Alarming new insights into the chilling case of a 15-year-old girl’s dismembered remains discovered in the trunk of an abandoned Tesla earlier this month might offer law enforcement further connections to a renowned R&B artist with a massive following.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed on Wednesday that the deceased is 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. She was reported missing from Lake Elsinore in April 2024, as stated by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators said she had run away from home on at least one previous occasion.
Rivas’ remains, referred to by officials as a “head and torso” found inside a bag, were located in the trunk of a Tesla seized at Hollywood Tow on September 8. The car had been at the tow yard for approximately five days after it was reported abandoned in the Hollywood Hills.
Authorities arrived at the site around 12:30 p.m. following an employee’s report of a foul odor emanating from the vehicle, which was positioned on the roof of the yard’s parking structure.
The report from the medical examiner indicated that the teenager’s body was heavily decomposed, initially describing the remains as being about 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighing around 71 pounds, with dark wavy hair.
The 15-year-old was wearing a tube top and had a distinctive tattoo on her right index finger with the letters “Shhh.”
The LAPD disclosed that the car, bearing Texas license plates, was registered to David Anthony Burke, a prominent Texas musician currently on tour, who performs under the name D4vd.
Along with a song entitled “Romantic Homicide,” TMZ reported that in a leaked song, the artist is heard singing about a person named Celeste, with lyrics that include, “Oh Celeste / The girl with my name tattooed on her chest / I hear her voice each time I take a breath / I’m obsessed.”
Leaked in December 2023, the track was titled “Celeste_Demo unfin.”
According to Rivas’ mother, who spoke with TMZ, the 15-year-old had a boyfriend named David before she went missing, with the outlet also saying that a photo of the musician surfaced online Wednesday showing him with a girl in Lake Elsinore, not far from the home the teen lived in with her family.
D4vd also reportedly has a tattoo on his right index finger with the words “Shhh,” similar to Rivas, TMZ reported.
While police are being tight-lipped about the investigation and the musician’s alleged connections to the case, retired Los Angeles Police Department Detective Moses Castillo told KTLA that he expects D4vd will be thoroughly questioned by investigators.
“He’s the registered owner of the vehicle. We need to know where he’s been, cellphone records, where he’s been all this time and connect the dots,” he explained.
D4vd’s show in Seattle on Wednesday evening was cancelled, and the singer is scheduled to perform at The Greek in Los Angeles on Saturday, though it’s unclear if that show will go on as planned.
So far, the artist has been silent on social media, and his team has not responded to multiple requests for comment made by KTLA.
A man who identified himself to KTLA as Rivas’ brother would only say that the family is grieving.
No arrests have been made in the case.
