Mystery deepens after missing schoolgirl found dead in pop star D4vd's Tesla

The day after a body was found in his car in Hollywood, singer D4vd was belting his TikTok hit Romantic Homicide - a brooding breakup song about killing an ex with no regret - to a sold-out crowd in Minneapolis.

The US recording artist had self-launched his music career from his sister's closet while working a part-time gig at Starbucks. It led him to viral fame, millions of followers online, and a global tour.

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

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

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

Rivas Hernandez - who lived about 75 miles away from where her body was discovered - had last been reported missing by her family in April 2024, but it was not the first time she had run away from their Lake Elsinore home.

A first-generation daughter of immigrant parents from El Salvador, neighbours recognised her as a girl who would visit the corner store almost daily to buy candy and soda, according to the Los Angeles Times.

She first went missing on Valentine's Day 2024, and her family filed a missing persons report the next day.

Posters of her face were put up in her neighbourhood and her mother posted pleas on Facebook in Spanish for her return - public overtures that apparently irked the teen.

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 blend back into her life as a middle schooler.

When the teens' remains were found in a bag in D4vd's Tesla on 8 September, the medical examiner said that she was wearing a tube top, size small black leggings and jewellery, including a yellow metal stud earring and a yellow metal chain bracelet.

She also had a tattoo that read "Shhh…" on her index finger - a marking nearly identical to that on the pop singer's own index finger.

The decomposition of her body indicated that she had already been "deceased for several weeks", investigators said.

Her family, who described her as a beloved daughter, sister, cousin and friend, has said they are "heartbroken and devastated by this tragic loss". They have since solicited money on a crowdfunding website to pay for her funeral, which took place earlier this month.

D4vd's rise to stardom - fuelled by TikTok and online gaming - is a paradigm for his generation.

Growing up near Houston, Texas, he was home-schooled and said he exclusively listened to gospel music until he was 13. He became an avid Fortnite player in 2017 and launched his music career using pop songs to soundtrack gameplay montages that he posted on YouTube.

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

Soon, he saw his music breaking through with thousands of listens. He then released what would become his two biggest hits thus far: Romantic Homicide and Here With Me.

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

Last spring, he made his Coachella debut - known as the festival for up-and-coming talent to break into mainstream fame. He was also commissioned by Fortnite - which he has said shaped his story as an artist - to create the game's first official anthem, Locked & Loaded.

But this ascent to fame came to a pause when his Tesla was towed to an impoundment lot and authorities found a bag inside the front trunk that contained Rivas Hernandez's decomposing remains after someone complained about a foul smell.

His world tour was cancelled within days of the discovery, and Sony Music Publishing reportedly suspended promotion of his sophomore album.

Los Angeles police soon raided the posh Hollywood Hills mansion where the singer was living, just blocks from where his Tesla had been towed.

US retailer Hollister and footwear giant Crocs dropped D4vd from marketing campaigns and Telepatía singer Kali Uchis announced she was taking down their collaboration, Crashing.

But while his career ground to a screeching halt, authorities have been silent on the investigation into Rivas Hernandez's death.

Investigators have not released any new information in the case since 29 September.

The agency also said that it is still unclear whether there is any criminal culpability beyond the concealment of her body.

In addition to the mystery surrounding the cause of Rivas Hernandez's death, it is still unclear what relationship the teenager had with the 20-year-old singer.

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

In California, the age of consent is 18.

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

A former middle-school science teacher blamed her last attempt to run away from home, in the spring of 2024, on her dating a music artist she'd 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 connected her to the singer in a number of ways, from their matching tattoos to photos he posted online that appear to show them together.