Over 75 miles from the tony Hollywood Hills neighborhood where teenager Celeste Rivas’ decomposing body was left in the trunk of a Tesla belonging to the singer D4vd, sits the modest Inland Empire community of Lake Elsinore where she lived with her family.
But residents and acquaintances of the teenager are following the case with a mixture of heartbreak, shock and anger as more details emerge that she knew the multi-platinum R&B singer, whose real name is David Anthony Burke.
“She deserves justice,” resident Rubi Alonso said. “It’s just so sad.”
Alonso’s son is around the same age as Celeste Rivas. She met the girl’s family when Celeste Rivas was in kindergarten and remained friends with her family.
“She was studious, a hard worker and intelligent,” Alonso said.
Celeste Rivas was reported missing in 2024 from the Inland Empire, according to authorities, but her whereabouts since then remain a mystery.
Her body was found in a vehicle at Hollywood Tow on Sept. 8 after it was impounded from the Hollywood Hills. Someone noticed a foul odor coming from the vehicle, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
While the medical examiner listed Rivas’ age as 15 at the time of her death, her body was located in the front trunk of a Tesla a day after her birthday. Los Angeles police officials have described her body as severely decomposed, suggesting she died while she was still 14.
Police say the car was towed from the area around a home rented by Burke’s manager.
It’s unclear when the girl died and how long her body was in the trunk. The car had a Texas license plate, and the remains were contained in a bag, according to a law enforcement source.
The Rivas’ family could not be reached for comment on Friday. They did not answer the door at their home in Lake Elsinore and neighbors said they have not seen them recently.
Last February, missing person’s posters blanketed the quiet residential street where Celeste Rivas lived with her family.
It was one of the first times neighbors recall seeing the girl’s face on a poster. But it wouldn’t be the last time she was reported missing.
“I recognized her because of her big, curly hair,” neighbor Kayleigh Cortez said. “I would see her walking with her backpack on her way to school.”
The teen was reported missing on Valentine’s Day 2024 when she was 13. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department confirmed Rivas was reported missing last year but did not provide any additional information about the case and referred all questions to the LAPD.
It’s unclear how many times the teen was reported missing or how many times she was returned to her family by authorities.
Just after 7 a.m. on March 19, 2024 a young girl walked down the street in a dark sweater and light pants according to surveillance footage from Del Lago Spirits, which is in her neighborhood.
Rivas’ family asked store owner Elie Naddaf for the footage. He sent it to them, confident the girl in the video was Celeste Rivas.
He believes that she got into a vehicle down the street from the store but he could not make out any clear details as she walked out of the frame in the video. He says that police have not contacted him for the footage.
The teen regularly stopped by the corner store on her way to a nearby bus stop.
“She was going to school with the other kids and she would stop by all the time,” Naddaf said.
She would get Takis, soda, maybe candy.
“She was always so quiet, shy, just a sweet child,” Naddaf said, who is a father and has operated his business for the last 11 years in the neigbborhood. “I feel a connection to the community. It’s just heartbreaking to see this happen.”
Rivas attended Lakeland Village School in Lake Elsinore, roughly 76 miles away from Los Angeles.
Then her body appeared in the trunk of a Tesla in a Hollywood tow yard.
“I got goosebumps when I heard about what happened to her, when they found her in the car,” Cortez said. “It was just so horrible.”
Rivas returned to Lake Elsinore in the last year, said Alonso, the family friend, but she could not recall specific dates.
She said that on one occasion Rivas came back home by herself and another time with police.
Authorities have said D4vd, 20, was initially cooperating with investigators when news broke that a body was located in a vehicle registered to his name. It’s unclear if he remained cooperative after the medical examiner’s office identified Rivas as the person in the trunk.
Law enforcement sources say Burke has since retained a lawyer.
Representatives for the musician did not respond to requests for comment and the musician has canceled several show dates on his tour that was slated to play in Europe in October.
Since then, multiple photos of Burke and Rivas have circulated on social media, raising questions about how the two knew each other.
Gisel Vera, who identified herself as a relative of Celeste and helped start a GoFundMe page to raise funds for her funeral, told The Times the family had no immediate comment on the case.
An Instagram account previously used by Rivas has since been reactivated by her relatives. Her brother Matthew Rivas made several posts saying the family tried to find her before her death.
“We lost our girl,” the Instgram story said. “But we did everything flyers at her school, TikToks, Instagram, FaceBook, Police, family searching everywhere. Even our family in Mexico shared and prayed for her.”
Another post said, “My mom hasn’t spoken in a week… she feels she failed her daughter, but she didn’t. She did everything. Our home is quiet and broken.”