The mystery deepens after a missing schoolgirl is found dead in the pop star’s Tesla

A day after a body was found in his car in Hollywood, singer D4vd performed his TikTok hit Romantic Homicide — a dark breakup song about murdering an ex without remorse — to a sold-out crowd in Minneapolis.

The American recording artist launched his own music career out of his sister’s closet while working part-time at Starbucks. This led him to viral fame, millions of followers online and a global tour.

But that all came to an abrupt halt last month with the discovery of a badly decomposed body in the front trunk of his Tesla.

The body was identified as that of 15-year-old runaway Celeste Rivas Hernandez.

A month later, mystery still surrounds the teenager’s death, as well as her relationship with the 20-year-old singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke.

Deep dives into his macabre work – which is peppered with references to death, memory, violence and gory motifs – have led some to question whether life imitates art and vice versa.

The young singer has yet to publicly comment on the incident or the grim discovery in his car. His spokesman said only that he was “cooperating fully with authorities” and has since hired a prominent criminal lawyer who has represented celebrities such as Mel Gibson, Lindsay Lohan, Kanye West and Britney Spears.

Representatives for the singer – including his lawyer Blair Burke, Universal Music Group, Darkroom Records and Sony Music Publishing – did not respond to BBC requests for comment.

Rivas Hernandez’s cause of death has not yet been determined.

The county’s medical examiner said her body was “severely decomposed” when it was found and postponed a decision on how she died – an investigation they say could take months.

Police also have not named a suspect or person of interest, even weeks after her body was discovered.

The Los Angeles Police Department has not released many details about the case or the investigation, calling it an open death investigation. The department did not comment on multiple questions asked by the BBC about the case, the investigation and any links the singer may have with Rivas Hernandez.

“It’s just so weird,” Neama Rahmani, a former prosecutor and lawyer from Los Angeles, told the BBC. “It just keeps getting weirder every day that goes by without an arrest.”

This lack of information also seems to fuel intrigue. Fans, true-crime enthusiasts and Internet sleuths began their own investigations, picking up on details that seemed to link the teenager to the gamer-turned-songwriter who was once billed by GQ as the “Mouthpiece for Gen-Z Heartache.”

Rivas Hernandez, who lived about 75 miles from where her body was found, was last reported missing by her family in April 2024, but it wasn’t the first time she ran away from their Lake Elsinore home.

The first-generation daughter of immigrant parents from El Salvador, neighbors recognized her as the girl who visited the corner store almost every day to buy candy and soda, according to the Los Angeles Times.

She first disappeared on Valentine’s Day in 2024, and her family filed a missing person’s report the next day.

Posters with her face were put up in her neighborhood and her mother posted pleas on Facebook in Spanish for her return — public pleas that apparently irritated the teenager.

Over the next two years, her parents would file at least two more missing persons reports.

Her family and friends told the newspaper that every time Rivas Hernandez ran away, she would eventually return and merge back into her life as a middle school student.

When the teenage girl’s remains were found in a bag in D4vd’s Tesla on September 8, the coroner said she was wearing a top, small black leggings and jewellery, including a yellow metal earring and a yellow metal chain bracelet.

She also had a tattoo that read “Shhh…” on her index finger – a marking almost identical to the one on the pop singer’s own index finger.

Decomposition of her body showed she had already been “dead for several weeks,” investigators said.

Her family, who described her as a beloved daughter, sister, cousin and friend, said they were “heartbroken and devastated by this tragic loss”. They have since asked for money from a crowdfunding website to pay for her funeral, which took place earlier this month.

D4vd’s rise to stardom – fueled by TikTok and online gaming – is a paradigm for his generation.

Raised near Houston, Texas, he was homeschooled and said he listened exclusively to gospel music until the age of 13. He became an avid Fortnite player in 2017 and launched his music career using pop songs to soundtrack gameplay montages he posted on YouTube.

He started making his own music when he ran into copyright hurdles, starting by recording songs on The BandLab app in 2021 and uploading his work to SoundCloud.

He soon saw his music break through with thousands of listens. He then released what would become his two biggest hits to date: Romantic Homicide and Here With Me.

The songs went viral on TikTok and led to billions of streams on Spotify, where he 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 made Variety’s Young Hollywood list and opened for SZA on her SOS tour.

Last spring, he made his debut at Coachella – known as the festival for rising talents who will break into mainstream fame. He was also commissioned by Fortnite – which he says shaped his story as an artist – to create the game’s first official anthem, Locked & Loaded.

But that rise to fame was cut short when his Tesla was pulled into a parking lot and authorities found a bag in the front trunk which contained the decomposing remains of Rivas Hernandez after someone complained of a foul smell.

His world tour was canceled a few days after opening, and Sony Music Publishing reportedly halted promotion of his second album.

Los Angeles police soon raided the posh Hollywood Hills mansion where the singer lived, just a few blocks from where his Tesla was towed.

US retailer Hollister and footwear giant Crocs have dropped D4vd from marketing campaigns, and Telepatía singer Kali Uchis has announced the end of their Crashing collaboration.

But as his career stalled, authorities are tight-lipped about the investigation into Rivas Hernandez’s death.

Investigators have not released any new information on the case since Sept. 29.

The agency also said it was it is still unclear if there is any criminal wrongdoing beyond concealing her body.

While online sleuths have been quick to speculate, legal experts say there’s still a lot we don’t know.

“You have this relationship with David that seems quite strong,” Mr Rahmani, a former prosecutor, told the BBC. “There’s a lot of smoke, but look, he could be absolutely innocent and someone else could have had access to his vehicle.”

Mr. Rahmani said that while there were many questions in this case, the biggest for him was “what is taking the LAPD so long.”

“They haven’t released any real information,” he said. “It’s not a good look for the LAPD and it’s terrible for D4vd.”

He added that a case like this creates additional pressure: it involves the death of a teenage girl, it has garnered global headlines and the investigation involves a celebrity.

Mr. Rahmani noted that the technology and potential for video footage would likely be a “treasure trove” for investigators. Telsa vehicles come with advanced technology that tracks vehicles, notifies users when things like the trunk are open, and is also equipped with multiple cameras as part of the Sentry Mode systems.

Also, the Hollywood home he lived in also had cameras. When authorities searched the home last month, investigators took the DVR, which stores video and other data from the surveillance system.

Maldon Trifunovic, the owner of the Hollywood Hills home that D4vd was renting, told the BBC that he had hired a private investigator to help him uncover what might have happened in his multi-million dollar abode.

D4vd’s manager Josh Marshall, the founder of Mogul Vision, rented the home to D4vd and distanced himself from the singer. He strongly denied rumors that he was involved in the death investigation.

Aside from the mystery surrounding Rivas Hernandez’s cause of death, it’s still unclear what the teenager’s relationship is to the 20-year-old singer.

Rivas Hernandez would have turned 15 the day before her body was discovered by police.

In California, the age of consent is 18.

Family, friends and those who knew her have told local media that she was dating someone named David and said he was a music artist.

A former middle school science teacher blamed her latest attempt to run away from home in the spring of 2024 on her encounter with a music artist she 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 linked her to the singer in a number of ways, from their matching tattoos to photos he posted online that appeared to show them together.

But D4vd did not respond to the rumours, and neither did the police.

Like many who don’t follow indie pop music, its landlord Mr Trifunovic said he had never heard of D4vd until news of the discovery broke. He didn’t even know D4vd was renting his home because the lease was signed by the singer’s manager, Mr. Marshall.

“I share the same anxiety and desire to find out what happened to poor Celeste as anyone else,” Mr Trifunovic told the BBC.

While he said he trusts the LAPD to conduct a thorough investigation, he is also anxious for information.

“There is absolutely no doubt that a crime was committed,” he said.

“She did not get into the front trunk of the Tesla, nor did she move the vehicle to where it was found.”