A Los Angeles homicide detective reportedly revealed in a new court filing that the investigation into how 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez ended up dead in the trunk of singer D4vd’s Tesla is a full-blown murder probe.
Los Angeles Police Det. Joshua Byers characterized the case as an “investigation into murder” as he requested a court order preventing the release of Rivas’ autopsy findings, a now-sealed declaration filed Friday and obtained by the Los Angeles Times allegedly said. Byers argued public release of details surrounding Rivas’ death could jeopardize the homicide investigation and had to be protected, The Times reported.
The judge ultimately granted the request and ordered that the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s findings be sealed, the ME’s office confirmed in a statement released Monday. The LAPD previously said it was waiting for an official ruling on the cause of Rivas’ death and, in the meantime, it remained “unclear whether there is any criminal culpability beyond the concealment of her body.”
Last week, sources told NBC News and ABC7 that D4vd is now considered a suspect in the death of Rivas. The musician, born David Anthony Burke, was out of state on a national tour when his dented 2023 Tesla Model Y was towed from the affluent Bird Streets neighborhood of the Hollywood Hills on Sept. 5. The tow yard called police, saying the impounded vehicle was “emanating a foul odor and attracting flies,” according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by Rolling Stone. Sources in the neighborhood where the Tesla was last parked told Rolling Stone the sedan was left in its final spot on Bluebird Avenue for at least three weeks before it was towed.
For two months, investigators have been tight-lipped about their probe, fueling speculation. On Monday, an LAPD official made the rare move of speaking out to debunk reports that had been posted on TMZ.com over the weekend.
“They’re reporting that Celeste’s body was frozen when it was discovered, which is untrue,” Scot M. Williams, Captain of LAPD’s Robbery Homicide division, told KNX News. “Celeste was not decapitated,” he continued, calling that report also “factually inaccurate.”
When investigators opened the trunk on Sept. 8, they found the girl’s decomposed remains in a black garbage bag. Rivas, who would have turned 15 the day before she was discovered, was later identified as a missing teen from Lake Elsinore, a city about 75 miles southeast of Los Angeles. According to online fliers, relatives had reported Rivas missing in February 2024 and again two months later in April 2024.
In his court declaration, Byers reportedly said public release of Rivas’ autopsy report would “reveal or tend to reveal the ongoing investigation and the integrity of the investigation as well as the identity of witnesses and/or informants who are cooperating with law enforcement and the content of the information they have provided, which could endanger the lives of witnesses and/or compromise the investigation.” The judge ordered Byers’ declaration and the court order itself “sealed and maintained in a secure location in the custody of the clerk of the court until further order of this court,” The Times reported.
Over the weekend, Rivas’ death investigation case disappeared from the medical examiner’s website. In its statement Monday, the ME’s office said it received the court order at 10:54 a.m. Friday after it was “initiated by the Los Angeles Police Department.” It said the order placed “a security hold” on Rivas’ case, meaning “no records or details associated with the case, including the cause and manner of death and Medical Examiner report, can be released or posted on the website until further notice.” The agency’s Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Odey Ukpo, made it clear he wasn’t happy with the judge’s decision.
“The department’s mission is to have full transparency with the community by providing information about our cases to empower people to make changes that save lives,” Dr. Ukpo said in a prepared statement. “Since becoming the department head, I’ve worked on eradicating the practice of placing security holds on Medical Examiner cases simply by law enforcement request. The practice of security holds is virtually unheard of in other counties and has not been proven to improve outcomes in the legal system. We are dedicated to serving our community with full transparency; however, the law precludes us from doing so while the court order remains in this case.”
The ME’s office said the LAPD previously requested a security hold on Sept. 15, 2025, “which was denied due to insufficient justification to warrant the hold.” The office said it “understands the public’s interest in this case and remains committed to transparency when possible,” and “information will be made available once the court order is lifted.”
Rivas’ mother previously told TMZ that her daughter had been dating someone named “David” before she disappeared. Photos shared online by people who’ve followed Burke’s career appear to show him with a girl who looks remarkably like Celeste. In another twist, Celeste had a tattoo on her right index finger that read, “Shhh…”, the medical examiner said. A Getty Images photo showed Burke with a similar tattoo.
Burke’s criminal lawyer has not responded to multiple requests for comment from Rolling Stone.
