A decomposed body found last week in the trunk of an impounded Tesla registered to singer D4vd has been identified as a missing 15-year-old girl.
Police officers with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) discovered the human remains stuffed inside a bag in the trunk of the Tesla after responding to reports of a foul smell at a Hollywood Tow on Sept. 8.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner identified the body as Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who was reported missing in April of last year, according to NBC Los Angeles.
Hernandez’s identity was confirmed through forensics. The cause and time of her death haven’t been determined yet.
“At this time, the LAPD does not have a crime classification from the coroner as to the mode or manner of death. Thus, we do not have any suspect information at this time,” the LAPD said in a statement to the outlet.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Hernandez is the “juvenile who was reported missing from Lake Elsinore” in 2024. A missing person flyer states that Hernandez was last seen on April 5, 2024, when she left her Lake Elsinore house at 9 p.m.
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“The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating this incident as a homicide and will be the point of contact for any further details regarding this investigation,” the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
The Tesla was originally impounded after it had been parked on a Hollywood Hills street for more than 72 hours. A neighbour told CBS News that the Tesla had been abandoned for weeks.
“It just smelled like sewage,” the Hollywood resident told the outlet. “I think the community knew something was wrong and reported the car being abandoned.”
Authorities said the body was found in the Tesla’s front trunk and noted that the car is registered in Hempstead, Texas, to D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke.
Burke was on the North American leg of his international tour at the time of the body’s discovery.
“D4vd has been informed about what’s happened. And, although he is still out on tour, he is fully cooperating with the authorities,” a rep for the singer said in a statement.
As authorities were working to identify the remains, a medical examiner released information about a tattoo on the right index finger that read “Shhh,” according to CBS News.
Burke, 20, has a tattoo on his right index finger that matches the tattoo the medical examiner found on Hernandez.
D4vd performs onstage at Made on YouTube at Pier 57 on Sept. 18, 2024, in New York City.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Made on YouTube 2024
Although Burke is cooperating with authorities, he was dropped by Crocs and Hollister from their latest marketing campaigns days after they announced him as the face of their “Dream Drop” collaboration.
All promotional images of Burke were pulled from the companies’ websites and social media pages.
“We are aware of this developing story,” the companies told Footwear News in a joint statement. “With respect to the current situation, we have removed campaign content featuring D4vd while the investigation continues.”
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