Body found in Tesla registered to singer identified as missing California teenager

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) — Authorities have identified the body found in the front trunk of an impounded Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard that is registered to singer D4vd.

On Sept. 8, human remains were found in the trunk of an impounded Tesla located at Hollywood Tow near La Brea. Police told Nexstar’s KTLA that officers responded to the area at around 12:20 p.m. for a “foul odor coming from a vehicle at a tow yard.”

“Detectives responded and located possible human remains,” Officer Drake Madison said at the time. “It is currently a death investigation. We do not have information on the owner of the vehicle.”

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has since identified the body as a 15-year-old female, but as of Wednesday morning, had not released her name. She was described as being 5’2″ and 71 pounds with dark wavy hair, wearing a tube top, and having a distinctive tattoo on her right index finger.

The medical examiner’s office has since identified the girl as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to KTLA that Hernandez was reported missing from Lake Elsinore in 2024.

The department said it’s working with the Los Angeles Police Department, which is investigating Hernandez’s death as a homicide.

Last week, TMZ reported the car is registered to singer D4vd. Police told the outlet that the Tesla is registered to David Anthony Burke, the popular singer’s legal name, from Hempstead, Texas.

The singer is currently on tour. According to his online tour schedule, he had a show on September 16 in Seattle and is set to perform in Los Angeles on Saturday. He is known for hits such as “Romantic Homicide” and “Here With Me.”

LAPD said the vehicle was towed from the Hollywood Hills, near Doheny Drive and Bluebird Canyon Drive, after it was reported abandoned nearly a week before the body was discovered.

According to residents, it may have been there for some time. A resident said the vehicle was damaged and dusty.

KTLA has reached out to D4vd’s team for a statement and is awaiting a response.

A second set of remains were found in a car at a tow yard in South Los Angeles on Sept. 9. Authorities described these remains as partially burnt but have not said if they’re connected to the remains found in D4vd’s vehicle.