By Michelle Fisher
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LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A private investigator is sharing new details in the case of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the teen whose body was found inside the trunk of a Tesla belonging to singer D4vd.
Steve Fischer was hired by the owner of a Hollywood Hills home where D4vd had been living. Fischer told ABC7 the home was rented by D4vd’s manager at Interscope Records.
“He wants to understand exactly what may have happened and if his house played a role in any way,” Fischer told Eyewitness News.
It’s still unclear when the teen died – or how – but Fischer said the last date he has that shows her alive is January 2, 2025.
Using neighborhood surveillance videos and digital evidence, Fischer said he’s established a timeline centered around D4vd’s Tesla.
“That car, starting in May, was parked in a few different spots around the neighborhood, and then finally, on July 29th, left in its final spot on Bluebird [Avenue],” he said. “This happens to be right before, or the same day, they are leaving on a tour bus for D4vd’s tour.”
The remainder of D4vd’s tour was canceled last month amid the investigation. The singer’s fans – and Fischer – continue wondering what may have happened.
“They are probably relying on toxicology to better understand what happened, which means it could be an accidental overdose with a really bad decision made afterwards,” said Fischer.
Last month, D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, 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 — about two weeks after the decomposing body was found in his Tesla.
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 that swatting incident, a caller claimed there was a shooting with a dead female victim. However, the alarm was cleared, and no incident report was filed.
Video from the Waller County District Attorney’s Office shows deputies speeding through the night to the home in the outskirts of Houston, responding to a 911 call about a deadly shooting.
In audio from the 911 call that triggered the response, a caller says, “I heard, like, some gunshots… and I think someone is dead.”
When deputies arrived at the home, they had their guns drawn. But after talking to the people who answered the front door, they quickly learned the call was fake.
Someone reportedly used a device that alters voices to call in a false report.
D4vd’s Tesla had been towed from a street in a Hollywood Hills neighborhood to a Hollywood tow yard before the remains were discovered.
The remains were identified as Celeste, who’s from Lake Elsinore. Celeste had been reported missing by her family at least three times in 2024, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators say her body had most likely been in the car for several weeks before being discovered.
The cause of Hernandez’s death is still undetermined.
Sources tell ABC News that lab tests and toxicology reports will hopefully answer how she died. Until then, it remains a death investigation and not a homicide investigation.
“It’s an ongoing investigation and we have a lot of resources dedicated to bringing it to a conclusion, but to go beyond what has already been made public would be inappropriate,” LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell told Eyewitness News.
No suspects have been named in the case, and no arrests have been made.
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