Singer D4vd has been identified as a suspect in the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose decomposed remains were found stashed in the trunk of a Tesla registered to his name, according to NBC News and ABC.
NBC News cited a Los Angeles Police Department source with direct knowledge of the investigation, and stated that D4vd — real name David Anthony Burke — has not been charged with any crime. There are no arrests at this time and investigation is ongoing, per ABC.
A representative for D4vd did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.
Burke was out of state on a national concert tour when news broke Sept. 8 that human remains were recovered from his Tesla. Rivas Hernandez’s body was found after staff at a tow yard in Hollywood reported that the vehicle was “emanating a foul odor and attracting flies,” according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by Rolling Stone.
Rivas Hernandez, who would have turned 15 years old the day before she was discovered, had been reported missing by her family on multiple occasions in 2024, according to online missing person fliers. The teen’s mother reportedly told TMZ that her daughter had a “boyfriend” named David; photos and video purportedly showing Rivas Hernandez and Burke in close proximity have circulated on social media.
The impounded Tesla was towed from an affluent area in the Hollywood Hills, with neighbors previously telling Rolling Stone that it had been seen in various locations around the neighborhood. Neighborhood sources said the vehicle had been sitting for at least three weeks before it was ultimately towed.
After Rivas Hernandez was identified, law enforcement searched a house on Doheny Place, around the block from where the car was towed. The home’s owner later confirmed to Rolling Stone that the residence had been rented to Burke’s manager, Josh Marshall, last year, starting in February 2024.
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Burke, 20, has not commented publicly on the teen’s death. A day after the discovery of Rivas Hernandez’s remains, the platinum-selling singer performed at a show in Minneapolis. The rest of his tour was later canceled and fashion companies Crocs and Hollister pulled back on a campaign that featured Burke modeling a collaboration between the popular brands.
