The David Files: From TikTok Fame to a Hollywood Horror Story

In the span of a year, David Anthony Burke went from a TikTok sensation to rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in music. With a debut album nearly breaking the top 10 in April, a performance on Jimmy Kimmel, and collaborations with stars like SZA, Billie Eilish, Pharrell, Benny Blanco, and Lil Yachty, it looked like the Houston native was destined for superstardom.

But now, David is known not for his music, but for a nightmare. The same young man with 36 million monthly listeners on Spotify is at the center of a chilling case—one that has left fans horrified, the industry distancing itself, and investigators piecing together a disturbing puzzle that stretches back years.

The Dark Discovery

More than a week after an impounded Tesla registered to David was towed, workers noticed a foul stench. When detectives opened the trunk, they uncovered badly decomposed and dismembered remains. The victim was soon identified as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, a girl reported missing in 2024.

The revelation shattered everything. David wasn’t just a rising artist. Now, he was a suspect in what many online have begun to call the horror of the David Files.

From Gamer to Viral Star

Before he was an artist, David was a gamer. Ranked among the best Fortnite players in the world, he started making music as background tracks for his gaming videos. What began as fun morphed into something bigger.

His breakout song, Romantic Homicide, exploded overnight on TikTok. He admitted it was recorded in a single improvised take before school, a track that his own mother criticized for being “too violent.” That very violence, however, became the catalyst for his fame.

Now, in hindsight, the timing of the release—on the birthday of the girl at the center of this story—feels like a grim foreshadowing. Listening back, fans describe it as if they’re “standing in the middle of a crime scene.”

The Clues Hidden in Plain Sight

As investigators dig deeper, David’s own art and online activity seem to betray him.

Music videos showed a body being stuffed into a trunk.

Leaked tracks hinted at covering up a murder.

Lyrics explicitly mentioned Celeste by name as early as 2023, when she was only 12 or 13 years old.

One lyric read:
“Oh, Celeste, the girl with my name tattooed on her chest.
Smell her clothes on my clothes like cigarettes…
I hear her voice each time I take a breath. I’m obsessed.”

Fans who once celebrated these songs now recoil in disgust, realizing the sinister undertones.

The Secret Relationship

What investigators uncovered next was worse.

Celeste’s mother confirmed her daughter had a boyfriend named David. Matching tattoos on their fingers were found—ink that Celeste wasn’t even old enough to legally get.

Discord chat logs revealed David flaunting his relationship with Celeste, with users openly referencing her as “the missing girl.” At one point, David even bragged about having a child on the way. Others claim he paid friends of Celeste to stay quiet.

Even more damning, teachers and classmates remembered warning signs: Celeste returning to school after disappearing with “a rapper from LA,” only to vanish again weeks later.

Industry Fallout

When the Tesla discovery went public, David initially continued touring, brushing off the scandal. But once Celeste’s identity was revealed, his career began collapsing in real time.

European and UK tour dates were canceled.

Hollister scrubbed his image from their campaigns.

Collaborators like Kali Uchis announced they were pulling joint songs.

A planned deluxe edition of his album Withered was shelved indefinitely.

Former friends and associates now claim they “knew something” as far back as 2023 but never came forward. A teacher has admitted hearing rumors from Celeste’s friends, while her brother posted receipts suggesting she and David were even engaged.

A Second Victim?

As if one tragedy wasn’t enough, whispers of another possible victim have surfaced. A young man named Gus is rumored to have died under suspicious circumstances tied to David. While unconfirmed, the speculation has only fueled the outrage.

The Fall of an Idol

David’s story has morphed from an inspirational tale of a teenager who turned Fortnite fame into music stardom into something out of a true crime documentary. His music, once celebrated for its raw emotion, is now being dissected for confessions hiding in plain sight.

The discovery of Celeste’s remains inside his Tesla has changed everything. Fans who once screamed his lyrics at concerts are now calling him a monster. Celebrities who posed for photos with him are erasing all traces. And an industry that built him up is now tearing him down.

The rise was meteoric. The fall? Catastrophic.

And as investigators sift through David’s digital footprint, Discord chats, and disturbing lyrics, one question remains: How many warnings were ignored before it was too late?