Updated on 12/31/2025 @ 9:17 a.m.
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Los Angeles police fear they may never know the full story of how 15-year-old Celeste Rivas died. It’s been months since her decomposed body was found stuffed inside of a Tesla, and now, officials have confirmed a suspect, wh may be indicted in connection to the missing teen’s death.
Last month, a report revealed an “investigative” grand jury was looking into the suspicious case of Rivas. By definition, this type of jury does not indict, but sources told TMZ it’s likely that a new jury will bring charges against a singer named D4vd, who has been deeply involved in the case.
We previously told you D4vd was named as a suspect after being repeatedly linked to the teenager before her disappearance. A police source told PEOPLE D4vd is “not cooperating” with the ongoing investigation. But the house he was renting during the time of Rivas’ disappearance continues to reveal chilling evidence “that could all be used together” to “get rid of a person,” according to the home’s owner, Mladen Trifunovic.
Trifunovic hired a private investigator of his own to investigate the alleged crime. On Tuesday (Dec. 16), the detective announced in a post on X that a Burn Cage incinerator– which is advertised to burn at 1,600 degrees– was also found inside the house.
The incinerator was still boxed and unused, and according to the investigator, it’s highly unlikely that the machinery was intended as a prop for a video. “Why would a 55-pound burn cage be delivered to a private residence instead of directly to a prop designer or production house?” He asked, “Why would it be ordered before departing on an extended world tour? And why was it never used in any video production?”
A giant freezer was also found inside the rental, and photos and videos taken of D4vd around Sept. 2024 inside the house showed a freezer box in the background, TMZ reported. Police reportedly haven’t interrogated the singer yet because there’s still so much uncertainty connected to Rivas’ death, especially given the state her body was found in.
Rivas’ body was cut into multiple pieces, according to TMZ. She was decapitated with her arms and limbs also cut off. New details confirmed her remains were previously frozen for months before she was stuffed inside the Tesla, which is registered to D4vd. By the time she was discovered, Rivas’ body had been partially thawed. At this point in the case, authorities still haven’t identified her cause of death because of decomposition.
“We are working to determine if her death was a murder or something else,” a police source said. “Springtime is the closest we’ve come to determining the time of her death. Not before then.”
She was reported missing several times over the last few years. Her family last heard from her back in 2024, we told you. Investigators believe she died in the spring before her 15th birthday. This timeframe also aligns with a questionable trip D4vd allegedly took to a remote area of Santa Barbara County in the middle of the night. One source told TMZ D4vd could have taken the body here before allegedly dismembering it and returning to L.A. And they believe the person responsible had help.
Los Angeles police also confirmed they’ve identified a second suspect– whose identity hasn’t been released to the public– who was involved “before, during, and after” Rivas’ death. When her remains were discovered, D4vd was in the middle of his world tour, we also told you. His Tesla had been impounded after sitting abandoned for weeks.
No arrests have been made in connection to the case. Los Angeles investigators are reportedly organizing a timeline.
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