Authorities in Los Angeles are continuing to investigate the death of 18-year-old Celeste Rivas, whose remains were discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd earlier this year. While multiple outlets have reported that investigators are reviewing the musician as a possible suspect, the Los Angeles Police Department has not formally confirmed his status in the case.
Law enforcement sources told NBC4 Investigates and TMZ that detectives are treating Rivas’ death as a homicide and are examining evidence connected to the vehicle where her body was found. An LAPD spokesperson, however, said no official documents classify the artist as a suspect at this time. A separate source with direct knowledge of the case told NBC4 that investigators believe the teen’s death likely occurred in the spring and that the condition of the remains suggested potential involvement from more than one person in disposing of the body.
Rivas was reported missing from Lake Elsinore, California, on April 5. On September 8 of 2025, employees at a Hollywood tow yard contacted police after noticing a strong odor coming from a Tesla left in their lot. Officers found Rivas’ decomposed remains in a bag inside the vehicle’s front trunk. Sources said the remains were not intact.
The Tesla had been impounded after residents in the Hollywood Hills reported it abandoned in their neighborhood, where it had reportedly sat for more than a month. At the time the remains were discovered, D4vd was in Minneapolis for a tour that has since been canceled.
Investigators are also reviewing reported information that the singer took a late-night trip to a remote area of Santa Barbara County during the spring and stayed there for several hours. The purpose of the trip remains unclear, and the details have not been independently verified.
Toxicology testing and an official determination of the manner of death are still pending. Representatives for D4vd have not publicly commented as the investigation continues.
All parties are innocent unless proven guilty.
Source/Image Via KABC
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