The Los Angeles Police Department is moving forward in their investigation into the body found in D4vd‘s abandoned Tesla.
Shortly after authorities identified the remains as belonging to 15-year-old Celeste Rivas,officers searched a home located in the neighborhood where the vehicle was parked before it was towed to a Hollywood impound lot, according to NBC News.
Investigators were looking for several items—including digital devices that would have security recording or help connect Rivas to the location—during the Sept. 17 search, per the outlet, citing law enforcement sources.
D4vd (real name David Anthony Burke) does not own the home, but had been staying there prior to his nationwide tour, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
E! News has reached out to LAPD for additional information but hasn’t heard back. D4vd’s rep has not responded to E!’s request for comment since Rivas was identified, though his spokesperson previously confirmed to NBC News that the 20-year-old had been “informed about what’s happened” and “is fully cooperating with the authorities.”
Rivas’ body was discovered on Sept. 8, when police were called to a Hollywood tow yard over a foul odor emanating from a Tesla that had been impounded days prior. Upon searching the vehicle, officers found Rivas’ “severely decomposed” remains wrapped in a bag in the electric car’s front trunk, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Rivas was reported missing on April 5, 2024 from Lake Elsinore, Calif., a city approximately 70 miles southeast of where her body was found. She was 13 at the time.
Police said the Tesla—which was registered in Hempstead, Texas, under D4vd’s legal name—was towed to the impound lot after being reported abandoned in the Hollywood Hills.
In the wake of the gruesome discovery, D4vd canceled his Sept. 17 tour date in Seattle. The “Romantic Homicide” singer—who has been on the road in support of his debut album Withered—is scheduled to perform in San Francisco Sept. 19 and in downtown Los Angeles Sept. 24.
For more about D4vd, read on.
(E! and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
Where is D4vd From?
Born in Queens, New York, D4vd (real name David Anthony Burke) moved to Houston, Texas, when he was 13 years old.
How Did D4vd Become Famous?
D4vd first began his career as a streamer, playing Fortnite and other games in an attempt to go viral on YouTube. When he ran into copyright infringement challenges with the music he was adding to his videos in 2021, he turned to his mom.
“I’m like crying to Mom about it,” he told Benny Blanco during an interview for Hero magazine in September 2024. “I’m like, Yo, I don’t know what to do I’m not making any money anymore, blah blah blah.’ And she was on a phone, and she was like, ‘Just make your own music, go get out of my face.’ And I was like, ‘Wait a minute. I could probably do that.'”
From there, despite not having any musical experience other than singing for fun, D4vd downloaded an app on his phone and started making music. Soon, some of his songs went viral, and after more of his original music started to go viral on TikTok, his career began to really take off.
The 20-year-old eventually released his debut album, Withered, in April 2025, embarking on his first world tour shortly thereafter.
When Was the Body Found in D4vd’s Car?
On Sept. 8, the Los Angeles Police Department was called to a tow yard in Hollywood over reports of a foul odor coming from a vehicle, law enforcement sources told NBC News.
The LAPD found human remains wrapped in a bag hidden in the front trunk of a Tesla, which was registered in Hempstead, Texas, under D4vd’s real name, David Anthony Burke.
Police said the vehicle had been towed to the impound lot after it was abandoned in the Hollywood Hills.
Who Was the Victim Found in D4vd’s Car?
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office September 16 said the remains found in the Tesla were identified as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been reported missing on April 5, 2024. She was 13 years old at the time of her disappearance.
Her cause of death had been deferred, according to records from the Medical Examiner’s Office viewed by E! News on Sept. 17. Though her date of death was listed as September 8—the day her body was discovered—officials noted her body appeared to have been in the car for an extended period of time before its discovery and was “severely decomposed.”
What Has D4vd Said About the Investigation?
Following the discovery of Rivas Hernandez’s body, a spokesperson for D4vd said in a statement to NBC News that the singer “has been informed about what’s happened, and although he is still out on tour, he is fully cooperating with the authorities.”
Since then, D4vd canceled the remainder of his U.S. dates.
