The disappearance and subsequent discovery of Celeste Rivas Hernandez has evolved from a tragic missing person case into a serpentine criminal investigation, ensnaring a rising music star and exposing a web of alleged deception, asset concealment, and chilling celebrity silence. At the heart of the mystery is David, a singer whose actions—or lack thereof—since the discovery of Celeste’s body in his abandoned black Tesla have only served to fuel public outrage and draw the gaze of federal investigators. This is not the narrative of a heartbroken individual, but the troubling picture of a man allegedly attempting to outrun the consequences of a terrible secret.
The initial discovery, detailed in late July, was immediately macabre. Celeste’s body was found inside David’s repossessed Tesla, but the circumstances surrounding her state were utterly bizarre. The LA County Medical Examiner revealed that Celeste had been frozen, a condition that would make determining the precise cause of passing nearly impossible. This grim detail instantly shifted the tone of the investigation from a potential tragic accident to one of calculated, premeditated foul play. As sources close to the LAPD suggested, the deliberate freezing of the body—likely to preserve it and delay decomposition—was a chilling maneuver that signaled a clear intent to obstruct justice and destroy critical evidence. Yet, despite the challenge to forensics, the LAPD maintained its stance, signaling that an arrest could still be made, even if the exact cause of death remained undetermined.
The Timeline of Suspicion: From Hidden Streams to a Second Suspect
The initial police investigation swiftly targeted David, who, according to leaked news, was allegedly uncooperative with investigators. However, the police report, eventually released to counter a viral but false TMZ theory about the freezing, laid out a concrete timeline that established David and Celeste were together in downtown Los Angeles on the night of December 30th through the morning of December 31st, 2024. This places the victim and the primary suspect together just weeks before Celeste is believed to have vanished entirely, as confirmed sightings of her throughout 2025 are nonexistent.
Investigators have since pieced together a compelling, albeit devastating, picture of Celeste’s final weeks, suggesting she may have passed away in January or February of 2025. This timeline is supported by David’s own strange behavior: in February 2025, he leased a new red Tesla and conspicuously stopped using the black one in which Celeste’s body was later found. Around the same time, he posted an unusually somber video from a previously unmentioned private rental home. It is now believed that this second residence was where Celeste may have been staying, leading the feds to suspect she had passed “a few weeks prior” to David’s February broadcast.
Perhaps the most startling development, however, was the identification of a second suspect named Neo. Through a forensic examination of David’s bank accounts, detectives discovered David had been paying rent for the private rental home—the same one where Celeste may have been living—that was occupied by Neo. The official report states that Neo “was the last one driving the Tesla” and has since wiped his social media accounts clean of all connections to David, a classic red flag for investigators. This revelation suggests a far more complex scenario than a single-actor crime, hinting at a potential conspiracy to dispose of Celeste’s body and the vehicle. The movement of the Tesla, which was abandoned and later repossessed in late July/early August, is a key focus, and the fact that Neo is believed to have been the last person in possession of the car before it was abandoned places him directly in the frame of the cover-up.
The Evidence of Deception: Deleted VODs and Asset Laundering
If the discovery of Celeste’s body was a shock, David’s subsequent actions have been seen by many as a virtual admission of guilt. After Celeste was officially identified, the singer immediately went into hiding, remaining conspicuously absent from the public eye for two months with no public statements or affirmations of innocence. The silence speaks volumes, particularly as one fan noted, “If he knows he’s innocent he should have gone about it in a different way.” Instead of facing the music, David was reportedly tracked playing Fortnite while in hiding and briefly posted a new song titled “Rush” to his Band Lab account, only to quickly delete it after fans started questioning his involvement in the crime—a deeply unsettling glimpse into a suspect seemingly detached from the gravity of the situation.
However, the most financially damning evidence came just days after the police executed a search warrant at his Hollywood Hills rental. It was reported that David, after hiring a legal team, hastily transferred two houses he owned, including one in Texas, into his mother’s name. Legal experts interviewed in the report were unequivocal, stating this maneuver—performed “in the middle of an investigation”—constitutes a “fraudulent transfer,” a deliberate attempt to conceal assets from potential civil lawsuits and criminal judgments. As a lawyer explained, “You can’t transfer assets after the event happens that would otherwise trigger collecting on those assets.” This desperate financial move provides a powerful, tangible indicator that David was preparing for the legal fallout of a massive crime.
The Unsettling Ties: From an Alter Ego to a Look-Alike
Further compounding the cloud of suspicion are eerie, resurfaced details from David’s past. Investigators are now scrutinizing the singer’s fascination with an alter ego he conceptualized for his music videos—a character who is an “agent of chaos” and commits the very crimes that his “detective” self must solve. Though not legal evidence, the connection between his artistic fantasy and his current reality is unnerving.
Perhaps more bizarre is the appearance of a “Second Celeste.” Months after Celeste Rivas is believed to have passed, David was spotted on a live stream in an arcade with another girl also named Celeste. To make the coincidence deeply suspicious, this new Celeste was wearing the same Gap sweater that Celeste Rivas was pictured in on her missing person’s poster. Fans and commentators have speculated that this was a deliberate attempt to confuse investigators and the public, creating a false narrative that the original missing person was simply the other Celeste.
The case also echoes allegations from 2023, when a former music collaborator tried to expose David for inappropriate communications with other fans. Although his legal team swiftly silenced the accuser and had a song removed from streaming services, this pattern of using legal power to suppress potentially damaging information suggests David has a history of aggressive cover-up tactics.
The most damning physical evidence that ties David to Celeste Rivas involves their hidden relationship. A resurfaced Twitch clip from January 2024 shows David streaming with Celeste Rivas, an encounter he urgently tried to erase by instructing his mods to “delete all VODs” and the stream immediately after it ended. This frantic attempt to cover their tracks proves that their relationship was known and actively being concealed. Furthermore, a video from June 27th, 2024, shows Celeste Rivas alive and backstage at a David concert with his brother, confirming her presence in his close circle just months before her tragic end.
Ultimately, the case against David is built on an accumulating mountain of suspicious behavior, evasive maneuvers, and circumstantial but compelling evidence. The Tesla, a vehicle that tracks its movements with unnerving accuracy, holds the digital key to where Celeste was kept and who moved the car. David’s failure to cooperate, his two-month disappearance, and his alleged attempt at fraudulent asset transfer paint the picture of a man desperately trying to outmaneuver justice. The only thing colder than the frozen car where Celeste was found is the silence from the man at the center of this national tragedy.
