Singer David Anthony Burke, known professionally as d4vd, is under police scrutiny after the body of a 15-year-old girl was found inside the trunk of a Tesla registered in his name, with investigators confirming the teenager bore a distinctive “Shhh…” tattoo on her right index finger and widely circulated images showing the artist has an identical inscription on his own finger. The Los Angeles County medical examiner described the deceased as “severely decomposed,” and authorities have not announced any arrests or named a suspect; a representative for d4vd says he is cooperating with the inquiry.
The victim was identified this week as Celeste Rivas, of Lake Elsinore in Riverside County, who was reported missing in April 2024 when she was 13. Police discovered her remains on 8 September in a tow yard in Hollywood after staff reported a foul odour emanating from a black Tesla that had been impounded days earlier. The vehicle is registered to Burke, a 20-year-old Houston-raised singer whose songs “Romantic Homicide” and “Here With Me” propelled him to viral prominence in 2022. The medical examiner has deferred the cause and manner of death pending further tests.
The tattoo detail has become a focal point in the early stages of the case. In an advisory quoted by the Los Angeles Times, the medical examiner stated: “The decedent was found severely decomposed inside a vehicle… She appears to have been deceased inside the vehicle for an extended period of time before being found,” and listed among distinguishing features “a tattoo on her right index finger that said ‘Shhh…’.” Separately, a Getty photograph from September 2024 shows Burke with the same “Shhh” lettering on his right index finger; a spokesperson for the singer has not addressed the tattoo match publicly.
Police and local media have reconstructed the vehicle’s movements in the days before the discovery. The Tesla, carrying Texas plates, was towed from the Bird Streets area of the Hollywood Hills after being left parked on a public street; law-enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times the car had been abandoned for five days before it was impounded, while some neighbours told NBC Los Angeles they believed it had been sitting in the area for more than a month. Two days after the tow, staff at Hollywood Tow on North Mansfield Avenue reported the smell, prompting officers to open the vehicle and locate remains in a bag in the front trunk.