Celeste Rivas Hernandez Timeline: Find Her Now

Celeste Rivas Hernandez timeline details have drawn renewed attention as investigators and the public continue to piece together the final months before her disappearance. The 14-year-old from Lake Elsinore was reported missing multiple times in 2024, and her case later intersected with musician David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd. The timeline matters now because formal charges were filed in 2026, turning scattered reports into a single criminal case.

Early missing reports

Parents Jesus Rivas and Mercedes Martinez contacted the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department three times in early 2024. The reports came on February 15, March 19, and April 5, when Celeste was still 13. Each filing described brief absences that ended with her return, yet they established a pattern of repeated disappearances.

Deputies spoke with Burke on February 17, 2024, after the first report. He told them he had last spoken with her days earlier and claimed he did not know she was a minor. A welfare check at his West Hollywood home followed, during which he reportedly showed a yearbook photo and described only one in-person meeting the previous November.

Neighbors later told reporters they saw Celeste in the area with her parents throughout the rest of 2024. She turned 14 on September 7 that year and continued attending Lakeland Village School, maintaining a visible presence in Lake Elsinore even as the earlier reports remained on record.

Alleged contact with Burke

Prosecutors allege the relationship began online around 2022 through Discord when Celeste was 11. They say sexual contact started after she turned 13 while Burke was 18. Phone records later showed his number linked to her accounts, and investigators recovered messages stretching back several years.

Burke is accused of paying a classmate one thousand dollars to supply Celeste with a replacement phone after her parents confiscated the first device. The payment, if confirmed, points to an effort to maintain private contact outside family oversight during the period of repeated missing reports.

Family members described Celeste as outgoing and fond of singing and dancing. They recalled regular Friday movie nights at home and noted her habit of visiting a neighborhood corner store, details that contrasted with the private communications now central to the case.

Final day in Lake Elsinore

On April 23, 2025, Burke arranged an Uber to pick Celeste up from her home. She left around 10 p.m. and her phone went silent shortly after arrival at his Hollywood Hills residence. Prosecutors describe that night as the last confirmed sighting of her alive.

Investigators later obtained post-arrival text messages they characterize as calculated to establish an alibi. The messages, sent in the hours after her arrival, are cited in charging documents as evidence of planning rather than spontaneous communication.

Celeste’s physical description at the time included long curly black hair, braces, and a height of five-foot-two. Those details, released by authorities after her disappearance, helped generate tips that eventually connected her movements to the Hollywood address.

Discovery of remains

On September 8, 2025, a tow-yard worker in Hollywood noticed a foul odor coming from an impounded Tesla Model X registered to Burke. Inside the front trunk, officers found heavily decomposed and partially dismembered remains. Dental records confirmed the identity on September 16.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner determined the cause of death as multiple penetrating injuries to the abdomen, liver, and chest. The body weighed roughly 71 pounds at discovery, consistent with advanced decomposition. No evidence of decapitation was reported.

Months later, in January 2026, investigators recovered Celeste’s U.S. passport card at a site near Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara County. Prosecutors allege the location was used for evidence disposal on May 8 and May 31, 2025, after the April 23 disappearance.

Arrest and charges

Burke was arrested on April 16, 2026. Four days later he was charged with first-degree murder with special circumstances, including lying in wait and murder of a witness. Additional counts included continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains.

During the April 20, 2026, arraignment, Burke entered a not-guilty plea. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office stated that Celeste was never heard from again after the Uber transport arranged by the defendant on April 23, 2025.

The charges elevated the case from a missing-person investigation to a homicide prosecution. Court filings now frame the earlier missing reports, the alleged payments for the phone, and the post-arrival texts as part of a single sequence rather than isolated events.

Family statements

Through their attorney, Celeste’s parents released a brief statement describing her as a beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance. They emphasized the family’s Friday movie nights and the ordinary routines that defined her life in Lake Elsinore before the repeated absences.

The family has largely remained out of public view since the charges were filed. Their earlier cooperation with Riverside County deputies during the 2024 missing reports provided the initial phone records that later connected Celeste to Burke.

Community members in Lake Elsinore recalled Celeste as a regular at the corner store and a student known for her braces and curly hair. Those local recollections have resurfaced in recent coverage as the timeline moves from disappearance to criminal proceedings.

Legal developments

Prosecutors allege the stabbing occurred shortly after Celeste arrived at the Hollywood Hills residence on April 23, 2025. They further claim the body was dismembered and stored in the Tesla before the vehicle was impounded, setting the stage for the September discovery.

The special circumstances attached to the murder charge carry the possibility of enhanced penalties if Burke is convicted. The continuous sexual abuse count covers the period when Celeste was under 14, directly tying the earlier allegations to the homicide case.

Pretrial hearings are expected to examine the chain of custody for the Tesla, the timing of the alleged evidence disposal near Lake Cachuma, and the content of the post-arrival text messages. Each element will be tested against the timeline established by the 2024 missing reports and the April 23 Uber records.

Public interest

Burke’s music career, including the track Romantic Homicide, brought additional attention once his name surfaced in connection with the case. Fans and online observers have tracked court filings and news releases for updates on the charges filed in 2026.

Local coverage in Los Angeles and national outlets have focused on the sequence of events rather than speculation. The repeated missing reports from 2024, the alleged payments for the phone, and the final Uber transport form the documented backbone of current reporting.

Community discussions in Lake Elsinore have centered on the gap between Celeste’s visible presence in the neighborhood and the private communications now under scrutiny. Those conversations continue as the legal process moves forward.

Next steps in the case

The prosecution will present evidence linking the April 23, 2025, arrival at the Hollywood Hills residence to the injuries that caused Celeste Rivas Hernandez death. Defense attorneys are expected to challenge the timeline and the interpretation of the text messages sent that night.

Additional hearings will address discovery motions and the admissibility of records from the 2024 missing reports. The outcome of those motions will determine how much of the earlier pattern reaches the jury if the case proceeds to trial.

For now, the documented timeline from the first 2024 report through the 2026 charges provides the clearest public record of events. Updates will depend on court rulings and any new evidence introduced during pretrial proceedings.

Timeline takeaway

The Celeste Rivas Hernandez timeline shows a progression from repeated missing reports in early 2024 to formal murder charges in 2026. Each stage rests on documented police contacts, phone records, and physical evidence recovered from the Tesla and the Lake Cachuma site. The case remains in the pretrial phase, with further proceedings expected to test the prosecution’s narrative against defense challenges.