Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s body was found on Sept. 8 in the trunk of a car at Hollywood Tow on Mansfield Avenue. (photo by Edwin Folven)

The Los Angeles Police Department was granted a court order on Nov. 21 that places a security hold on information in the case of a 15-year-old girl whose remains were found in the trunk of vehicle registered to the singer D4vd in September in a Hollywood impound lot.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Craig Richman granted the security hold in the case involving Celeste Rivas Hernandez days after media outlets reported what police said are unsubstantiated claims about the investigation. TMZ, citing an anonymous source close to the investigation, reported on Nov. 18 that police consider D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, a suspect in the death of Rivas Hernandez. Multiple other media outlets also subsequently reported that police consider Burke a suspect. Det. Meghan Aguilar said the LAPD has not released any information about whether or not Burke is a suspect, adding that authorities were aware of the media reports but did not know the source of the information. In recent days, other media outlets have reported that Rivas Hernandez’ body had been frozen and she had been decapitated – details that police said were untrue.

The Lake Elsinore teen had been reported missing by her family in April 2024 when she was 13 years old, approximately a year and a half before her severely decomposed body was located in the Tesla registered to Burke. Family members told police that Rivas Hernandez ran away twice before and that she had a boyfriend named David.

The Tesla was towed on Sept. 5 to the Hollywood Tow lot at 1015 N. Mansfield Ave. after it had been parked for weeks in the same spot in the 1400 block of Bluebird Avenue in the Hollywood Hills, approximately two blocks from a home where Burke was staying. Employees at the tow lot noticed a foul odor coming from the vehicle and called police, who discovered Rivas Hernandez’s remains in the trunk on Sept. 8. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner took custody of the remains and conducted an autopsy, but the cause of death was deferred pending further testing.

Police asked for the security hold on information in the case because detectives believe the release of details could compromise the investigation. Detectives cited concerns about the effect the release of information could have on potential witnesses and informants.

Following the judge’s order, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner removed the Rivas Hernandez case from its website and posted, “No records or details associated with the case, including the cause and manner of death and medical examiner report, can be released or posted on the website until further notice.”

The department also posted a statement from Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Odey Ukpo about the security hold.

“The department’s mission is to have full transparency with the community by providing information about our cases to empower people to make changes that save lives,” Ukpo said. “Since becoming the department head, I’ve worked on eradicating the practice of placing security holds on medical examiner cases simply by law enforcement request. The practice of security holds is virtually unheard of in other counties and has not been proven to improve outcomes in the legal system. We are dedicated to serving our community with full transparency; however, the law precludes us from doing so while the court order remains in this case.”

Burke, who is from Houston, cancelled upcoming tours after Rivas Hernandez’s body was found and moved out of the house in the Hollywood Hills. It is unclear where he is currently and police have not released any information about him. No arrests have been made.

A funeral for Rivas Hernandez was held on Oct. 6 in Rowland Heights. Anyone with information is urged to call investigators with the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division at (213)486-6890. During weekends and off-hours, call the LAPD’s hotline at (877)LAPD247.