Dead Body Found In Trunk of Tesla Owned By Singer D4Vd

By Emily Markin

On Sept. 8, the body of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found in the trunk of a Tesla belonging to the singer David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd. The cause of her death has yet to be determined, even weeks after her body was discovered. 

After a Tesla registered to D4vd received a parking citation and was impounded on Sept. 5, Rivas Hernandez’s body was discovered by police when they were called to investigate an odor coming from the car. Authorities believe that Rivas Hernandez had potentially been deceased for weeks prior to her body being discovered, making it likely that she did not live to see her fifteenth birthday on Sept. 7.

Rivas Hernandez had been reported as a missing person multiple times in early 2024. First in February, then in April, and then in May. 

Although Rivas Hernandez’s body was found in a car registered to him, and his rental house was searched by police, D4vd has not been named a person of interest or suspect by authorities. There are no suspects or persons of interest at this time, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. 

Amid the ongoing investigation of Rivas Hernandez’s death, D4vd has not made any appearances or addressed the public in any way. D4vd was on his world tour, “Withered,” when Rivas Hernandez’s body was discovered, but he has since cancelled the remainder of the tour. 

Additionally, all promotion of D4vd’s music was halted by Universal Music Group and its affiliate Interscope Records. D4vd was supposed to release a deluxe version of his album, “Withered,” around the same time Rivas Hernandez’s body was discovered, but the release has now been suspended indefinitely by his label, Interscope Records. Following the discovery of Rivas Hernandez’s body, the brands Crocs and Hollister have dropped D4vd, with whom they were meant to collaborate.

D4vd and Rivas Hernandez were believed to have romantic connections to each other. It is speculated that the two met online during the time D4vd gained a large following on YouTube and TikTok circa 2022. They had matching tattoos of the word “shh” on their right index fingers, and photographs have surfaced of them together. 

There has been confusion among many of D4vd’s friends and fans, as most people who knew of D4vd’s involvement with Rivas Hernandez believed she was 18 or 19 years old and a student at the University of Southern California. However, she was only 14 at the time of her death and even younger when she initially met and became involved with D4vd. 

One of Rivas Hernandez’s former teachers from Lakeland Village School spoke out in a viral video. “When I taught her, she met this dude on social media. He was a rapper in LA,” he claimed, regarding Rivas Hernandez and D4vd. “He came and got her. She ran away from home. She was gone for, like, a month. The cops found her in Hollywood, brought her back to our school.”

Online, many people have speculated about the lyrics and music videos of D4vd’s songs, specifically “Romanic Homicide,” which went viral on TikTok in 2022 and led to his record deal. The lyrics and scenes from the music video relate to killing someone, which has resulted in people making connections between the song and Rivas Hernandez.

Ultimately, many of the details about Rivas Hernandez’s death and D4vd’s involvement remain unknown or unreleased, but it is hoped that Rivas Hernandez, who was only a child, can rest in peace.