A Los Angeles grand jury will probe the gruesome death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose body was found in the trunk of artist D4vd’s car, according to a new report.
The revelation suggests police could be tightening the net around a suspect or suspects in the shocking case, in which the teen’s decomposing body turned up in the trunk of the pop star’s Tesla on September 8 — one day after she would have turned 15.
Cops have refrained from naming suspects or even calling the death a homicide, but county prosecutors have begun presenting evidence to an investigative grand jury, insider sources revealed to the Los Angeles Times.
The grand jury began meeting earlier this month, one source said; this type of grand jury can’t hand down an indictment, but it can subpoena witnesses and evidence.
The revelation is a major step forward in the horrific case that has baffled the nation for months.
One detective internally described the case as an “investigation into murder,” according to court documents obtained by the Times, although the Los Angeles Police Department recently denied reports that Rivas’ body had been decapitated and frozen.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Medical Examiner has been hit with a court order blocking them from releasing any information about the body, the department announced Monday.
Rivas Hernandez was first reported missing from her home in Lake Elsinore, California, on April 5, 2024, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.
Singer D4vd, 20, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, was on tour at the time the remains were found.
Rivas’s mother contacted TMZ when she heard about the discovery, and the tip helped cops identify her daughter. The mom said Rivas had been dating someone named “David” and had a “shhh” tattoo that matched one on the artist.
Rivas’ body was found in a Hollywood tow yard after D4vd’s Tesla was towed from near a Beverly Hills mansion D4vd was using as a crash pad.
Cops later executed a search warrant on the house, which was leased by D4vd’s manager.
D4vd has hired the high-powered lawyer who represented Harvey Weinstein, and the artist was allegedly “not cooperating” with investigators and has yet to be interviewed by police, a law enforcement source previously told PEOPLE.
It remains unclear how long Celeste had been dead before she was found, but the medical examiner previously said the girl appeared “to have been deceased inside the vehicle for an extended period of time before being found.”
Hiding a body is only a misdemeanor in California, meaning if prosecutors fail to bring a murder charge, whoever dumped the girl’s body could receive no jail time.
Photos and videos have swirled online allegedly showing D4vd and Celeste together, and the artist had been rumored to have been dating someone with the same name, according to screenshots of Discord messages sent before she was discovered.
