Singer D4vd is now considered a suspect in the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the teenage girl, whose body was found decomposing in the trunk of his impounded Tesla, sources confirmed to NBC4 Investigates.
The body of Rivas, 15, was found dismembered and decomposing in the front trunk of a black Tesla car on September 8. The vehicle, which was found impounded at a Los Angeles tow yard, was registered to the singer David Anthony Burke, who goes by D4vd.
LAPD sources revealed that the singer was not cooperating with the investigation.
Burke’s lawyers have not responded to the media.
Celeste Rivas was registered missing in the Lake Elsinore area last year about 112 kilometres (70 miles) away from where the Tesla was found. The exact cause of her death is unknown. She was last seen on April 5, 2024, in the Riverside County community.
Her body was found by Los Angeles police after workers at the Hollywood two-yard reported a strong odour coming from the Tesla. The remains were found inside a bag.
Police say that Rivas may have died in the spring and Burke likely helped in dismembering and disposing of the body.
The singer was given a ticket for overstaying a three-day parking limit just 11 days before Rivas’s body was found. Hollywood Hills residents also told NBCLA that the Tesla was parked in the neighborhood for over a month before it was impounded and taken to the tow yard.
Mathew Rivas, Celeste’s brother, who spoke to the news portal early this year, said that his sister knew the singer and was one of her ways to see a movie with him before her disappearance.
Rivas last called her family in May 2024 and was not from since. Images of her with Burjke surfaced online after her disappearance. Her mother told investigators that the then-13-year-old had a boyfriend named David.
David Anthony Burke, who goes by D4vd, is a New York born singer songwriter who became popular for his songs like 'Romantic Homicide' and 'Here with me'. He was staying with his manager at a Los Angeles property in the Hollywood hills in September, which police searched, according to the landlord.
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Burke was on tour when the body was found and later cancelled his show stops after police identified the remains as Rivas. He also reportedly made changes to his assests in September, transferring two of his homes in Houston, Texas to his mother, according to legal documents obtained by TMZ. The Tesla car he owned was also registered in the state.
