Singer D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, has been identified as a suspect in the death of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas, according to LAPD sources cited by NBC4. The teenager's decomposed body was discovered on 8 September in the front trunk of a black Tesla registered to the singer. The vehicle had been ticketed in a Hollywood Hills neighbourhood and later impounded at a tow yard in Los Angeles.
Police sources told NBC4 that Rivas likely died in the spring and that D4vd may have assisted in dismembering and disposing of her body. The singer has been uncooperative with the investigation, an LAPD source said. The cause of death remains unidentified, but the Los Angeles County medical examiner's office stated in September that Rivas 'appears to have been deceased inside the vehicle for an extended period of time before being found.' The LAPD is treating her death as a homicide.
Rivas was first reported missing from Lake Elsinore, about 60 miles from Los Angeles, in April 2024. Her body was found after workers at Hollywood Tow reported a strong odour coming from the Tesla. The vehicle had been parked in the Hollywood Hills for over a month, and D4vd received a parking ticket there just 11 days before the discovery. Rivas's brother told NBC Los Angeles that the family knew she was acquainted with the singer and that she was on her way to see a film with him before she vanished.
D4vd, a New York-born singer-songwriter known for hits such as Romantic Homicide and Here With Me, was on tour when Rivas's remains were found but cancelled subsequent appearances. He has signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records. The Guardian contacted the LAPD for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
