LOS ANGELES (BN24) — Authorities have identified a decomposed body discovered inside an impounded Tesla in Los Angeles as that of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas, a girl reported missing last year.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Wednesday that Rivas was the victim found Sept. 8 at a tow lot in Hollywood after workers noticed a strong odor coming from the vehicle. Officials said her body was “severely decomposed” and appeared to have been inside the car for an extended period before it was discovered.
Local news outlets reported the Tesla was registered to Houston-born singer-songwriter d4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, 20. Police have not implicated the musician in Rivas’ death, and it remains unclear why the vehicle was impounded.
A representative for d4vd told NBC Los Angeles that the artist has cooperated fully with investigators since the discovery. Authorities and the singer’s management did not immediately respond to further requests for comment.
Rivas, who was 13 when she went missing, was last seen in April 2024 in Lake Elsinore, a city about 60 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The medical examiner has not yet determined her cause of death, and police have not released additional details about the investigation.
The grim discovery has drawn public attention because of d4vd’s rising profile in the music industry. The Houston native first gained recognition in 2022 when his breakout single “Romantic Homicide” went viral on TikTok, later reaching No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. He followed with “Here With Me,” another massive streaming hit, cementing his reputation as one of Gen Z’s most distinctive new artists.
Now signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records — the same label as Billie Eilish — d4vd has released two EPs and his first full-length album, Withered, in April 2024. His genre-blending style, mixing indie rock, R&B, and lo-fi pop, has earned him more than 3 billion streams on Spotify across his top tracks.
The investigation into Rivas’ death is ongoing.
