Court Order Prevents La Coroner From Releasing Teen’s Body Details Found In Werer d4vd’s Tesla
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Los Angeles police have blocked the County Coroner’s office from releasing information about the death of a teenage girl who was allegedly found in a body registered to the music group D4VD, the medical examiner’s office said Monday.
Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found dead on September 8 in a Tesla parked in Los Angeles shortly after her 15th birthday. Several ANTS outlets reported that the vehicle belonged to D4VD, David Anthony Anthony Burke, 20.
The medical examiner’s office said in a statement that it had received a “court order, established by the Los Angeles Police Department (Lapd), to place security guards” in the case of Rivas Hernandez.
The order issued Friday requires that “There are no records or information related to that time, including the cause and manner of death and the medical report,” the post said.
The order came several days after another Los Angeles television station reported that the police had identified the suspect, citing anonymous sources. The LA Police Department has not confirmed that, and D4VD’s attorney Blair Berk did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
Lapd Captth. Mike Bland said that security is needed to reduce transparency, but to maintain the integrity of the police investigation, which is ongoing by detectives in the homicide section.
“It’s done so that our investigators can get information in front of the media and the public,” said Bland.
Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Odey Ukpo said such security measures are “almost unheard of in other states” in California.
“We are dedicated to serving our community openly; However, the law prohibits us from doing so while the court order remains in this case,” said Ukpo.
Rivas Hernandez’s body was “found to be severely decomposed,” the medical examiner’s office said in a September statement, and he may have been “deceased inside the vehicle long before discovery.”
Rivas Hernandez was last seen in April 2024 in Lake Elsinore where he grew up, about 95 miles southeast of Downtown Los Angeles.
D4VD gained popularity among gen Z with his mix of Indie Rock, R&B and Lo-Fi Pop. He went viral on TikTok in 2022 with a hit Love killingswhich reached No. 4 on the Billboard Rock & Alternative Songs Chart. He then signed with Black Color and Interscope Records, and released his debut ep Thorn petals And to follow, The leaves are missingin 2023.
D4VD has been touring for his debut full-length album, It has withered, That’s where Rivas Hernandez’s body was found. The last two North American shows, in San Francisco and Los Angeles, as well as a scheduled performance at the Lamy Museum, were canceled, as was the next European tour, which was set to begin in Norway on Oct. 1.
