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EXPLAINER
The LAPD identified the body of a girl in the car of Romantic Homicide singer d4vd. She went missing in 2024, aged 13.
Published On 18 Sep 2025
A decomposing body found in the boot of American singer d4vd’s impounded Tesla by police on September 8 was identified by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) as missing California teenager Celeste Rivas on Wednesday.
It is unclear how or when she died, and the case has taken the internet by storm in the United States ever since.
Here is what we know so far:
Who is d4vd?
David Anthony Burke, professionally known as “d4vd”, is a popular, 20-year-old American singer and songwriter. He was born in Queens, New York.
D4vd began releasing his music on audio platform Soundcloud and posting his songs to his YouTube channel in 2021.
The first music video he posted was a song titled Romantic Homicide in September 2022. As of Thursday, the video has had 179 million views on YouTube.
The audio of this song was released in July 2022. A snippet of the song went viral on social media platform TikTok: “In the back of my mind. You died. And I didn’t even cry. No, not a single tear.”
D4vd also shot to TikTok fame with another song titled Here With Me, the video for which he released on YouTube in November 2022. As of Thursday, this video had 244 million views. The lyric from that song, which went viral, was: “I don’t care how long it takes, as long as I’m with you, I’ve got a smile on my face.”
The singer is currently on tour, performing in cities across the US, United Kingdom and Europe. He performed in Minneapolis on Tuesday.
What do we know about the person found in d4vd’s car?
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) found female human remains in a Tesla registered to d4vd on September 8. The Los Angeles Times reported that the body was found at 12:20pm (19:20 GMT).
The car had been taken to a Hollywood tow yard, having been abandoned locally for five days. Authorities have not revealed who towed the car, or where it had been abandoned.
Police were called to check the car at the yard following reports of a foul odour coming from it, the BBC reported, citing LAPD officials.
LAPD Officer Charles Miller said that the car was likely to have been towed away “a couple of days” before the remains were discovered by police, the BBC reported.
According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office, authorities could not initially identify the age and ethnicity of the person whose remains were found in the boot of the car.
However, they did report that the deceased person was 5 feet 2 inches (157cm), and weighed about 31kg (70lbs). She was wearing a tube top and size small black leggings. They added that she had wavy black hair and was wearing a yellow metal stud earring and chain bracelet. The body was reported to have a tattoo on the index finger with the text “Shhh”.
On Wednesday, the LAPD said it had identified the body as that of Celeste Rivas, who disappeared last year when she was 13 years old. Rivas, who was from Lake Elsinore in California – around 113km (70 miles) from Los Angeles – and would now be aged 15, was last seen on April 5, 2024, according to a missing person flyer seen by CBS news.
The cause and time of her death have not yet been determined.
What happens now?
D4vd is cooperating with the investigation, according to police. It is unclear whether he has been formally arrested.
“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 NBC News, the outlet reported on Wednesday.
The singer cancelled the tour’s show scheduled to be held in Seattle on Wednesday.
