The Los Angeles Police Department said Monday (Sept 29) that a teenage girl whose body was found in a car registered to singer D4vd may have been dead for "several weeks" before the discovery.

The remains of Celeste Rivas Hernandez were recovered Sept 8, a day after what would have been her 15th birthday, inside the front trunk of a Tesla registered to the musician, whose real name is David Anthony Burke.

The vehicle, parked on a Hollywood Hills street for days before it was towed, drew complaints from residents in late August.

Parking officers marked the car on Aug 27, issued a citation Sept 3, and had it impounded two days later. Tow yard workers later reported a foul odor, leading detectives to the discovery of Rivas' body in a bag.

"The vehicle had been parked at the location from which it was towed for several weeks, so Ms. Rivas Hernandez may have been deceased for several weeks before the discovery of her body," the LAPD's robbery and homicide division said in a statement.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has not determined a cause or manner of death.

"It remains unclear whether there is any criminal culpability beyond the concealment of her body," the department said. Capt. Scot Williams, who is leading the investigation, confirmed that detectives are still tracing Rivas' final movements.

Rivas, who had been reported missing multiple times in 2024 from Lake Elsinore (Riverside County), was described as 5-foot-2 (1.57m) with wavy black hair and a tattoo on her right index finger that read "Shhh." She was last seen on April 5, 2024, when she was 13.

Her family has since launched a fundraiser to cover funeral costs.

Burke, 20, a rising alt-pop star with more than 33 million monthly listeners on Spotify with viral hits such as Romantic Homicide and Here With Me, has not been named a suspect.

He cancelled his Withered tour, including a San Francisco date, days after authorities identified Hernandez.

The singer's representatives have said he is cooperating with investigators.

The landlord of the US$20,000-a-month (RM84,186) Hollywood Hills home that Burke had been renting near where the Tesla was found told multiple outlets that Burke ended his lease early after police raided the property in search of evidence. – San Francisco Chronicle/Tribune News Service