() An ex-boyfriend of Celeste Rivas Hernandez says she was not in a good situation at home before she began running away in early 2024.
“He said that she used to mention her parents were very strict, and she disliked being at home,” TMZ’s Charles Latibeaudiere shared on “Banfield” after Damien Hernandez and his mother, Jamie, spoke with the media on Tuesday.
Fifteen-year-old Damien Hernandez, who dated Celeste during middle school, disclosed that when he first got to know her, Celeste appeared kind and was seeking a serious relationship.
Hernandez noted that Celeste would talk about running away from home, even joking about it at school. When Ashleigh Banfield of ‘Banfield’ inquired if Hernandez ever suggested there was any abuse happening, Latibeaudiere relayed that Damien said there was none.
“It was just more about her not liking the environment that she was in,” he said.
Celeste Rivas Hernandez had been missing before her death
The Los Angeles Times reported the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said Hernandez was reported missing at least three times in 2024.
Most recently, Hernandez was reported missing in April 2024. Her body was discovered over a year later in the trunk of D4vd’s Tesla.
Celeste’s mother also reportedly said that before the teen went missing, she was dating someone named David.
It remains unclear if Celeste was living with D4vd at any point while she was missing.
Video showed Celeste in shouting match months after disappearance
Footage was captured at the residence of Celeste’s parents in Lake Elsinore, California, exactly a year before her body was discovered in the trunk of a vehicle belonging to emerging music artist D4vd.
Neighbors who supplied the footage indicated it displayed her arguing with individuals who had ostensibly pulled a prank on her. Celeste was seen shouting and swearing at those she thought had played a joke on her parents’ home.
“When she walked away, the neighbors were kind of like, ‘Hey, wasn’t that the girl … who was on the posters?'” Latibeaudiere said.
“They noticed the posters around. They mentioned her family went around town that summer, showing the poster to everyone, asking, ‘Have you seen Celeste?’ So it was on their minds,” he added.
By the dates themselves, the video seems to prove that Celeste visited her family at least once after she ran away for the last time.
