Authorities have identified the dismembered body found in a locked Tesla in Los Angeles as that of a missing teenage girl.
The vehicle is registered to D4VD, whose real name is David Anthony Burke. Officials have stated that he is not considered a suspect in the case.
Celeste Rivas, 15, was confirmed deceased inside the vehicle by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office. The cause of her death has not yet been established.
Reports indicate that her body was discovered on September 8th in a tow lot in Hollywood after someone detected an unpleasant odor emanating from the Tesla.
The prosecutor’s office remarked that the body was “determined to have been severely disassembled.”
“It seems she may have died in the vehicle some time before it was found,” officials commented.
The representative for D4VD told NBC Los Angeles that the singer has been cooperating with law enforcement since the discovery of the body. The reason for his car being involved remains unclear.
Celeste was reportedly last seen in April 2024, near Lake Elsinore, which is roughly 60 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. At that time, she was just 13 years old.
D4VD, pronounced “David,” is a singer-songwriter from Houston who gained popularity after recording music in his sister’s closet. His style mixes indie rock, R&B, and lo-fi pop, making for a unique sound in the current music scene.
He rose to fame with the single “Romantic Murder” in 2022, which went viral on TikTok and peaked at number four on Billboard’s Hot Rock and Alternative Songs chart. Following that, “Here with Me” further showcased his distinct emotional style, with both tracks accumulating over 1.5 billion streams on Spotify.
D4VD later inked a deal with Interscope and Darkroom, the label that houses Billie Eilish, releasing his debut EP “Petals to Thorns” and its follow-up “The Lost Petals.”
