← Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield
Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield
11 Police Calls & Eerie New Timeline: The Disturbing Mystery of Celeste Rivas Hernandez & D4vd
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Hey everyone, I'm Ashley Banfield and this is Drop Dead Serious. Just when you think you've heard it all about a rising superstar singer named David and his underage girlfriend Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who ended up dead in his trunk, something new drops. And boy, oh boy, did something new just drop today. If you're just jumping into this case, or if you want the full backstory, the timeline, we've got it. All of it. We've put together a playlist with all of our coverage and it's linked in the episode description, so check it out. And also, if you're a fan of this podcast, but you didn't know that I also do a live TV show every night at 10pm Eastern. You can find me on News Nation Mondays through Fridays. And two of my show producers, Carlos and Courtney, have been hard at work on the ground in Celeste's neighborhood all day today. It is October 1st as I'm recording this, and I can tell you they've been out looking for answers and for clues to the mystery of who killed Celeste and who stashed her body in the front trunk of David's Tesla upwards of now two months ago. What's really key here, and I can't stress it enough, is that David isn't charged. He's not named as a suspect, he's not even named as a person of interest and nor is anybody else, which quite frankly, I think for a lot of us is maddening. Since again, it's October 1st and Celeste was discovered more than three weeks ago and she's been dead again for probably about two months. I've got some news about her home and her parents and what the neighbors saw and heard, and I'm going to get to that in just a minute. But first I want to tell you a little bit about why it is that maybe the cops are delaying this one just a little bit and not charging anybody and not saying a word to any of us. Couple reasons it is Entirely possible that they just don't have the goods, Right? It is entirely possible that Celeste's body did not forensically tell us enough about who killed her, what they used, and how she ended up in the trunk. It is possible. I don't think it's probable because I know that Teslas tell you everything, right? Cameras all over the place, fingerprints or something on the steering wheel, on the door handles, maybe on the, you know, controls. Because Teslas are all touch, right? No, keys, all touch. Maybe on that front when they had to close it, right? How about on Celeste herself? Sweat, fibers, DNA, touch, DNA transfer, DNA, hairs. There are all sorts of things that might at least lead them to some profiles of people who use that Tesla. Maybe people used it before, and there are fibers and sweat and hair in that trunk. But fine, question them. Let's find out. Who are you? What do you have to do with David? Why did you ever have his frunk open? Why? Maybe does Celeste have some of her fibers of your fibers on her body? Your hair on her body? Give us a reason. Maybe they were able to. Maybe there was this conversation. Maybe they have found these people. Maybe they haven't, right? So that's one thing, having enough evidence to actually charge somebody with a murder or a manslaughter. And a manslaughter just basically means it's not a premeditated killing, right? You got a homicide. There are all sorts of types of homicide. There's a legal homicide, a cop killing a guy who's about to kill you or kill someone else. That's a legal killing. It's a homicide. Man killing man. But it's not illegal. Murder's illegal. That's premeditated killing. Second degree murder, reactionary killing, that is a crime, but not quite the same as first. It's just entirely possible they don't have the goods. They can't get those goods. Her body was too far decomposed, maybe, to tell what happened to her neck. Was there anything else? They're waiting on toxicology reports, but my guess is three weeks out, they might have them by now. You know, when you have a big, high profile case, it doesn't always take that long. You can prioritize, but there's another reason. Maybe they're waiting for their person or persons of interest to just relax, get comfy, you know, assume that the microscope has passed them by. They can let their guard down now, right? They can start talking, either to friends or. Or family. Or maybe they can start talking online, right? Maybe they can start emailing or texting. Or gaming messaging. Maybe there's surveillance going on that you and I know nothing about. Right. And maybe that's what these police officers are looking for. Someone to be just a little bit loose lipped. Remember that old expression, loose lips sink ships? I believe that's actually from World War II. And I think if I remember correctly, and one of you should comment below and tell me if I'm wrong, that was actually from the U boats. You know, don't talk listening devices. It's possible it had something to do with the U boat fighting with the torpedoing the ships above, like the Lusitania, etc. Wow, did I ever go on a tangent. So here's the other issue. They might be, and I say they police might, might be looking for additional evidence for additional crimes. Right. They may want to do it all at once. And those additional crimes are the ones that I say are the no brainers. Because Celeste was real, real young, like illegally young to be having a romantic relationship with anybody who wasn't a year or two older than her. She went missing at 13, off to the Hollywood Hills to David's house and was brought back only to run off again two more times and one time more or less for good. So she was at least 13 and 14 when her. When David's friends say that they were in a romantic relationship. Not allowed to do that. That's a sex crime. Right. You have an underage girlfriend whose parents aren't giving you the okay. And let's be clear here, these parents had reported her missing to the police. That is a far cry from saying we're good with Yalls relationship. So it is possible that this delay in charging, if there isn't, is even going to be any charging. Might have to do with that. This should buoy you if you're upset that there hasn't been a charge in over three weeks. There is no statute of limitations on murder. None. You could be charged now, tomorrow, next week, next month or in 2065 if you live that long. There is no clock running on this crime. No clock runs out on murder, runs out on other crimes like the sex crimes and stuff. Yeah, the clock definitely is ticking and usually that's around, I think two years. Statute of limitations could be three and all depending. Some of the youth sex crimes actually they've been given a lot longer window because of memory problems and kids who don't talk. But every state's a little different. Every jurisdiction is different, but there are statute of limitations on just about every crime. But murder, Nah, they can take Their sweet time. And they can get it right, and they can get all the evidence. Because, remember, when they're investigating crimes, they're investigating them for prosecutors to get a guilty verdict. They're not just rushing to an arrest. They're collecting everything they can so that they can tie it in a neat little bow and hand the gift to the prosecutors. And the prosecutors can then look at it and say, there's enough here where I think I can get a guilty verdict from a jury. At which point they will go forward with the effort to indict. Right. If they don't think that a jury can do anything for them, they're not going forward. They don't have the money or the resources to prosecute every single case. They get only the ones they think they can win. So there you go. Whole bunch of reasons why it could be taking a while here. And I know that might make you feel a little better, because I've been reading the comments, guys, and I can see how many people are so upset that no one's been arrested. Patience. In the meantime, we've heard it before, and we heard it again just last night, that Celeste ran away from her family again and again for a reason. Reports said that the girl's home life was troubled. Her middle school boyfriend, before she ran off with David, said that her mother treated her badly and that Celeste often talked to him about wanting to run away. And now TMZ has the receipts of repeated police visits to Celeste's family home in Lake elsinore, California, about 70 miles away from the Hollywood Hills, where Celeste sought refuge in David's mansion. TMZ has learned that Riverside county sheriff's deputies responded to calls about Celeste's family or from celeste's family approximately 11 times in a little over a year from February 2024 to April 2025. And remember, the family reported Celeste missing for the last time in April of 2024. So those calls continued for a year while she was ostensibly missing. And until this week, we believed that April of 2024 was the last time that they'd seen their daughter. But now we know different. And I'm going to come back to that in just a minute. All of the police visits were listed as, quote, minor crime investigation, end quote. Except for one of them. And that one outlier was listed in the reports as, quote, suspicious circumstances. Again, no additional details. That was it. But the dates of these calls, that's where the information comes in, because they speak volumes. Three of them happened in one day on March 19, 2024. And if that sounds familiar, that date, it should, because that was one of the days that Celeste ran away. She was caught on surveillance camera at a neighborhood liquor store that day. Remember, running down the street at 7 o' clock in the morning. A black car was apparently seen pulling out after her, but it is not clear whether Celeste was in it. The liquor store owner whose video that surveillance belonged to, he said she had just walked out of sight, but that he walked out to see her. And he thought he was. He thought he could see that she was getting into a black car. Couldn't give a description of the car though. Two of the three police visits on that exact day were to Celeste's home. And wouldn't you know it? Where are you going to guess the third visit was? It was to that liquor store. And you remember who else visited that liquor store that day? Celeste's sister. She showed up at that liquor store and she asked the owner if she could review his surveillance video. And he said she could. And she said that was her sister on that video. One of the other police visits in that year that TMZ documented was on April 5, 2024 at 9:29pm and that time is significant because it's about a half hour after the family reported her missing for the very last time. And we know that because you can see it on the flyer. They say that's when they last saw her. They even say what she was wearing. Officially, Celeste was still missing when her body was discovered badly decomposed in the front trunk of David's Tesla. That was 23 days ago. Today is October 1st, as I record this. But was she still really missing without a trace all that time? The other day, TMZ acquired some video of Celeste in her parents backyard. And it was dated September 8, 2024. That date is so significant for a couple of reasons. First off, it's five months after she supposedly disappeared for the last time. And what's more sad is that it is one day after her 14th birthday. Which makes me think maybe Celeste came home for her birthday. Her birthday's on September 7th. This video is on September 8th. Maybe she was home to celebrate her birthday during this time that she's supposedly missing. And one year to the date later. This is September 8, 2024. This video in the backyard, September 8, 2025, is when her remains were were discovered in David's trunk. Talk about coincidence, right? The video was shot and released by neighbors of Celeste's family. And one of those neighbors spoke with the producers of my Banfield show. On News Nation. Big shout out to News Nation. I'm on again. 10 o' clock weekdays, Monday to Friday. Check out the show.
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The first time I saw her, she was walking down the street early in the morning. It was during the colder months. I remember it was just a one second I was driving down the street and I saw her, like, big, beautiful curls. And I'm like, oh, that little girl's so pretty. And then I just went on my way. But that was probably like, maybe six months before she went missing the first time in February 2024. And then I saw her. Well, I didn't see her again. I heard her again when she came in through the apartments. But, yeah, I didn't know she was the missing child from next door. I have lived here since February of 2023, so almost three years. I've never met the family. I don't know their names. I don't know how many people live there. I just know there was a lot of cars parked out. Usually at least five cars in the driveway most of the time, most of the days. But I don't know who the family is. My backyard peers into their backyard, and I can see their driveway, their front, the front yard. I've never heard or seen police officers at their house at any time. I think I would have noticed that unless it was late at night where I was asleep. But I never noticed any police activity at Celeste's home. So the video circulating with Celeste coming into the apartments, being a little upset. That video was only released to pinpoint her timeline of her missing. And that's the only reason why it was released, because on September 8, 2024, she was technically still missing.
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There were actually a few Banfield producers who spent most of the day in Celeste's neighborhood, the same neighborhood that Celeste could not wait to leave. I want you to have a look as they lay out the key locations that actually are important in this story. Here they are pointing out those locations in her neighborhood.
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Celeste was a frequent customer at this liquor store. The cashier tells us she appeared often after school with friends and alone. She also appeared one time on security camera footage after she had been reported missing. And we thought that was the last time we had seen Celeste. But just up the street is the house where she appeared later on security camera footage arguing with her neighbors. This is the property where Celeste was seen arguing on surveillance footage with her neighbors after being reported missing. But despite that argument, just next door is is Celeste Memorial. It's grown in recent days. You can see the candles there. And the poster board there and this new banner bearing her face. And just next door to this memorial is Celeste's home, which we now hear that police came to 11 different times for disturbances.
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One of the owners of the liquor store told my producers that they had seen the police headed in the direction of Celeste's home on multiple occasions, but they couldn't confirm if the police actually stopped there. They just saw them going by in the direction of Celeste's house. Celeste lives just down the street. As you heard, Celeste's parents have not been seen at that home since her body was identified, and they've only spoken publicly once. If you have followed this storyline, if you have been online and read the headlines, you have probably seen a lot of the speculation that Celeste's mother was or her father or both of them are undocumented immigrants and that that's the reason they've gone under the radar, that they've gone underground, maybe even fled the country. But I can now report to you that both of her parents are in the United States legally. My producers at News Nation were able to get that information exclusively today. The records that were acquired by a private investigator named Steve Fisher show that both of those parents received Social Security numbers back around 2001. The Banfield producers on the ground also spoke with another woman who didn't want to be on camera, but she said that she's a former neighbor of the family. She said they all lived in public housing together from 2019 to 2020. She said that she occasionally heard Celeste's parents arguing, and often they were arguing about custody of the children, though there doesn't seem to be any indication that they're divorced. The woman said that Celeste was a very sweet little girl and that stuck out to me because guess who else said that. The liquor store owner said she used to come into the store all the time and buy chips and candy and gum like a little girl does. Even a 13 year old little girl does. And that liquor store owner described her as very sweet and, quote, not a wild child. That's what he said about Celeste. The neighbor also said that Celeste's mom would keep her close at all times. I guess that was until that final missing report in April of 2024. And that's where we're going to have to leave it for this episode. Nothing about this case adds up except for one thing. Every time we dig deeper, the story gets darker and the mystery gets more confounding. If you're into this podcast and if you want to make sure you never miss a Case, hit that subscribe button and that way you'll get notified the second I drop a new episode or just a little extra. Because every so often I do drop an extra. And I don't want you to miss that either. And trust me, there are a lot more true crime stories coming your way. Like this one. This just hit my radar and I'm sort of astounded. It is the story of Sonem Kshatriya. Like I said, I just found out about this one and I can't believe there aren't more headlines about it. Get this. In 2019, 27 year old Sonam was found hanging in the closet of her Manhattan apartment. Her death was ruled a suicide almost instantly. And by the way, a lot of the reason was because her boyfriend, should I say ex boyfriend, was the only person who gave information to the medical examiner. Right. So a lot of the information that me was going on was what came from this ex boyfriend. So the Emmy rules her. You know, her death is a suicide and then her body is returned to her family for burial. But guess what? The funeral home director that Sonam's family enlisted saw something that did not make sense. Like a whole bunch of bruises all over Sonam's body that were, quote, significant and troubling. That's from the report. So that funeral director, instead of going along with the family's timeline and saying, let's bury Sonam, said, hold it, we gotta send this body back to the coroner. This body needs to be autopsied. And her parents said, okay. I mean, we had no idea. So the medical examiner gets the body back. And wouldn't you know it, medical examiner decided to stick by his guns. Suicide, he said, despite a boatload of red flags. And there's more, and I don't want to give away too much, but. But there was blood all over the scene of her closet and apartment. And again, this is the scene of a hanging. Yeah, okay, that's weird. But guess what's more weird. There's blood all over the place and there's blood all over the noose, but there's no blood on Sonam's hands. What the actual fuck, right? If she tied the noose around her own neck, which would be required in a suicide, how come no blood on her hands, but there's blood all over the noose? There's also surveillance video with a timeline showing clothing that she was wearing. That is just mighty fucking sus, right? None of this adds up. And the more I talk about the case, the angrier I get because I cannot believe that a medical examiner wouldn't see these things. I'm a layperson and I see it just like in Ellen Greenberg. It, it's crazy. And guess what else? Her family says this is no suicide. They say it is a murder and a cover up and they got an investigator that found a whole lot more. Anyway, make sure you look up for this episode when it's released. It's coming very, very soon and I definitely don't want you to miss it, nor all the follow ups that I'm going to do on Sanam's story. I'm Ashley Banfield and if you remember one thing, the truth isn't just serious, it's drop dead seriously.