A few grisly details are known about the death of 15-year-old teenager Celeste Rivas, but they’ve come from leaks to major news outlets and relate to the condition of her body. The cause of death is not yet clear.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office formally identified Rivas as the woman whose remains were found in “Romantic Homicide” singer D4vd’s abandoned Tesla, which was taken to a Hollywood tow lot. The agency’s database lists Rivas’s date of death as September 8, 2025.
How did she die? The specific cause of death is not clear, but her death is being treated as a possible homicide by police, who are investigating any possible links between D4vd (real name David Anthony Burke) and Rivas, The Los Angeles Times reported. However, the medical examiner has not officially determined the death to be a homicide yet, according to its database and the Times. And law enforcement sources told ABC 7that the case is not yet a homicide investigation because of the lack of a definitive cause of death.
Missing poster of Celeste Rivas from June 2024. #d4vd pic.twitter.com/FBeK4ngxsn
— rajel (@gayneopets) September 18, 2025
The cause of death is listed by the medical examiner as “deferred,” and the manner of death is blank. The body status was labeled “ready for release” in the database, which said the victim was 15. Her place of death was listed as a “vehicle,” and the case is still open, meaning her death remains under investigation by the medical examiner’s office.
Authorities Did Not Discover the Entire Body of Celeste Rivas
The details that emerged about the state of the body are grim.
- Rivas’s body was discovered in the Tesla after tow lot workers “reported a strong odor,” according to NBC Los Angeles. Authorities located the body “wrapped in a unique container,” NBC Los Angeles reported.
- According to The Los Angeles Times, Rivas disappeared in April of 2024, and her remains were badly decomposed. It’s not clear exactly when she died, however.
- The Los Angeles Times reported that Rivas’s body consisted of a “head and torso.”
D4vd has not been accused by authorities in connection with her death and is cooperating with the investigation; a search warrant was served on a home where he lived, The Times noted. However, a series of oddities have emerged in the case, from D4vd and Rivas sharing the same tattoo to him previously making a song called “Celeste.” She was a resident of Inland Empire, according to The Times.
