … or that she was a minor.

That night, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department went to D4vd’s West Hollywood rental house, where he told them he’d only met Celeste in person once the previous November … according to the brief.

The doc alleges that during this visit, D4vd showed deputies a yearbook photo of Celeste that he had on his phone.

According to the brief … Celeste returned home to Lake Elsinore just two days after L.A. County deputies visited D4vd’s home.

It notes that D4vd told officers during the welfare check at his home that he didn’t know where Celeste was during the period in which she was missing.

According to the filing … D4vd “continued to pursue” Celeste … even though both RCSD and LASD had allegedly informed him that she was a minor.

The brief says Celeste’s parents took her phone away after she returned home. After this, D4vd allegedly drove to Lake Elsinore to pay a junior high student $1000 to give Celeste a phone he had bought for her.

A photo obtained by TMZ in September 2025 shows D4vd near the victim’s home in Lake Elsinore, interacting with a man holding a brown bag … but it’s unclear if the pic is from his alleged visit in February of that year.

And as we previously reported, a TikTok commenter accused D4vd of “messing with a 13-year-old” … and Celeste was 13 at the time of the post.

According to prosecutors, Celeste’s family reported her missing again … just months after the last time she’d been missing.

The missing-person poster says she was last seen when she left the house on April 5 at 9 PM.

The L.A. County D.A. claims that Celeste was with D4vd a lot “throughout 2024” … allegedly spending summer weekends at his Hollywood Hills home and taking trips with him to Las Vegas, Texas, and London. The document specifies Celeste allegedly travelled to Texas to meet D4vd’s family.

D4vd seemed to describe a couple of these alleged trips in an April 2025 interview with online magazine Songwriter Universe … when he mentioned a trip he took to London with three “friends.” He added that he went to Houston for two weeks after that.

According to prosecutors … alleged texts confirm D4vd and Celeste were in a sexual relationship. The filing alleges messages contain references to sex, pregnancy, abortion, and the use of Plan B emergency contraceptive.

It also says there were “explicit photos” that documented and corroborated their sexual relationship.

The filing claims D4vd and Celeste broke up in November 2024, but doesn’t elaborate on the nature or circumstances of the alleged breakup.

But, it did claim that they stayed in touch … and their alleged texts suggest they were still having “sexual relations.”

According to the brief … texts allegedly show D4vd and Celeste had a “lengthy argument.” In the alleged messages, Celeste was seemingly jealous that D4vd had relationships with other women … the filing says.

The brief continues, claiming Celeste threatened to disclose “damaging information” about her relationship with D4vd with the alleged goal of ruining his life and career.

Prosecutors believe this is the “likely date” Celeste died … according to the brief. It notes that all her cell phone activity stopped this night.

At Approximately 8:40 PM

The filing says D4vd sent an Uber to bring Celeste from Lake Elsinore to his place in the Hollywood Hills, in Los Angeles.

At Approximately 10:10 PM

Celeste was allegedly dropped off at D4vd’s Hollywood Hills home. The brief claims that “very soon after her arrival at his home” the singer stabbed Celeste to death multiple times and stood by while she bled out.

The filing says D4vd did not attempt to save her life … he didn’t call 911 or bring Celeste to the emergency room.

At Approximately 10:30 PM

D4vd sent texts to Celeste asking where she was … according to the brief. Prosecutors argue this was his “premeditated plan to cover up the murder, as she was already dead by this time.”

At Approximately 11:30 PM

The brief says D4vd texted and called Celeste to once again ask where she was … as he left his home in his Tesla and allegedly drove north to Santa Barbara County.

D4vd drove home from Santa Barbara County and returned to L.A. … and went to a radio interview to plug his upcoming album, according to the filing.

The doc claims he texted Celeste two more times that day, “which obviously went unanswered because she was already dead.” It also says he ordered a shovel from Home Depot that was delivered to his home by Postmates that same day.

D4vd released his first studio album, “Withered.”

The brief notes that D4vd never attempted to contact Celeste again after this day … but doesn’t specify what attempt he made on the 26th, if any.

According to the filing, D4vd ordered two chainsaws to his home … allegedly making this purchase under the fake name “Victoria Mendez.”

The brief says the singer also ordered a body bag, heavy-duty laundry bags, and a blue inflatable pool to his Hollywood Hills house.

It claims these purchases were also sent to his home … and ordered under the same pseudonym as the chainsaws.

According to prosecutors … D4vd made two more trips to Santa Barbara County. The first time, it says he left his home around 11:30 PM May 8.

The filing alleges he went back on May 31. It doesn’t specify when he came back to L.A. either time.

The doc says D4vd made another purchase under the Victoria Mendez alias a couple months after his other alleged purchases … this time ordering a “burn cage” — a portable outdoor incinerator — from Amazon. Prosecutors claim this device was part of his plan to “incinerate evidence.”

According to the brief … surveillance footage and “other evidence” shows D4vd was the last person to drive his Tesla before parking it approximately 400 feet from his home … where it was eventually towed from months later, in September.

D4vd’s “Withered World Tour” kicked off in Del Mar, California in August. The run was scheduled to hit several cities — in the U.S. as well as Europe — and wrap on November 4, 2025.

According to the brief, Celeste’s body was found “dismembered” in the front trunk of D4vd’s Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard … after being towed there on September 5.

Documents say the manager said they noticed a strong smell of decay and the presence of flies coming from the Tesla, and called LAPD … who ultimately confirmed the car was registered to D4vd.

The brief says detectives found a black body bag “covered in insects” in the front trunk … with a “severely decomposed” head and torso inside.

It notes there was also a plastic garbage bag under the body bag that contained dismembered arms and legs.

The body’s left ring and pinky fingers had been amputated, and weren’t found in the car … according to the brief.

As we previously reported, D4vd was business as usual the next day … hitting the stage at The Fillmore Minneapolis, continuing on the tour as planned.

According to prosecutors … the body from D4vd’s trunk was “positively identified” as Celeste Rivas, based on her dental records.

Celeste’s mom told TMZ at the time … her daughter had a boyfriend named David and a tattoo on her finger that says “Shhh…” — which matched the one in the police description of her body.

LAPD served a search warrant for D4vd’s home after the medical examiner identified Celeste … prosecutors say.

At the time, law enforcement sources told TMZ the cops used luminol to look for blood during the search.

Also on this day, TMZ identifies that D4vd has same “Shhh…” ink on the same finger of his own hand. The first photo where you see the tattoo on D4vd is from September 2024. It’s unclear when Celeste got hers.

D4vd pulled the plug on his U.S. tour with only two dates left on the leg. He eventually went on to scrap his European and UK shows.

Additionally, D4vd’s label decided to pump the brakes on plugging the deluxe version of his album.

TMZ reports that D4vd yanked his “bloody shirt” merch from his website at some point between September 17 and September 19 as police continued to investigate Celeste’s death.

According to prosecutors … the medical examiner ruled Celeste Rivas’ death was a homicide.

The filing says the young teen died from “two penetrating injuries to the torso.”

Rolling Stone reports D4vd was quietly dropped by Interscope Records, but doesn’t specify exactly when.

The publication said artists like Kali Uchis, Holly Humberstone, Laufey, and Damiano David pulled their collabs with him from streaming services.

According to prosecutors … a Caltrans worker found Celeste’s passport card off the SR-154 in Santa Barbara County near Painted Cave Road, about 100 miles northwest of the Hollywood Hills. Caltrans says CHP came and collected Celeste’s passport card … and then detectives from a law enforcement agency returned on January 17 to interview the maintenance worker and his supervisor.

LAPD arrested D4vd for Celeste’s murder. He was brought into custody in the early evening at a different Hollywood Hills residence … 7 months after her body was found in his Tesla.

The singer was booked at the 77th Street Station Jail at 10:12 PM and was held without bail. His attorneys told TMZ at the time that there had been no indictment and no criminal complaint when the cops brought him in.

D4vd was officially charged with first-degree murder with special circumstances — which makes him eligible for the death penalty.

He was also charged with lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 … as well as mutilating a body.

That same day … D4vd went before a judge and entered a not guilty plea. That night — just before 10 PM — he was transferred to L.A. County Men’s Central Jail.

The L.A. County Medical Examiner released Celeste’s cause of death … confirming she was killed by multiple penetrating injuries with unspecified objects.

The M.E. says there are “2 penetrating wounds of the torso with smooth edges that may represent sharp force injuries. The wound — [3/4 inch length and 1.5 inches deep] — on the upper abdomen penetrates the liver, and the wound on the left chest — [9/16 inch length and 2 inches deep] penetrates one of the left intercostal spaces, with disruption of the adjacent ribs’ cortical surfaces.”

D4vd appeared in court for a status hearing regarding his preliminary hearing, later rescheduled for May 26 … where he was shackled and wearing an orange jumpsuit.

During the hearing, prosecutors said they found a “significant amount” of child sexual abuse material on the singer’s phone. They added that they want to go to trial within the next 60 days.

TMZ obtained court docs that show D4vd’s team requested new threads and a haircut before his preliminary hearing.

According to the papers … the judge said no to the clothes, but signed off on an order that the LASD give him the haircut.