A court order has prevented Los Angeles authorities from revealing crucial details about the death of a teenage girl whose body was discovered in a car registered to popular singer d4vd.
Police Investigation Triggers Unprecedented Secrecy
The Los Angeles County medical examiner's office confirmed on Monday that a court order initiated by the Los Angeles Police Department has placed a security hold on the case of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The fifteen-year-old was found deceased on September 8 in an impounded Tesla in Los Angeles, shortly after celebrating her birthday.
Multiple news organisations reported the vehicle belonged to d4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke. The twenty-year-old Houston-born alternative pop artist has gained significant popularity among Generation Z listeners.
The medical examiner's statement revealed the court order, issued on Friday, demands that "no records or details associated with the case, including the cause and manner of death and Medical Examiner report, can be released or posted on the website until further notice."
Transparency Concerns Amid Ongoing Investigation
This development follows reports from several Los Angeles television stations that police consider the singer a suspect in the case, though authorities have not officially confirmed this status. The reports cited anonymous sources familiar with the investigation.
LAPD Captain Mike Bland defended the security hold, stating it wasn't sought to undermine transparency but to maintain the integrity of the police investigation. The case is being handled by detectives from the Robbery Homicide Division.
"It was done so that our investigators get the information before the media and the public," Bland explained.
Dr. Odey Ukpo, Chief Medical Examiner, noted that such security holds are "virtually unheard of in other counties" across California. He expressed commitment to community transparency while acknowledging the legal constraints imposed by the court order.
Tragic Discovery and Career Impact
The medical examiner's office had previously disclosed in a September statement that Rivas Hernandez's body "was found severely decomposed" and she had likely been "deceased inside the vehicle for an extended period of time before being found."
The teenager was last seen in April 2024 in Lake Elsinore, where she was raised. The location sits approximately sixty miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, d4vd's professional schedule has faced significant disruption. The artist had been touring to support his first full-length album "Withered," released in April. His final two North American shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles were cancelled, along with a scheduled performance at LA's Grammy Museum.
A subsequent European tour, set to begin in Norway on October 1, was also cancelled. The singer's legal representative, Blair Berk, did not respond to requests for comment on Monday.
d4vd rose to prominence through TikTok in 2022 with his hit "Romantic Homicide," which reached number four on Billboard's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. His unique blend of indie rock, R&B, and lo-fi pop quickly captured the attention of young audiences worldwide.
