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Though he hasn’t yet been named as a suspect, D4vd’s reps say he has been fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
The Los Angeles Police Department says they believe the body of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the teenage girl who was found dead inside a Tesla belonging to musician D4vd, had been in the car for “several weeks” before it was discovered.
LAPD Captain and Commanding Officer Scot M. Williams said in a statement to People that while many questions remain about the death of Rivas Hernandez, “we know for sure that Celeste Rivas Hernandez died and someone placed her body in the front trunk area of [D4vd’s] Tesla.”
“We know that the Tesla had been parked at the location from which it was towed for several weeks, so it is very likely Celeste Rivas Hernandez had been dead for several weeks prior to her body being discovered,” Williams explained.
“The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has not determined a cause or manner of her death, so we don’t know for sure if anyone has any criminal culpability for her death beyond the concealment of her dead body,” he said, adding that the LAPD’s robbery-homicide division is still investigating the case.
Further, Williams confirmed that the LAPD served a search warrant “at a residence near where the car was towed.” Previously, a landlord told SFGate that the 20-year-old D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, had been staying at a Los Angeles property with his manager. But the two had moved out just days after electronics and more were seized from the home. Williams told People that he cannot confirm what was taken from the property.
Speculation continues to abound online over the possibility that a relationship existed between the singer and the deceased; the teen seemingly had a matching “Shhh” tattoo on her right index finger, matching the one Burke has. Even more suspicious, screenshots allegedly from D4vd’s Discord server indicate that he was in a relationship with someone named Celeste, and unreleased lyrics to a song he allegedly wrote also feature her name.
“As far as their relationship, it would be premature for me to say anything,” said Williams. “We are looking into everything.”
D4vd has not been named a suspect, nor has he been charged with a crime in relation to the case. Early in the investigation, his representative announced he was cooperating with authorities, but has not responded to multiple requests for comment from the media since.
On September 8, one day after her 15th birthday, Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found dead in the impounded Tesla registered to David Burke, while the singer was on tour elsewhere in the U.S. The car had been reported abandoned in the Hollywood hills, and neighbors told NBC Los Angeles it had been there for around a month. Police officers responded to a call at the lot to which it had been towed, after a foul odor was reported coming from the vehicle.
Celeste Rivas Hernandez had been reported missing on April 5, 2024, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, which also said she had been reported missing from the Lake Elsinore area at least three times in 2024. Residents claimed the teen had run away from home in the past, but her last known whereabouts before her body was found remain unclear.
