Tesla ticketed Before Discovery of Body in Trunk
A Tesla registered to musician David Anthony Burke, known professionally as D4Vd, received a parking citation 11 days before the discovery of a deceased female in its trunk. The vehicle was ticketed by Los Angeles authorities on Bluebird Avenue in the Hollywood Hills, an area near where the victim resided.
Law enforcement sources and records indicate residents began complaining about the tesla remaining parked on the street in late August.On August 27th, a parking enforcement officer documented the vehicle’s tire position. A citation was issued on September 3rd for violating the city’s 72-hour parking ordinance. The Tesla was afterward impounded and towed to the Hollywood tow yard on September 5th.
The grim discovery occurred three days later. On September 8th, a tow yard worker noticed a suspicious odor emanating from the vehicle and alerted Los Angeles police. A detective secured a search warrant and opened the trunk, revealing a black holdall containing the heavily decomposed remains of Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
Hernandez,who weighed 71 pounds and had a ”Shhh” tattoo on her finger,was identified by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. She had recently turned 15,having passed her birthday the day before her body was found.
Hernandez was a seventh-grade student from Lake Elsinore, approximately 76 miles southeast of Hollywood. Her family had reported her missing to the Riverside County Sheriff’s office on at least three occasions in 2024.
Police detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding Hernandez’s death and attempting to determine the duration the Tesla was parked on Bluebird Avenue and when her body was placed inside. Burke is cooperating with the investigation.
Investigators executed a search warrant at Burke’s rental property north of Sunset Boulevard,recovering electronics and computers. Burke, who released his debut album “Withered” in April, had been on a national tour promoting the album since early August. The tour was canceled as the investigation progressed. “Withered” reached No. 13 on the Billboard 200 and has garnered over 521 million streams on Spotify. On September 7th, Burke announced a deluxe version of the album on Instagram, his last social media post before the discovery.
Times staff writers Nathan Solis and Salvador Hernandez contributed to this report.
