Romantic Homicide: D4vd & the Psychology of the Romantic Psychopath
"In the back of my mind, you died, and I didn't even cry..."
There are some things I sit down to write with dread, sure that the experience of birthing it will be long, arduous, and bloody.
But this particular topic will haunt me until I exorcize its ghost from my body.
It’s the tragic case of D4vd, the 21 year old rising pop star, and the murder of 14 year old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who was found dismembered in the pop star’s frunk of his Tesla, which was abandoned in a tow yard.
I had no familiarity with D4vd before this case began flashing across my scroll stream. He’s a rising pop singer who came upon fame in an unconventional manner: by uploading his original music he recorded in his sister’s closet to a Fortnite gaming platform.
In July 2022, he released “Romantic Homicide.” The song went viral on TikTok, peaking at Number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and leading to a major-label deal with Darkroom/Interscope Records later that year.
He then went onto more mainstream success: touring with Sza, releasing several albums, Coachella, embarking on a world tour, living large in the Hollywood Hills.
He looked like a young man who had it all, with such a future to look forward to.
Yet, despite having all that, he allegedly groomed an 11 year old girl into a three year relationship in which she toured with him and often lived with him — and then he stabbed her and dismembered her.
His talent and unique voice are undeniable, but his dark lyrics reveal a significant amount about the sick pathology that was his inner Hell.
Full disclosure: while his accusation of murder is alleged, I carry the opinion that he’s guilty, and I premise my analysis of his psychology on that opinion.
D4vd has the pathology of the romantic pedophile psychopath.
Diagnostically, he carries a diagnosis Antisocial Personality Disorder and Pedophilic Disorder.
Within these disorders are a variety of different trauma responses to the shames of these disorders.
Some predators put fault on victims entirely.
Some predators tell themselves they do vigilante or heroic work. They only target “people who deserve it.”
Some predators are heavily tied to racial fantasies, such as white supremacy.
Some of them idealize crime culture or devil worship.
But D4vd’s actions fall under a specific flavor of this pathology:
The ROMANTIC psychopath.
It seems that it would be an impossible oxymoron.
Yet, this is the pathology I know the most intimately.
This is the type I survived.
