(Photo courtesy of Shinemycrown.com) Celeste Rivas before she went missing
Jesse Nguyen
Connector Editor
Trigger warning: This article contains graphic information regarding sexual violence.
After enough scrolls on Twitter/X, you’re really left wondering: is there empathy left in this world? This thought came to me when I discovered the case of the musician D4vd, and the now deceased Celeste Rivas.
Details about the case are not solidified yet, but since this is an Op-Ed, I will report what I believe to be true based on information I have pieced together. For those unfamiliar, D4vd, aka David Anthony Burke, is a Houston based singer recently speculated to being romantically involved with would be 15-year-old Celeste Rivas, who tragically was found dismembered and decomposed in a Tesla registered to D4vd on Sept. 8. It is worth noting that, despite many news headlines stating her to be 15 years old, she died before she turned 15.
D4vd was born on March 28, 2005, making him 20 years old. Rivas was reporting last year when she was 13 years old. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) found Celeste’s decomposed remains in a Tesla registered to D4vd on Sept. 8.
I believe the two met when Rivas was just 10 years old. Dv4d songs “Decide” dropped on March 28, 2022, and Rivas was born Sept. 7, 2010, making her 11 at the time. The song has lyrics saying, “save your tears, seven years,” insinuating her turning 18. It is quite possible, and I personally believe Rivas was closer to 10 years old when she met D4vd. So D4vd was involved with a 10 or 11-year-old at 16 years old.
In D4vds discord server, users speculated that the two were in a relationship. There are numerous photos and videos circulating online of someone who appears to be her interacting with him.
Rivas was allegedly running away from home multiple times before her disappearance. There are also reports of her having run away after family arguments, and that she lied to D4vd about her age.
This is where Twitter/X started to get disturbing. I have seen countless comments saying Rivas deserved what happened to her. I recall one user saying, “She chose that life, abandoning her family to chase clout.” Or, a more common one is saying Rivas looked mature for her age, which legitimizes D4vd being “oblivious” to her age. I have also seen people blaming Rivas on the internet at her age.
It’s an occurrence that happens too often with victims of misogynistic violence. It’s somehow their fault that they shouldn’t have been in this place, at this time, wearing these clothes, etc. It makes me feel sick knowing these discussions are still taking place in 2025. It’s all incredibly dark and tone-deaf.
It’s all horrific. Rivas was a child; it was not her fault for getting groomed. Why are we putting blame on a child for getting manipulated? Why do people act like they are above being manipulated? And it’s mind boggling that hundreds of users on discord knew about the two but nobody batted an eye or bothered to take legal action. And worst of all, this case actually boosted the number of streams of D4vd’s songs. Of course, this can just be out of people’s curiosity, but I’m not sure why we’re interacting with the art created by a monster.
This culture of victim blaming is disgusting and is completely devoid of any humanity. I pray for the Rivas family and hope they can get justice. Celeste Rivas was failed by everyone.
