Topline
Los Angeles police have considered the ongoing probe into a teenage girl’s dead body found in the trunk of singer D4vd’s car an “investigation into murder,” the Los Angeles Times reported, though no one has been charged with or accused of wrongdoing in the case.
D4vd has not been charged or accused of wrongdoing. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for Coachella)
Getty Images for Coachella
Key Facts
Los Angeles Police Department Detective Joshua Byers labeled the probe a murder investigation, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing documents filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court.
The body of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found in September in a Tesla belonging to the singer D4vd, who has not been charged with wrongdoing, though unnamed LAPD sources told multiple news outlets he is a suspect in the investigation.
The LAPD also requested a court order to block the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office from releasing information about the case to the public, including the manner and cause of Hernandez’s death, to avoid jeopardizing the investigation.
Los Angeles County chief medical examiner Odey Ukpo criticized the court order in a statement Monday, stating his department wants to have “full transparency with the community” and that sealing medical examiner reports is “virtually unheard of in other counties.”
LAPD Captain Scot Williams told the Los Angeles Times Hernandez’s body was not found frozen, contrary to what some tabloids reported over the weekend.
What Do We Know About The Investigation Into Hernandez’s Death?
Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found dead in the trunk of a Tesla vehicle registered under Burke’s name on Sept. 8, one day before her 15th birthday. The car had been impounded in a lot in Hollywood, and police said Hernandez had likely been dead for weeks at the time her body was found. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office identified the body as Rivas and listed her cause of death as “deferred,” noting her body was found “severely decomposed.” The Los Angeles Times reported Rivas had a tattoo on her index finder that said “Shhh…” which is similar to a tattoo D4vd also has on his finger. Hernandez had been missing from her home in Lake Elsinore, California, since April 2024, and her family had reported her missing three times that year.