The day after a body was found in his car in Hollywood, singer D4vd was belting his TikTok hit Romantic Homicide – a brooding breakup song about killing an ex with no regret – to a sold-out crowd in Minneapolis.
The US recording artist had self-launched his music career from his sister’s closet while working a part-time gig at Starbucks. It led him to viral fame, millions of followers online, and a global tour.
But all of it came to an abrupt halt last month with the discovery of a severely decomposed body in the front trunk of his Tesla.
The corpse was identified as that of 15-year-old runaway Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
A month later, mystery still surrounds the teen’s death, as well as her relationship to the 20-year-old singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke.
Deep dives into his macabre oeuvre – which is peppered with references to death, remembrance, violence and bloody motifs – have led some to question if life was imitating art and vice versa.
The young singer has yet to publicly comment on the case or the grim discovery in his car. His spokesperson has only said that he is “fully cooperating with authorities” and he has since hired a prominent criminal defence attorney who has represented celebrities such as Mel Gibson, Lindsay Lohan, Kanye West and Britney Spears.
Representatives for the singer – including his lawyer Blair Berk, Universal Music Group, Darkroom Records and Sony Music Publishing – did not respond to the BBC’s requests for comment.
Rivas Hernandez’s cause of death has yet to be determined.
The county’s medical examiner has said her body was “severely decomposed” when it was found and has deferred making a ruling on how she died – an investigation they say could take months.
Police have also not named a suspect or person of interest in the case, even weeks after discovering her body.
The Los Angeles Police Department has not offered many details in the case or the probe, calling it an open death investigation. The department would not comment on multiple questions posed by the BBC about the case, the investigation, and any connections the singer may have to Rivas Hernandez.
“It’s just such a strange one,” Neama Rahmani, a former prosecutor and Los Angeles attorney, told the BBC. “It keeps getting more bizarre each day that goes on without an arrest.”
That lack of information has also seemed to fuel intrigue. Fans, true-crime enthusiasts, and internet sleuths have launched their own inquiries, locking in on details that appear to connect the teen girl with the gamer-turned-songwriter, who was once heralded by GQ as a “Mouthpiece for Gen-Z Heartache”.
When the teen’s remains were found in a bag in D4vd’s Tesla on September 8, the medical examiner said that she was wearing a tube top, size small black leggings, and jewelry, including a yellow metal stud earring and a yellow metal chain bracelet.
She also had a tattoo that read “Shhh…” on her index finger – a marking nearly identical to that on the pop singer’s own index finger.
The decomposition of her body indicated that she had already been “deceased for several weeks”, investigators said.
Her family, who described her as a beloved daughter, sister, cousin, and friend, has said they are “heartbroken and devastated by this tragic loss.” They have since solicited money on a crowdfunding website to pay for her funeral, which took place earlier this month.
A singer on the precipice of mainstream fame
D4vd’s rise to stardom – fueled by TikTok and online gaming – is a paradigm for his generation.
Growing up near Houston, Texas, he was home-schooled and said he exclusively listened to gospel music until he was 13. He became an avid Fortnite player in 2017 and launched his music career using pop songs to soundtrack gameplay montages that he posted on YouTube.
He started making his own music when he ran into copyright hurdles, beginning by recording songs on The BandLab app in 2021 and uploading his work on SoundCloud.
Soon, he saw his music breaking through with thousands of listens. He then released what would become his two biggest hits thus far: Romantic Homicide and Here With Me.
The songs went viral on TikTok and led to billions of streams on Spotify, where he has amassed 33 million monthly listeners.
He signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records and released his debut EP, Petals and Thorns, in 2023. That same year, he landed on Variety’s Young Hollywood list and opened for SZA on her SOS tour.
Last spring, he made his Coachella debut – known as the festival for up-and-coming talent to break into mainstream fame. He was also commissioned by Fortnite – which he has said shaped his story as an artist – to create the game’s first official anthem, Locked & Loaded.
A discovery that broke a family and halted a career
But this ascent to fame came to a pause when his Tesla was towed to an impoundment lot and authorities found a bag inside the front trunk that contained Rivas Hernandez’s decomposing remains after someone complained about a foul smell.
His world tour was cancelled within days of the discovery, and Sony Music Publishing reportedly suspended promotion of his sophomore album.
Los Angeles police soon raided the posh Hollywood Hills mansion where the singer was living, just blocks from where his Tesla had been towed.
US retailer Hollister and footwear giant Crocs dropped D4vd from marketing campaigns and Telepatía singer Kali Uchis announced she was taking down their collaboration, Crashing.
But while his career ground to a screeching halt, authorities have been silent on the investigation into Rivas Hernandez’s death.
Investigators have not released any new information in the case since September 29.
The agency also said that it is still unclear whether there is any criminal culpability beyond the concealment of her body.
While online sleuths have been quick to speculate, legal experts say that there is still much we don’t know.
“You have this connection to David that seems pretty strong,” Mr Rahmani, the former prosecutor, told the BBC. “There is a lot of smoke but look, he could be absolutely innocent and it could be someone else who had access to his vehicle.”
Mr Rahmani said while there are many questions in this case, the biggest for him is “what is taking the LAPD so long”.
“They haven’t released any real information,” he said. “This isn’t a good look for the LAPD and it’s a terrible look for D4vd.”
He added that a case like this has added pressures: it involves a teen girl’s death, it has garnered global headlines, and the investigation involves a celebrity.
Mr Rahmani noted that technology and potential for video footage is likely to be a “treasure trove” for investigators. Tesla vehicles come with advanced technology that tracks vehicles, notifies users when things like the trunk is open, and are also outfitted with a slew of cameras as part of its Sentry Mode systems.
On top of this, the Hollywood home where he was living also had cameras. When authorities searched the home last month, investigators took a DVR that stores video and other data from the surveillance system.
Malden Trifunovic, the owner of the Hollywood Hills home D4vd was renting, has told the BBC that he has hired a private investigator to help uncover what might have happened inside his multi-million-dollar abode.
D4vd’s manager Josh Marshall, the founder of Mogul Vision, rented the home for D4vd and has distanced himself from the singer. He vehemently denied rumors that he is connected to the death investigation.
The widening mystery
In addition to the mystery surrounding the cause of Rivas Hernandez’s death, it is still unclear what relationship the teenager had with the 20-year-old singer.
Rivas Hernandez would have turned 15 the day before her body was found by police.
In California, the age of consent is 18.
Family, friends, and those who knew her have told local media that she had been dating someone named David and said he was a music artist.
A former middle-school science teacher blamed her last attempt to run away from home, in the spring of 2024, on her dating a music artist she’d met online.
“She’s been missing since I taught her,” the teacher said in a viral video after Rivas Hernandez’s body was identified.
Online sleuths have also connected her to the singer in a number of ways, from their matching tattoos to photos he posted online that appear to show them together.
But D4vd has not addressed the rumors, nor have police.
Like many who don’t follow indie pop music, his landlord Mr Trifunovic said he had never heard of D4vd until news broke about the discovery. He didn’t even know it was D4vd who was renting his home because the lease had been signed by the singer’s manager, Mr Marshall.
“I share the same anxiety and desire to understand what happened to poor Celeste as everyone else does,” Mr Trifunovic told the BBC.
Although he said he trusts the LAPD to conduct a thorough investigation, he too, is anxious for information.
“There is absolutely no question that a crime was committed,” he said.
“She did not place herself in the front trunk of the Tesla or move the vehicle to where it was found.”