The David Case: Social Media Explodes After Shocking Tesla Discovery
Social media has gone absolutely nuclear with the latest developments in the David Burke case—a situation that just keeps getting darker the more we learn. For anyone who hasn’t been following, here’s everything unraveling right now, straight from the internet’s digging and the LAPD’s investigation.
Earlier this month, a Tesla that had been sitting in an impound lot in Hollywood was finally inspected after staff complained about a foul odor. What they discovered stunned everyone: a decomposed body hidden in the front trunk.
That car was registered to 20-year-old singer David Burke, better known by his stage name David, who has performed at Coachella and shared stages with artists like SZA and The Weeknd. Fans at first thought maybe the car had been stolen while David was on tour. But that theory quickly collapsed once the body was identified.
The victim was revealed to be 15-year-old Celeste, who had been missing for more than a year.
Her mother had long suspected foul play—especially since Celeste had once mentioned a boyfriend named David. When the news broke about the Tesla, she immediately contacted TMZ, who forwarded the information to LAPD. Police confirmed the body through a small but chilling detail: a tattoo on Celeste’s finger with the letters “sh.” David, it turns out, had the exact same matching tattoo.
That was when the internet collectively lost it.
A Trail of Clues
Photos soon surfaced allegedly showing David near Celeste’s home shortly before she vanished. Old images of the two together were passed around online. Fans then unearthed a leaked song where David seemingly referenced a girl named Celeste multiple times.
Then came screenshots from Discord servers. Fans claim they show David chatting directly with Celeste. If true, it would shatter any defense that they weren’t connected.
The creep factor only deepened when it came out that David had also recently been seen hanging out with another girl named Celeste, this time on a livestream. A streamer named Jason, who met David and this second Celeste, had to clarify on camera that the girl he saw wasn’t the missing teen.
Still—people are asking: What is his obsession with the name Celeste?
The Alter Ego: Atomi
And just when you thought it couldn’t get more disturbing—David’s old interviews began resurfacing.
In them, he talks obsessively about his alter ego “Atomi” (sometimes pronounced Itami, meaning “pain” in Japanese). He describes Atomi as an “evil version” of himself—an agent of chaos who commits crimes that David, in his “detective” persona, must solve.
Sound familiar? Fans couldn’t ignore the eerie parallels.
One of his music videos even features a scene where his alter ego’s body is locked in the trunk of a car. Another shows cult-like followers carrying his corpse to be buried. At his live shows, fans were literally encouraged to “honor” Atomi as though he had died.
Now, looking back, fans can’t help but see these visuals in a much darker light.
Disturbing Posts and “Marcessence”
Even David’s social media has come under heavy scrutiny. On September 7th—Celeste’s birthday, and the day before her body was found—he posted about his upcoming deluxe album Marcessence.
That word itself raised eyebrows. Marcessence describes when trees hold onto dead leaves through winter instead of shedding them. Online sleuths found it almost unbearable to connect that imagery with the fact that “not all” of Celeste’s remains were discovered in the Tesla. The idea that someone obsessed with death might symbolically “hold onto something” from a victim has left people horrified.
Fallout
Since the discovery, David’s entire career has collapsed overnight. His U.S. and Europe tours have been canceled. Major labels—including Interscope, Sony Music Publishing, and Wasserman—have pulled all promotion. The deluxe version of his album has been shelved indefinitely.
David himself has gone dark, wiping his social media presence shortly after Celeste’s identity was confirmed. Fans have noted that before she was identified, he was still performing and posting as usual. Only after the world learned the truth did he suddenly retreat.
Where Things Stand
As of now, David hasn’t been officially charged with anything. But the court of public opinion is another story. Between the tattoos, the lyrics, the eerie obsession with his alter ego, and the strange timing of his posts, many believe the evidence is stacking up against him.
Even if he isn’t found guilty in court, fans argue there’s no coming back from being linked so closely to a murdered 15-year-old girl. His image—once that of a rising star—is now entangled in allegations of obsession, manipulation, and possibly something even darker.
This case gets creepier by the day, and the internet isn’t letting go.
