In a bombshell twist that has left true crime enthusiasts reeling, leaked text messages and surveillance footage obtained by a private investigator suggest that 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s own family may have played a chilling role in covering up her death – all to shield rising music star D4VD from scandal. The revelations, dropped late last night on social media by PI Steve Fischer, hired by D4VD’s former landlord, paint a picture of desperation, denial, and deep ties to the 20-year-old singer whose Tesla trunk became Celeste’s makeshift tomb.

Celeste, a seventh-grader from the quiet Inland Empire town of Lake Elsinore, was no stranger to vanishing acts. Her family reported her missing three times in 2024 alone, each time citing teenage rebellion or family squabbles. But sources close to the investigation whisper that those reports were smokescreens, designed to buy time while Celeste secretly shuttled between her fractured home life and the glittering, chaotic world of D4VD’s Hollywood Hills rental. “She idolized him,” one anonymous family friend told this outlet. “David [D4VD’s real name, David Anthony Burke] was her escape – older, famous, promising her the world. But when things went wrong, her family chose loyalty to him over her.”

The nightmare unfolded on September 8, 2025, when tow yard workers in Hollywood, gagging from a foul odor, pried open the front trunk of a sleek black Tesla Model S. Inside, zipped into black trash bags and wrapped in duct tape, lay Celeste’s severely decomposed remains – weighing just 71 pounds after weeks of putrefaction in the August heat. The car, impounded on September 3 for parking violations near D4VD’s rented mansion, had sat unnoticed for days. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office has deferred her cause of death indefinitely, citing “extensive mutilation and decomposition” that obliterated forensic clues. Was it overdose? Foul play? Self-harm? The autopsy offered no answers, only more questions.

D4VD, the TikTok sensation behind hits like “Romantic Homicide,” has maintained a ghostly silence since canceling his national tour amid the fallout. His team insists he’s “fully cooperating” with the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division, but insiders say he’s holed up in a nondescript Valley safehouse, dodging paparazzi and therapy sessions. A leaked 2023 demo track titled “Celeste,” with lyrics crooning “You’re my secret, locked away tight / In the dark where no one fights,” has fueled fan theories of obsession turned deadly. Videos from his music catalog – one depicting a bloodied figure stuffing a body into a car trunk – now feel prophetically sinister.

But the real gut-punch came last night, when Fischer, the grizzled PI with a nose for celebrity skeletons, unleashed a torrent of “irrefutable evidence” on X (formerly Twitter). At the top: grainy Ring doorbell footage timestamped August 15, showing a hooded figure – identified by gait analysis as D4VD’s brother, Marcus Burke – loading heavy, lumpy garbage bags into the Tesla’s frunk at 2:17 a.m. The car doesn’t budge again until August 28, per traffic cams, when it’s parked curbside in Hollywood Hills. “This wasn’t random,” Fischer posted. “The trunk was sealed like a coffin. Someone knew.”

Enter the family: Gisel Vera, Celeste’s 32-year-old cousin and self-appointed family spokesperson, who rocketed to infamy by launching a GoFundMe that raised $47,000 for “funeral costs and justice.” Vera, a single mom with a side hustle in online reselling, was photographed arm-in-arm with Celeste at her middle school graduation just months before. But Fischer’s bombshell? A cache of deleted iMessages recovered from a burner phone linked to Vera’s IP address. In one exchange dated August 20 – five days after the alleged body dump – Vera texts an unknown number (traced to D4VD’s manager, Josh Marshall): “She’s safe with you guys, right? Cops sniffing around again. Tell David to chill on the posts. We’ll say runaway one more time.”

Another thread, this one between Vera and Celeste’s aunt, Maria Lopez: “Girl’s been wild, sneaking to LA for that singer boy. If she OD’d or whatever, we can’t let it touch us. David’s people wired $5k for silence. Family first.” The messages, authenticated by forensic timestamps and geolocation pings to Lake Elsinore, suggest Vera not only knew of Celeste’s “relationship” with D4VD – a predatory entanglement between a vulnerable teen and a fame-hungry star – but actively coordinated the cover story. Riverside County Sheriff’s logs confirm the family’s third missing person report on August 18, just as the Tesla idled with its horrific cargo.

Fischer didn’t stop there. He dropped audio clips – grainy but damning – from a hidden nanny cam in D4VD’s rental, installed by the landlord after noisy “parties.” One, from August 14, captures a frantic female voice, later ID’d as Vera’s via voiceprint software: “David, what the hell? She’s not breathing! Esmeralda [Celeste’s cousin] said she’d watch her, but this? We gotta move her before the maid comes.” The cam also snagged D4VD, shirtless and sweating, muttering, “It was an accident, man. Pills from the party. She wanted to feel big.” Esmeralda Ruiz, 17 and Celeste’s first cousin once removed, was the GoFundMe co-organizer – and, per Fischer, the one who “invited” Celeste to that fateful August 13 bash, posing it as a “meet the star” adventure.

The PI’s thread exploded, racking up 2.3 million views in hours. “This ain’t just negligence,” Fischer wrote. “Celeste’s blood family sold her out for clout and cash. Vera’s been DMing D4VD’s fan accounts for months, trading ‘exclusive’ pics for shoutouts. They helped stash the body, filed fake reports, and cashed sympathy checks while she rotted.” LAPD sources, speaking off-record, confirmed they’re subpoenaing Vera’s phone records and the GoFundMe ledger. “If this holds, we’re looking at accessory after the fact, obstruction – maybe conspiracy,” one detective grumbled. “Kid was 15. Her own kin let her become a hashtag.”

Celeste’s mother, Rosa Hernandez, 38, a part-time housekeeper reeling from multiple sclerosis, has gone radio silent since the body release on September 25. Neighbors in Lake Elsinore describe a home fractured by poverty and pills – opioids flowing freely after Rosa’s diagnosis. “Celeste was the light,” wept elderly neighbor Elena Torres. “Always drawing, humming D4VD songs. She’d sneak out for WiFi to message him. We warned Rosa, but… money was tight. That cousin Gisel promised ‘opportunities’ in LA.” A makeshift memorial at Promenade Park – teddy bears, purple candles (Celeste’s favorite color), and faded TikTok printouts – now bears fresh graffiti: “Family Killed Her Twice.”

D4VD’s camp fired back at dawn via a terse statement: “These allegations are baseless smears from a disgruntled landlord’s witch hunt. David mourns Celeste deeply and awaits the truth.” But the damage is done. His streams have dipped 40%, sponsors like Interscope Records are “reviewing partnerships,” and #JusticeForCeleste trends with fan dissections of his discography. Legal eagles predict slim pickings for prosecutors: without a COD, it’s all circumstantial. “Concealment of a body? Sure, misdemeanor at worst,” opined ex-DA Neema Verma. “But if family complicity sticks, that’s felony tampering. D4VD walks; the cousins fry.”

As dawn broke over Hollywood’s haze, Fischer teased more drops: “Tomorrow, the maid’s testimony. Spoiler: She saw the bags, heard the whispers. Celeste deserved better than enablers.” In Lake Elsinore, Rosa Hernandez finally emerged, clutching a dog-eared notebook of her daughter’s sketches. “My baby wanted to sing,” she whispered to reporters, tears carving rivers down her face. “Not this. If Gisel… if they knew… God help them.” The family that should have sheltered Celeste instead, it seems, helped bury her – literally and figuratively – to preserve a pop star’s shine.

This isn’t just a celebrity scandal; it’s a requiem for a girl lost in the glow of screens and secrets. As investigators peel back the lies, one truth glares: in the chase for fame, blood proves thinner than infamy. Will justice drag these conspirators into the light, or will Celeste fade like another unsolved lyric? The world watches, hearts heavy, waiting for the next verse in this macabre melody.