Were songs like "Romantic Homicide" just artistic expression, or did it reveal a troubled mind?
The name David "D4vd" Burke might not ring any bells for you, but his songs "Romantic Homicide" and "Here With Me" are popular and instantly recognizable for anyone who uses TikTok. On top of that, he is also the singer behind one of the most emotional songs in the League of Legend inspired series Arcane: "Remember Me."
Tragically, the body of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas was found in the trunk of the 20-year-old star's Tesla. Investigations are still ongoing to figure out what happened and why.
Cause Of Death Unclear
Celeste has been missing since April 2024. Based on the body's decomposition, it has been concluded that she died a while ago. Even though the body was found in Burke's car, it is still unclear if this was a homicide.
Burke's Tesla was towed after it was found abandoned in the Hollywood Hills. While it stood on the tow yard, someone reported a "foul scent" coming from the car. The police were called and they found the dismembered body.
On September 17, medical examiners identified the body as Celeste Rivas. The body could be identified through her height, hair, clothing, accessories and more. She also had a tattoo on her right index finger that said "Shhh...". Celeste's mother reported that the name of Celeste's boyfriend was David. Also, David Burke has the same tattoo on his index finger.
Burke canceled his show in Seattle following the identification of the body. Since the cause of death is still unclear, Burke is not a suspect, and he cooperates with the police. Many people on social media are currently taking a closer look at David Burke and claim to have found a deeply troubled mind.
Behind The Scenes
At first, people started taking a closer look at the lyrics of his songs. Especially his hit song "Romantic Homicide" seemed revealing to many.
In the back of my mind I killed you and I didn't even regret it. I can't believe I said it, but it's true. I hate you
Afterwards, users claimed to have found Discord messages of the artist on his own discord server. These messages indicate that he dated or at least knew someone with the name "Celeste" in 2022, when Celeste Riva would have been around 12 years old.
here are these too peeps pic.twitter.com/Ew3OKnqDiN
— Kryptic (@nthnorsmth) September 17, 2025
When users started to dig deeper, they could find Celeste and Burke in several videos together. Apparently, they even went live on Twitch together once. The more evidence resurfaces, the more it becomes undeniable that they were acquainted.
In other leaked screenshots, D4vd allegedly posted that he used to be "addicted to watching gore vids". We couldn't verify the validity of this screenshot, so please take this with a grain of salt.
More screenshots of D4VD's Discord are being released.... pic.twitter.com/YZZNtBmiGd
— (@headnavy) September 18, 2025
Users were even looking for unreleased songs by the artist and found one that is named "Celeste", in which he confesses his love for a girl of the same name.
Innocent Until Proven Guilty
It is important to remember that the investigations are still ongoing, and this case has not been ruled a homicide as of writing this article. Even though the deck seems to be stacked against David Burke, it is important not to jump to conclusions yet.
Many questions remain in this tragic case, and we hope they will be answered soon enough. What is your opinion regarding this case? Do you think the public attention and the social media outrage are beneficial and justified, or should people rather let authorities handle the matter?