Girl found dead inside singer D4vd's impounded Tesla was reported missing last year

Celeste Rivas, 15, was identified as the girl found dead in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd at a Hollywood tow yard.

What to Know

• A decomposed body was found Sept. 8 in the front trunk of a Tesla impounded at a Los Angeles tow yard.
• The Tesla was registered to singer D4vd, whose representative said he is cooperating with the investigation.
• The car was impounded after someone reported it was abandoned in the Hollywood Hills, where neighbors say it had been parked for more than a month.
• The body was identified by authorities as Celeste Rivas, a teen girl who was reported missing last year in Riverside County.

Authorities have identified the body of a girl found in singer D4vd's Tesla after it was impounded at a Los Angeles tow yard as a teen who disappeared in the Lake Elsinore area last year, law enforcement told NBC4 Los Angeles.

The girl, 15-year-old Celeste Rivas, was identified through forensics. The medical examiner is still working to determine a cause of death.

Rivas was last seen April 5, 2024 in the western Riverside County community. Details about the circumstances surrounding her disappearance were not immediately available.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday that it confirmed with the Los Angeles Police Department that Celeste Rivas Hernandez was identified as the teen found inside the car.

TMZ reported that the girl's mother said a description provided by police of the body, which included a distinctive tattoo, matched her daughter's appearance. The medical examiner revealed earlier that the girl had the letters "Shhh" tattooed on her right index finger.

Law enforcement told NBC Los Angeles on Tuesday that the body had been identified, but authorities did not release the name at that time because they were unable to contact next of kin.

The decomposed body was found Sept. 8 after workers at Hollywood Tow reported a strong odor coming from the Tesla registered to the singer. Officers opened the front trunk, also known as a frunk, and found the remains in a bag, police said.

Law enforcement sources told NBC News that the remains were not intact.

D4vd is cooperating with authorities in their investigation, his representative said earlier. The Houston hip-hop artist's world tour, which began Aug. 5, includes shows this week in Portland, Seattle, San Francisco and Saturday in Los Angeles at the Greek Theatre.

The Seattle concert scheduled for Wednesday night was canceled.

"D4vd has been informed about what's happened. And, although he is still out on tour, he is fully cooperating with the authorities," a spokesperson for the singer said after the body was discovered.

NBCLA reached out again Wednesday to D4vd's publicist and attorney for comment.

Celeste's brother told NBCLA Wednesday that family members, who still live in Lake Elsinore, are grieving and were aware that the girl knew singer D4vd. Matthew Rivas said when his sister disappeared, she was on her way to see a movie with him, but never returned.

The singer's tour was in Minneapolis at the time of the discovery with a stop in Kansas City the next day, according to his Instagram profile. The car was impounded after someone reported it was abandoned in the Hollywood Hills, where neighbors say it had been parked for more than a month.

The case was being treated as a death investigation, the LAPD said.

"At this time, the LAPD does not have a crime classification from the coroner as to the mode or manner of death," the agency said Wednesday after the medical examiner's identification of the body. "Thus, we do not have any suspect information at this time."

D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, is a singer-songwriter who rose to fame with viral hits on Tiktok, where he has 3.6 million followers. That success led to signings with Darkroom and Interscope Records.