DISMEMBERED Teen Found Rotting in Pop Star’s Tesla

Tesla facility with parked cars in front.

A 14-year-old girl’s dismembered body, hidden in two black bags, sat decomposing in an abandoned Tesla’s front trunk for weeks before a tow yard worker noticed the smell of death emanating from a vehicle registered to a rising pop star.

Story Snapshot

Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s remains discovered September 8, 2025, in singer D4vd’s impounded Tesla, five months after she was reported missing from Lake Elsinore
Body severely decomposed and dismembered into separate bags containing head and torso in one, severed arms and legs in another
D4vd named grand jury target for murder in unsealed Texas court documents; family and friends subpoenaed to testify
LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division investigating since discovery, but no charges filed against the 20-year-old Interscope Records artist who canceled his world tour days after the grim find

The Grim Discovery That Ended a World Tour

The Tesla had been sitting on a Hollywood Hills street long enough to violate Los Angeles’s 72-hour parking ordinance. By late August 2025, the vehicle registered to David Burke, known professionally as D4vd, received a parking citation. Days later, it was towed to an impound yard. The foul odor that greeted workers when they approached the electric vehicle on September 8 led to an LAPD search warrant and a discovery that would halt a promising music career in its tracks. Inside the front trunk, investigators found two black cadaver bags containing the dismembered remains of a teenager who had been missing for five months.

A Missing Teenager and Unanswered Questions

Celeste Rivas Hernandez vanished from Lake Elsinore in April 2024 when she was 14 years old. Authorities had been searching for the Riverside County teen for months before her remains surfaced in September. The body was severely decomposed, covered in insects, and weighed only 71 pounds at discovery. She had a distinctive “Shhh” tattoo on her finger. LAPD investigators quickly established a connection between the victim and D4vd, probing the nature of their relationship. The discovery occurred one day after what would have been Celeste’s 15th birthday, adding a tragic layer to an already horrific case.

From Billboard Success to Murder Probe Target

D4vd had been riding a wave of viral success, touring globally on his “Withered” tour when his Tesla was abandoned near a Hollywood Hills rental property. The home, costing $20,000 per month, was leased through his manager Josh Marshall at Interscope Records. On September 17, nine days after the body’s discovery, LAPD executed a search warrant at the rental, seizing bags of evidence. Two days later, D4vd canceled the remainder of his tour. By September 24, his team had broken the lease on the Hollywood property, and Celeste’s body was released to her family for burial.

Grand Jury Investigation Intensifies

The Los Angeles County District Attorney convened a grand jury in November 2025 to examine evidence in what LAPD detectives formally characterized as a murder investigation in court filings. Unsealed Texas court documents from February 2026 revealed D4vd as the target of a grand jury probe for one count of murder. Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman issued subpoenas compelling testimony from D4vd’s father Dawud Burke, mother Colleen Burke, and brother Caleb Burke. The family challenged the subpoenas in Texas courts but lost their bid to avoid testifying on February 9, 2026.

Neo Langston, identified as a key witness and friend of D4vd, initially failed to comply with his subpoena. Authorities arrested him in Montana in January 2026 and returned him to Los Angeles to provide testimony. Multiple witnesses, including managers and associates, have appeared before the grand jury. Despite months of investigation and the target designation, prosecutors have not filed formal charges against D4vd. The cause of death remains sealed, and investigators have not publicly disclosed when, where, or how Celeste died.

Separating Fact From Sensational Fiction

LAPD Captain Scot Williams publicly corrected misinformation circulating in media reports and online speculation. Contrary to some accounts, the body was not decapitated nor frozen, though it was dismembered and placed in separate bags. Private investigator Steve Fiser, hired by the rental property owner, raised questions about the timeline and circumstances. He noted the parking ticket issued August 28 suggested the vehicle had been abandoned at least 11 days before the discovery. Fiser’s October 2025 statements highlighted gaps in the public understanding of when Celeste died and how her body ended up in the Tesla’s front trunk rather than its rear storage area.

The Collision of Celebrity and Tragedy

This case exposes uncomfortable realities about the music industry’s young stars and their associations. D4vd’s rapid rise from viral internet success to signed Interscope artist placed him in Hollywood circles at age 20, while Celeste was a missing 14-year-old from a suburban Riverside County community. The stark contrast between a global tour itinerary and a child welfare crisis raises troubling questions. The sealed nature of key evidence, including autopsy results and the exact relationship between victim and suspect, prevents full assessment of culpability. What remains clear is that a teenager reported missing months earlier ended up dead and dismembered in a vehicle tied to a celebrity, and authorities consider it murder.

The grand jury process continues to unfold with witness testimony, but the lack of charges more than five months after discovery suggests prosecutors face evidentiary challenges or are building an airtight case before indictment. The victim’s family received her remains in late September 2025, providing some closure while awaiting justice. For D4vd, the target designation means prosecutors believe they can prove his involvement in Celeste’s death beyond reasonable doubt, should they proceed to indictment. The coming months will determine whether this investigation results in charges that could imprison him for life or exonerate him from suspicion in a death that has already destroyed his music career and public reputation.