A major update has been given in the unusual case of a teenage girl whose severely decomposed and dismembered body was found in the truck of the musician’s car.
On September 8 this year, Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s body was found in the trunk of an abandoned Tesla inside a tow yard in Hollywood, California, months after her family reported her as missing.
The teenager’s body was found around the time of what would’ve been her 15th birthday, though authorities believe she died many weeks if not months before.
Los Angeles cops were called to reports of a bad odor coming from the electric vehicle, that had been impounded to the lot after it was found abandoned in Hollywood Hills days earlier.
Investigators soon determined the vehicle was registered to musician, D4vd, 20, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, though he was not initially named as a person of interest in the case or charged with any crimes.
Now, LAPD have given a vital update in the case, having changed position in identifying Burke as a potential suspect in the death of the missing teenager.
Speaking to NBC4 Investigates, cops revealed Celeste likely died in the spring and was found dismembered in the vehicle, though an autopsy is yet to confirm her cause of death.
The medical examiner’s office said in a statement that the youngster ‘appears to have been deceased inside the vehicle for an extended period of time before being found.’
Police are now considering her death a homicide, alleging Burke possibly helped in dismembering and disposing of her body while adding that the singer has not been cooperative in the investigation.
The then 13-year-old girl was first reported missing by her mom in April 2024 after reportedly running away from her home in Lake Elsinore, California.
Earlier this month, it emerged the musician was renting and living in a $4.1 million mansion, possibly alongside others, which was raided by cops following the grim discovery of the teen’s body.
A private investigator, Steve Fischer, told Daily Mail that it wasn’t just Burke who used the Tesla, with a ‘small inner circle’ of people at the residence all allegedly having access.
Meanwhile, Celeste’s family told NBC Los Angeles that the teen knew the singer personally and had been on her way to see a movie with him before her sudden disappearance.
Her mom also reportedly told investigators her daughter had a boyfriend called David at the time.
The New York-born singer, known for hits such as Romantic Homicide and Here With Me, was on tour at the time of Celeste’s body being found, but has since cancelled those appearances.