D4vd considered suspect in death investigation of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas-Hernandez, source says
By KABC Staff
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LOS ANGELES (KABC) — The singer D4vd is considered a suspect in the death investigation of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas-Hernandez, whose body was found inside an impounded Tesla in September, a source with knowledge of the investigation told Eyewitness News on Tuesday.
Still, no one has been arrested, and the investigation is ongoing.
Sources tell ABC News that investigators have been in contact with multiple people they believe were involved in the case in some capacity, and those investigators tell ABC News they are “certain they are going down the right path for a suspect.”
Rivas-Hernandez was reported missing from Lake Elsinore in early 2024. She ran away a few times and returned before her last runaway in April 2024, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. She reportedly called home at the end of May 2024 and had not been heard from since.
Authorities discovered her body on Sept. 8 after responding to a tow yard near Mansfield Avenue and Romaine Street in Hollywood.
Officers went to investigate a foul odor coming from the impounded Tesla, which police sources say had been at the lot for two days after it was found abandoned on a public street in Hollywood.
Police located the body inside a bag placed in the front trunk of the Tesla, LAPD sources said. The body was dismembered and in a state of decomposition, sources told ABC News.
The vehicle was registered to 20-year-old singer David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd, who has more than 33 million monthly listeners on Spotify and over 3.6 million followers on TikTok, where his songs “Here with Me” and “Romantic Homicide” have gone viral.
He released his debut album earlier this year and often credits TikTok for his success.
Sources with knowledge of the investigation say D4vd is not cooperating with the investigation and never has cooperated, despite what his PR reps have claimed.
D4vd was on tour when the body was discovered and had a stop scheduled in Los Angeles on Sept. 20. The remainder of the tour was abruptly canceled before that tour stop amid the investigation.
The exact cause of Rivas-Hernandez’s death is still undetermined because the body was badly decomposed, but investigators believe it was a murder that occurred earlier this year. Sources say that conclusion could come soon — a step that will be critical in making an arrest and formally filing charges.
D4vd made some changes to the ownership of one of his Texas homes last month, Eyewitness News learned.
Records show he transferred his Cypress home, located in the Houston area, to his mother’s name on Sept. 23
Officials say deputies were called to the Houston-area home where D4vd’s parents live on Sept. 17, but that turned out to be a fake swatting call.
In mid-September, detectives executed a search warrant at a Hollywood Hills Home where D4vd had been staying. Investigators were seen taking evidence, including a computer, from the home. According to the LA Times, the lease on the home had been broken early, and D4vd had moved out.
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