Though he has not yet been arrested or even named a suspect, 20-year-old singer D4vd has been at the center of a murder investigation over the past couple of weeks after the dismembered and decomposing body of a 15-year-old girl was found in the trunk of a car belonging to him.
The grim finding sparked a thorough investigation into the death of the 15-year-old Celeste Rivas, who appeared to have some connections to the singer. While authorities have not officially announced the death as a murder and an official cause of death has yet to be released, TMZ has reported numerous times that her death is being investigated as a homicide.
The investigation has been overwhelmingly negative for D4vd as the singer has lost partnerships with major brands and his record label has halted all “musical promotion,” including for his “upcoming deluxe album.” However, there has been one pretty significant positive for him as his name has garnered national attention.
What We Know So Far
- A decomposing body was found inside a Tesla belonging to musician D4vd at an impound lot in Hollywood on Sept. 8.
- The car was brought to the impound lot after “someone reported it abandoned” in Hollywood Hills, and police were called after workers “reported a strong odor” coming from the Tesla.
- The Tesla was never reported as stolen.
- The body was discovered inside a bag in the Tesla’s front trunk. The remains were not intact and had badly decomposed.
- The remains were so decomposed that it took authorities more than a week to identify the body.
- The remains were eventually identified as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas.
- D4vd has a matching tattoo with Rivas, and her mother said she has been missing for over a year and that her daughter’s boyfriend was named David.
- D4vd initially decided to continue his world tour while cooperating with the investigation, but he cancelled the remainder of his tour on Wednesday.
- An unreleased love song written by D4vd references someone by the name of “Celeste” in the unfinished title and twice in the lyrics.
- Police raided a home connected to D4vd as they continue the investigation.
Evidence Linking D4vd
In addition to the obvious evidence of the body being discovered in his car, there have been several additional pieces of evidence seemingly linking D4vd to Celeste Rivas since her body was discovered and identified.
Shortly after the body was found in D4vd’s car, Rivas’ mother spoke with TMZ, revealing that her daughter had been missing for more than a year. She added that she immediately grew suspicious upon hearing about the body found in the Tesla, knowing her daughter’s boyfriend went by the name David.
TMZ later reported that both Rivas and D4vd have similar tattoos that read “Shhh…” on their right index fingers. The singer’s is in black ink, while Rivas’ mother said her daughter’s was done in red.
Last week, an unreleased track by D4vd, which was originally leaked back in 2023, resurfaced online. The song appears to be a love song written about someone by the name of “Celeste,” with the name featured both in the title of the song and throughout the lyrics.
Meanwhile, a wave of photos and videos has spread across social media, allegedly depicting D4vd with Rivas, though none of the images have been verified. Screenshots from a Discord channel have also circulated, seemingly showing the singer in conversation with someone named Celeste, but those, too, remain unconfirmed.
D4vd Streams Surge
While D4vd has seen some fallout from the incident, losing his partnership with Hollister and Crocs, as well as some support from his record label, he has actually seen a surge in popularity with his name in the headlines.
As Pop Base reported over the weekend, D4vd’s hit song “Romantic Homicide” was the biggest gainer on the Global Spotify chart last week, moving up 102 spots to #42 with 2.157 million streams. The song also rose 63 spots to No. 13 on the U.S. Spotify chart with 849,000 streams. “Romantic Homicide” later re-entered the Top 10 of the U.S. Spotify chart at #10 (+3) with 936,000 streams.
Additionally, D4vd was the biggest gainer on Spotify’s Global Top Artists chart, Pop Base reported, as he surged up 63 spots to No. 90 on the chart thanks to an influx of streams.
Obviously, the attention he has received as a result of this investigation has not exactly been good, but it has certainly boosted his overall popularity as people are streaming his song out of sheer curiosity, if nothing else. The rather apt title of his most popular song certainly plays into the streaming surge, too.
D4vd Not Named a Suspect
It’s worth noting that though the body was found in his car and there does appear to be evidence linking him to the victim, D4vd has not been arrested, charged, or even listed as a suspect in the death of the 15-year-old girl.
One expert recently weighed in on why the artist has not yet been arrested or even questioned, but it mostly comes down to authorities waiting to acquire evidence.
Representatives for the singer have maintained that he will continue to fully cooperate with the investigation.
