Last week, a decomposing body was found in a Tesla in Los Angeles belonging to D4vd, a Houston singer whose songs have gone viral on TikTok. The body has since been identified as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas. As new information has come to light, D4vd’s interactions with fans have come under scrutiny online after the victim was identified. The singer has since cancelled his ongoing tour and lost sponsorships.
Here’s what we know so far.
Who is D4vd?
D4vd, real name David Anthony Burke, was born in New York but moved to Houston at a young age. In 2021, he began making music when his montages of Fortnite clips were repeatedly taken down for copyright reasons, and soon he found viral success on TikTok with songs like “Romantic Homicide,” “Here With Me” and “Run Away.” That success propelled him to real stardom, and he has since released two EPs, collaborated with artists such as Kali Uchis and 21 Savage, and created music for Fortnite and Arcane. His debut album, Withered, was released earlier this year.
D4vd’s music is heavily influenced by anime and Japanese video games, and in 2023, he told GQ about his previous desire to be “the best Fortnite player in the world.” He is also incredibly prolific on TikTok and Discord, where he has previously interacted with fans.
The discovery of a body
On Sept. 8, police were called to Hollywood Tow in Los Angeles following a report of a foul odor coming from a Tesla impounded on the lot. When police arrived, they found a heavily decomposing body that, according to reports, was not intact. Investigators initially had trouble identifying the body because they determined that the person had been dead and decomposing inside the car for “an extended period of time.” The car was registered to D4vd in Hempstead, Texas.
On Wednesday, medical examiners identified the body as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas, an Inland Empire teen who had been missing since April 2024. No cause of death has been released, but police have said they are investigating Rivas’ death as a homicide. It is still unclear why D4vd’s car was abandoned or how the body ended up inside.
What was D4vd’s relationship to Rivas?
Investigators have not yet determined how Rivas knew the singer, but reports have emerged that she had some sort of relationship with him. D4vd has a tattoo on his right index finger that says “Shhh…,” and the medical examiner revealed this week that Rivas had an identical tattoo. TMZ spoke to Rivas’ mother, who confirmed that her daughter had the tattoo and allegedly had a boyfriend named David. (As TMZ points out, the “Shhh…” tattoo is not unique to D4vd, as Rihanna first popularized it in 2008.) A video obtained by TMZ claims to show Rivas and D4vd together in January 2024, though it has not been confirmed. TMZ has also shared videos of Rivas’ teacher discussing her death to his students, claiming that she met D4vd and disappeared shortly after he taught her. NBC 4 Los Angeles spoke to Rivas’ brother, who said she disappeared while on her way to see a movie with D4vd.
While screenshots of TikTok posts and Discord messages allegedly belonging to D4vd have circulated online as purported clues of his involvement with Rivas, police have stressed that the singer is cooperating.
What has D4vd said?
When the news officially broke, a spokesperson for the singer said only that D4vd “has been informed about what’s happened, and although he is still out on tour, he is fully cooperating with the authorities.”
However, on Wednesday, when Rivas was identified as the body, D4vd cancelled a show in Seattle. And according to several reports, the singer has now cancelled the entirety of his remaining U.S. tour promoting Withered, which included a stop at the Grammy Museum next week. D4vd has also postponed a deluxe edition of Withered, which was scheduled to be released on Sept. 19. Both Crocs and Hollister, who had collaborations with the singer, have severed ties with D4vd while the investigation continues.
Earlier this week, police in Los Angeles and Texas searched homes connected to D4vd. The Los Angeles Police Department searched a home in the Hollywood Hills where the singer stayed. According to local media, neighbors told police that D4vd’s Tesla had been parked at the home for more than a month. Police took computers and other evidence from the home. And in Texas, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that it has visited a house in Cypress connected to D4vd twice in the last week after the home’s security system was triggered.
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