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Major update in case of teen girl found dead in D4vd's Tesla as authorities issue 'target' in investigation
Singer D4vd is now at the center of a Los Angeles County grand jury investigation into the killing of a teenage girl whose decomposed body was discovered inside a Tesla last year.
The 20-year-old Houston-born artist, whose legal name is David Burke, has been identified in court documents as the “target” of the inquiry.
The case became public after subpoenas issued on January 15 were revealed through an appeal filed in Texas by the singer’s family. Per The Washington Post, the documents seek testimony from his mother, father, and brother and state that the “Target may be involved in having committed the following criminal offenses against the laws of the State of California, to wit: One count of Murder.”
Authorities had not previously named D4vd, pronounced “David,” publicly as a suspect.
The investigation stems from the discovery of the remains of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose body was found inside a Tesla that had been towed from the Hollywood Hills.
A grim discovery inside a Tesla
The body of Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found on September 8, a day after she would have turned 15. She had been reported missing in 2024 from her hometown of Lake Elsinore, about 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles. While she was 13 when first reported missing, authorities list her age as 14 at the time she was killed in court documents.
According to the subpoena, police investigators searching the 2023 Tesla Model Y in a tow yard found a cadaver bag “covered with insects and a strong odor of decay.”
As reported by Rolling Stone, it says “detectives partially unzipped the bag and observed a decomposed head and torso.”
Investigators from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office responded to the scene. Per the LA Times, the filing further states: “Upon removing the cadaver bag from the front storage compartment, it was discovered the arms and legs had been severed from the body," the document says. “A second black bag was discovered underneath the cadaver bag. Upon opening the second bag, the dismembered body parts were discovered.”
The Tesla had reportedly been sitting in an upscale neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills and appeared abandoned before it was towed. The Medical Examiner's Office had previously said only that the body was found severely decomposed and had likely been “deceased inside the vehicle for an extended period of time before being found.”
Subpoenas, silence, and sealed findings
Court records show a Texas judge ruled that the three family members must comply with the subpoenas and appear to testify. Representatives for D4vd did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday and have not previously responded to emails seeking comment on the case. District attorney's representatives also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In November, Los Angeles police obtained a judge’s order preventing Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Odey Ukpo from releasing the autopsy findings. No cause of death has been disclosed, and little else about the investigation has been revealed.
At the time the body was discovered, D4vd had been on tour in support of his first full-length album, Withered. He continued to play several shows after the discovery. Later, the final two North American dates, in San Francisco and Los Angeles, along with a scheduled performance at LA's Grammy Museum, were canceled.
A European tour that was to have begun in Norway was also canceled after his connection to the case became widely reported.
Rising fame before the investigation
D4vd gained popularity among Gen Z fans for his blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. He went viral on TikTok in 2022 with the hit 'Romantic Homicide', which peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.
He later signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records and released his debut EP Petals to Thorns and a follow-up, The Lost Petals, in 2023. He also performed during the 58th Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland, in July 2024.
As the grand jury investigation continues, prosecutors have revealed little about what evidence led to the subpoenas or what may happen next.