D4vd Becomes the Focus of Los Angeles Grand Jury Probe After Court Filings Link Him to Teen Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s Death in a Hollywood Tesla Case
LOS ANGELES, CA — Los Angeles County court filings confirm that singer D4vd is the target of a grand jury investigation connected to the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The filings say prosecutors believe he may have been involved in her death, which they described as possibly a murder.
The case centers on a decomposing body found in the trunk of an abandoned Tesla registered to David Anthony Burke, the artist known as D4vd. Investigators say the vehicle was discovered at a Hollywood tow yard after officers were called there because of a foul odor coming from a car.
Authorities have not announced an arrest or a charge against the singer. The grand jury process is secret, and the filings do not make clear how far the investigation has progressed.
What the grand jury filings say about the singer
The filings were submitted under seal in California, but they surfaced through the court system in Texas, where D4vd’s parents and brother live. In petitions seeking to force family members to testify in Los Angeles, District Attorney Nathan Hochman identified D4vd as the investigation’s target.
Hochman also wrote that the singer may have been involved in the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, and that she may have been the victim of foul play. The filings are dated Jan. 15 and say the investigation involves one possible count of murder.
ABC News has reached out to D4vd’s representatives and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for comment. No public response was included in the court material described in the filings.
How investigators say the body was found in the Tesla
According to Hochman’s filings, Celeste’s severely decomposed and dismembered body was found on Sept. 8, 2025, in the front trunk of D4vd’s impounded Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard. The document says her head and torso were in one bag, while her arms and legs were in another.
Police said officers went to the impound lot after getting a call about a foul odor from a vehicle. The Tesla had already been there for two days after being found abandoned on a Hollywood street.
A senior LAPD source confirmed that the car was registered to David Anthony Burke. Investigators previously told ABC News that D4vd was considered a suspect in the death investigation.
Celeste Rivas Hernandez was reported missing in 2024
Investigators confirmed that Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who was from Lake Elsinore in Riverside County, was reported missing in 2024. Based on the date of birth listed in the death certificate obtained by ABC News, her remains were found a day after her 15th birthday.
Officials have said she may have been dead for several weeks before her body was discovered. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has not released a cause or manner of death.
The death certificate lists the manner of death as pending investigation and the cause as deferred. Those details leave the exact circumstances unresolved even as prosecutors and detectives continue to examine the case.
Efforts to bring D4vd's family before the court
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Craig Richman ordered D4vd’s parents and brother to appear before the grand jury earlier this month. The family challenged that order, and an appeals court in Texas denied their petitions for writs of habeas corpus on Feb. 9.
An attorney for D4vd’s mother and father told ABC News that they then filed a writ in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which issued a stay on the lower court order requiring their appearance in California. That matter remains pending.
The dispute shows how far the investigation has spread beyond Los Angeles and into Texas courtrooms, where the family has been fighting the attempt to compel their testimony.
Why the case remains unresolved
Even with the newly revealed filings, several core questions remain unanswered. Grand jury testimony is secret, and it is still unclear what evidence prosecutors believe links D4vd to the teen’s death.
There has been no arrest, and no criminal charge has been filed. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner also has not released the cause or manner of Celeste’s death, leaving the case without a final forensic conclusion.
For now, the filings confirm only that prosecutors see the singer as the target of the investigation. The court fight over family testimony and the pending medical examiner findings suggest the case is still active and far from over.
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