The Los Angeles Police Department has publicly refuted shocking claims that the body of a teenage girl discovered in singer D4vd's impounded Tesla was found decapitated and frozen. Authorities are now seeking to correct the record amidst a complex investigation.
Contradictory Reports and Official Denials
Over the weekend, a report from TMZ, citing police sources, alleged that the remains of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas-Hernandez were frozen, decapitated, and cut into pieces when discovered. The report further suggested the body parts were still 'partially frozen' inside the electric vehicle, which had been sitting in a police impound lot for more than 48 hours.
However, these claims were strongly denied by LAPD Captain Scott Williams, the commanding officer of the Robbery-Homicide Division. On Tuesday, he told reporters that while the body was partially dismembered, it was not decapitated and certainly not frozen.
'Celeste's body was not frozen. She was not decapitated,' Captain Williams stated emphatically to PEOPLE. 'The whole frozen thing doesn't even make sense. Her body was in the car for weeks.'
He provided a logical explanation, noting that even if the body had been frozen initially - for which there is no evidence - five or more weeks in the boot of a car during sweltering summer heat would have resulted in a fully thawed body by its discovery on September 8.
A Complex Investigation Unfolds
Celeste Rivas-Hernandez vanished after running away from her home in Lake Elsinore in April 2024. Her body was discovered months later on September 8 inside an impounded Tesla registered to the singer known as D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke.
In the days following the discovery, detectives conducted a raid on Burke’s $4.1 million Hollywood Hills rental property, seizing 'several items of evidence'. The LAPD has for months declined to publicly name the singer – or anyone else – as a formal suspect, indicating uncertainty over whether any crime beyond the concealment of a body had taken place.
Further contradicting early speculation, a private investigator hired by the singer's landlord, Steve Fischer, told the Daily Mail he found no evidence to support claims a freezer in the home was used to store a body.
‘The freezer still had its shelves installed, along with food and beverage items that had clearly been there for months,’ Fischer said. His forensic tests with Luminol and BlueStar also revealed no positive results for blood evidence.
Grand Jury Proceedings and Ongoing Mystery
The investigation has now advanced to a more secretive phase. It emerged this week that the LA County district attorney's office seated an 'investigative grand jury' in mid-November.
These 'secret' proceedings are designed to protect the integrity of the investigation and the identity of witnesses. The LA Times reported that several witnesses have been called to testify before the grand jury by Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman.
Adding to the case's secrecy, a court petition obtained by the LA Times shows that an LAPD detective successfully convinced a judge to stop the L.A. County Medical Examiner from publicly revealing the results of the autopsy or any further information related to her death at this time.
Authorities are still awaiting an official cause of death from the medical examiner. Sources close to the investigation have indicated that Burke is being viewed as a suspect, though he has not been formally named as one, and PEOPLE reported he has been uncooperative with police. The singer has not issued any public statements about the death.
