Thriller deepens after lacking schoolgirl discovered lifeless in pop star's Tesla

[ad_1] Nardine Saad and Christal Hayes BBC Information, Los Angeles

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/7299/live/59ce90f0-ac7b-11f0-93ac-2d5c35597cd9.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/7299/live/59ce90f0-ac7b-11f0-93ac-2d5c35597cd9.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/7299/live/59ce90f0-ac7b-11f0-93ac-2d5c35597cd9.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/7299/live/59ce90f0-ac7b-11f0-93ac-2d5c35597cd9.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/7299/live/59ce90f0-ac7b-11f0-93ac-2d5c35597cd9.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/7299/live/59ce90f0-ac7b-11f0-93ac-2d5c35597cd9.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/7299/live/59ce90f0-ac7b-11f0-93ac-2d5c35597cd9.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/7299/live/59ce90f0-ac7b-11f0-93ac-2d5c35597cd9.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="Getty Images D4vd sings into a microphone. He wears a yellow sports jersey, lots of diamond jewelry, a silk scarf tied around his head and sunglasses" class="sc-5340b511-0 bGQwLJ"/> Getty Pictures D4vd carried out at Coachella music pageant months earlier than a physique was found within the trunk of his automotive

The day after a physique was present in his automotive in Hollywood, singer D4vd was belting his TikTok hit Romantic Murder - a brooding breakup music about killing an ex with no remorse - to a sold-out crowd in Minneapolis.

The US recording artist had self-launched his music profession from his sister's closet whereas working a part-time gig at Starbucks. It led him to viral fame, thousands and thousands of followers on-line, and a world tour.

However all of it got here to an abrupt halt final month with the invention of a severely decomposed physique within the entrance trunk of his Tesla.

The corpse was recognized as that of 15-year-old runaway Celeste Rivas Hernandez.

A month later, thriller nonetheless surrounds the teenager's dying, in addition to her relationship to the 20-year-old singer, whose authorized title is David Anthony Burke.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/9602/live/2aedfb60-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/9602/live/2aedfb60-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/9602/live/2aedfb60-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/9602/live/2aedfb60-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/9602/live/2aedfb60-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/9602/live/2aedfb60-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/9602/live/2aedfb60-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/9602/live/2aedfb60-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Getty Images Wearing a white jacket and surrounded by white roses, D4vid sings into a microphone" class="sc-5340b511-0 bGQwLJ"/> Getty Pictures D4vd performs on Jimmy Kimmel Stay!

Deep dives into his macabre oeuvre - which is peppered with references to dying, remembrance, violence and bloody motifs - have led some to query if life was imitating artwork and vice versa.

The younger singer has but to publicly touch upon the case or the grim discovery in his automotive. His spokesperson has solely mentioned that that he's "absolutely cooperating with authorities" and he has since employed a outstanding felony defence legal professional who has represented celebrities akin to Mel Gibson, Lindsay Lohan, Kanye West and Britney Spears.

Representatives for the singer - together with his lawyer Blair Berk, Common Music Group, Darkroom Data and Sony Music Publishing - didn't reply to the BBC's requests for remark.

Rivas Hernandez's reason for dying has but to be decided.

The county's health worker has mentioned her physique was "severely decomposed" when it was discovered and has deferred making a ruling on how she died - an investigation they are saying might take months.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/a262/live/814e84f0-ab77-11f0-acd1-6bae268efee4.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/a262/live/814e84f0-ab77-11f0-acd1-6bae268efee4.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/a262/live/814e84f0-ab77-11f0-acd1-6bae268efee4.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/a262/live/814e84f0-ab77-11f0-acd1-6bae268efee4.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/a262/live/814e84f0-ab77-11f0-acd1-6bae268efee4.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/a262/live/814e84f0-ab77-11f0-acd1-6bae268efee4.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/a262/live/814e84f0-ab77-11f0-acd1-6bae268efee4.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/a262/live/814e84f0-ab77-11f0-acd1-6bae268efee4.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Getty Images Celeste" class="sc-5340b511-0 bGQwLJ"/> Getty Pictures Police have additionally not named a suspect or particular person of curiosity in case, even weeks after discovering her physique.

The Los Angeles Police Division has not supplied many particulars within the case or the probe, calling it an open dying investigation. The division wouldn't touch upon a number of questions posed by the BBC in regards to the case, the investigation and any connections the singer might need to Rivas Hernandez.

"It is simply such a wierd one," Neama Rahmani, a former prosecutor and Los Angeles legal professional, instructed the BBC. "It retains getting more odd every day that goes on with out an arrest."

That lack of know-how has additionally appeared to gas intrigue. Followers, true-crime fans and web sleuths have launched their very own inquiries, locking in on particulars that seem to attach the teenager woman with the gamer-turned-songwriter, who was as soon as heralded by GQ as a "Mouthpiece for Gen-Z Heartache".

A runaway teen discovered lifeless in a Tesla

Rivas Hernandez - who lived about 75 miles away from the place her physique was found - had final been reported lacking by her household in April 2024, nevertheless it was not the primary time she had run away from their Lake Elsinore residence.

A primary-generation daughter of immigrant dad and mom from El Salvador, neighbours recognised her as a lady who would go to the nook retailer nearly each day to purchase sweet and soda, in response to the Los Angeles Instances.

She first went lacking on Valentine's Day 2024, and her household filed a lacking individuals report the subsequent day.

Posters of her face have been put up in her neighbourhood and her mom posted pleas on Fb in Spanish for her return - public overtures that apparently irked the teenager.

Over the subsequent two years, her dad and mom would file no less than two extra missing-persons stories.

Her household and buddies instructed the newspaper that each time Rivas Hernandez ran away, she would ultimately return and mix again into her life as a center schooler.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/f4ff/live/17239070-ab77-11f0-aa13-0b0479f6f42a.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/f4ff/live/17239070-ab77-11f0-aa13-0b0479f6f42a.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/f4ff/live/17239070-ab77-11f0-aa13-0b0479f6f42a.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/f4ff/live/17239070-ab77-11f0-aa13-0b0479f6f42a.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/f4ff/live/17239070-ab77-11f0-aa13-0b0479f6f42a.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/f4ff/live/17239070-ab77-11f0-aa13-0b0479f6f42a.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/f4ff/live/17239070-ab77-11f0-aa13-0b0479f6f42a.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/f4ff/live/17239070-ab77-11f0-aa13-0b0479f6f42a.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Getty Images A memorial for " class="sc-5340b511-0 bGQwLJ"/> Getty Pictures When the teenagers' stays have been present in a bag in D4vd's Tesla on 8 September, the health worker mentioned that she was carrying a tube high, measurement small black leggings and jewelry, together with a yellow steel stud earring and a yellow steel chain bracelet.

She additionally had a tattoo that learn "Shhh…" on her index finger - a marking practically similar to that on the pop singer's personal index finger.

The decomposition of her physique indicated that she had already been "deceased for a number of weeks", investigators mentioned.

Her household, who described her as a beloved daughter, sister, cousin and good friend, has mentioned they're "heartbroken and devastated by this tragic loss". They've since solicited cash on a crowdfunding web site to pay for her funeral, which passed off earlier this month.

A singer on the precipice of main-stream fame

D4vd's rise to stardom - fuelled by TikTok and on-line gaming - is a paradigm for his era.

Rising up close to Houston, Texas, he was home-schooled and mentioned he solely listened to gospel music till he was 13. He grew to become an avid Fortnite participant in 2017 and launched his music profession utilizing pop songs to soundtrack gameplay montages that he posted on YouTube.

He began making his personal music when he bumped into copyright hurdles, starting by recording songs on The BandLab app in 2021 and importing his work on SoundCloud.

Quickly, he noticed his music breaking by way of with hundreds of listens. He then launched what would turn into his two largest hits to date: Romantic Murder and Right here With Me.

The songs went viral on TikTok and led to billions of streams on Spotify, the place he has amassed 33 million month-to-month listeners.

He signed with Darkroom and Interscope Data and launched his debut EP, Petals and Thorns, in 2023. That very same 12 months, he landed on Selection's Younger Hollywood record and opened for SZA on her SOS tour.

Final spring, he made his Coachella debut - generally known as the pageant for up-and-coming expertise to interrupt into mainstream fame. He was additionally commissioned by Fortnite - which he has mentioned formed his story as an artist - to create the sport's first official anthem, Locked & Loaded.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/2a3a/live/6bb7fb00-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/2a3a/live/6bb7fb00-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/2a3a/live/6bb7fb00-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/2a3a/live/6bb7fb00-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/2a3a/live/6bb7fb00-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/2a3a/live/6bb7fb00-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/2a3a/live/6bb7fb00-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/2a3a/live/6bb7fb00-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Getty Images D4vid sits down, wearing a matching jean jacket and baggy pants, black shades, and carrying a pink Labubu doll" class="sc-5340b511-0 bGQwLJ"/> Getty Pictures A discovery that broke a household and halted a profession

However this ascent to fame got here to a pause when his Tesla was towed to an impoundment lot and authorities discovered a bag contained in the entrance trunk that contained Rivas Hernandez's decomposing stays after somebody complained a couple of foul scent.

His world tour was cancelled inside days of the invention, and Sony Music Publishing reportedly suspended promotion of his sophomore album.

Los Angeles police quickly raided the luxurious Hollywood Hills mansion the place the singer was dwelling, simply blocks from the place his Tesla had been towed.

US retailer Hollister and footwear big Crocs dropped D4vd from advertising campaigns and Telepatía singer Kali Uchis introduced she was taking down their collaboration, Crashing.

However whereas his profession floor to a screeching halt, authorities have been silent on the investigation into Rivas Hernandez's dying.

Investigators haven't launched any new info within the case since 29 September.

The company additionally mentioned that it's nonetheless unclear whether or not there's any felony culpability past the concealment of her physique.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/595e/live/9e2d27e0-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/595e/live/9e2d27e0-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/595e/live/9e2d27e0-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/595e/live/9e2d27e0-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/595e/live/9e2d27e0-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/595e/live/9e2d27e0-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/595e/live/9e2d27e0-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/595e/live/9e2d27e0-ab9d-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="CBS News A parking lot with cars, including a black Tesla with the trunk popped open" class="sc-5340b511-0 bGQwLJ"/> CBS Information Footage of the Tesla the place Rivas Hernandez's physique was discovered

Whereas on-line sleuths have been fast to invest, authorized consultants say that there's nonetheless a lot we do not know.

"You will have this connection to David that appears fairly robust," Mr Rahmani, the previous prosecutor, instructed the BBC. "There's loads of smoke however look, he could possibly be completely harmless and it could possibly be another person who had entry to his car."

Mr Rahmani mentioned whereas there are numerous questions on this case, the most important for him is "what's taking the LAPD so lengthy".

"They have not launched any actual info," he mentioned. "This is not an excellent search for the LAPD and it is a horrible search for D4vd."

He added {that a} case like this has added pressures: it includes a teen woman's dying, it has garnered international headlines, and the investigation includes a star.

Mr Rahmani famous that know-how and potential for video footage is prone to be a "treasure trove" for investigators. Telsa autos include superior know-how that tracks autos, notifies customers when issues just like the trunk is open and are additionally outfitted with a slew of cameras as a part of its Sentry Mode programs.

On high of this, the Hollywood residence the place he was dwelling additionally had cameras. When authorities searched the house final month, investigators took a DVR that shops video and different knowledge from the surveillance system.

Malden Trifunovic, the proprietor of the Hollywood Hills residence D4vd was renting, has instructed the BBC that he has employed a personal investigator to assist uncover what might need occurred inside his multi-million-dollar abode.

D4vd's supervisor Josh Marshall, the founding father of Mogul Imaginative and prescient, rented the house for D4vd and has distanced himself from the singer. He vehemently denied rumours that he's linked to the dying investigation.

The widening thriller

Along with the thriller surrounding the reason for Rivas Hernandez's dying, it's nonetheless unclear what relationship {the teenager} had with the 20-year-old singer.

Rivas Hernandez would have turned 15 the day earlier than her physique was discovered by police.

In California, the age of consent is eighteen.

Household, buddies and those that knew her have instructed native media that she had been relationship somebody named David and mentioned he was a music artist.

A former middle-school science trainer blamed her final try to run away from residence, within the spring of 2024, on her relationship a music artist she'd met on-line.

"She's been lacking since I taught her," the trainer mentioned in a viral video after Rivas Hernandez's physique was recognized.

On-line sleuths have additionally linked her to the singer in a variety of methods, from their matching tattoos to images he posted on-line that seem to point out them collectively.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/632c/live/adb53530-ab76-11f0-aa13-0b0479f6f42a.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/632c/live/adb53530-ab76-11f0-aa13-0b0479f6f42a.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/632c/live/adb53530-ab76-11f0-aa13-0b0479f6f42a.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/632c/live/adb53530-ab76-11f0-aa13-0b0479f6f42a.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/632c/live/adb53530-ab76-11f0-aa13-0b0479f6f42a.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/632c/live/adb53530-ab76-11f0-aa13-0b0479f6f42a.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/632c/live/adb53530-ab76-11f0-aa13-0b0479f6f42a.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/632c/live/adb53530-ab76-11f0-aa13-0b0479f6f42a.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Getty Images A faint tattoo is seen on a close-up picture of D4vd's finger" class="sc-5340b511-0 bGQwLJ"/> Getty Pictures A detailed up of D4vd's tattoo on his finger

However D4vd has not addressed the rumours, nor have police.

Like many who do not comply with indie pop music, his landlord Mr Trifunovic mentioned he had by no means heard of D4vd till information broke in regards to the discovery. He did not even understand it was D4vd who was renting his residence as a result of the lease had been signed by the singer's supervisor, Mr Marshall.