On September 8, 2025, a dismembered body was found rotting in the trunk of a Tesla that was impounded two days prior in Los Angeles. The Tesla was registered to the artist D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, and who is known for his songs “Romantic Homicide” and the song featured in the animated series Invincible, “Feel It.” The body was heavily decomposed and described as a woman, approximately 5 feet 2 inches tall, with black, wavy hair, wearing a tube top and a tattoo on her finger that read “Shhh…” according to ABC News. The body was later identified on September 16 by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner as Celeste Rivas Hernandez, a 15-year-old girl who had been reported missing in April 2024. Rivas Hernandez’s remains were found the day after her 15th birthday, and given the decomposed state of her remains, authorities have confirmed that she died at 14 years old.
D4vd’s fans were shocked by the news and initially believed the singer had nothing to do with the body. News headlines specified that the Tesla was only registered under his name, and many fans pointed out that he had been on a world tour since August 5, 2025, while news sources such as the New York Post stated that D4vd was cooperating with the LAPD while on his world tour. But as more information surrounding the case was spread online, D4vd’s fans began to turn against him.
According to TMZ, D4vd’s friends said they believed D4vd and Rivas Hernandez were “romantically involved” and they had “frequently” seen them together. They also thought that Rivas Hernandez was a 19-year-old USC student and stated that they saw her at multiple age-restricted events. Rivas Hernandez’s mother confirmed to TMZ that Rivas Hernandez had a boyfriend named David. Screenshots later emerged from Discord chats between 2022 and 2024 between D4vd and a user named Celeste, and in 2024, chats between fans in his Discord server speculated that they were in a relationship. It was also revealed that D4vd had a matching “Shhh…” tattoo with Rivas Hernandez, also on his right index finger, based on photos of D4vd at concerts.
Fans of D4vd have been making connections from his music career to the case. An unreleased song by D4vd was leaked in December 2023 with the name Celeste in the lyrics, and its correlation to Celeste’s disappearance in April 2024 has brought even more online speculation. D4vd’s music video for his song “One More Dance” includes a body being dragged into a trunk, similar to where Rivas Hernandez’s remains were found. Fans have also noted the similarity in appearance between the actress in the music video and Rivas Hernandez, according to Yahoo News.
Many rumors surrounding the case have been spreading quickly online. Some posters claim that D4vd released songs like “Romantic Homicide” on Rivas Hernandez’s birthday. However, “Romantic Homicide” and other songs speculated to have been posted on her birthday were actually not released on September 7. It was also rumored that Rivas Hernandez was pregnant, but her death certificate states that she was not pregnant, and the medical examiner stated she had not been pregnant at any point within the last year.
The medical examiner has not released a cause of death for Rivas Hernandez. Due to there not being a cause of death and no crime scene, the LAPD is not pursuing any suspects, according to TMZ. D4vd canceled the rest of his “Withered” tour on September 19, and Rivas Hernandez’s remains were released back to her family on September 23. Rivas Hernandez was laid to rest on October 6 by her family in honor of her life.
