Around 50 people gathered Sunday evening, Sept. 21, in Lake Elsinore to honor the life of Celeste Rivas, the teen who was found dead in the trunk of singer D4vd’s Tesla earlier this month.
The attendees, mostly high-school aged, laid flowers, candles and mementos including a teddy bear around a banner: “Justice for Celeste Rivas.”
“This really hits home as a mom,” Evelyn, a vigil attendee, told KTLA. “And this could have been anybody’s kid.”
Mourners leave candles, flowers and mementos on Sunday night during a vigil in Lake Elsinore for Celeste Rivas, who was 13 when she went missing last year. Her body was found in a vehicle in a Los Angeles tow yard on Sept. 8. (Photo by OnScene.TV)
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On Sept. 8, Celeste’s remains were found a day after her 15th birthday in the trunk of D4vd’s 2023 Tesla, which was impounded at a Hollywood tow yard. The girl was first reported missing from Lake Elsinore last year when she was 13.
“I feel really bad for what happened to her, ’cause the story is so messed up,” Aubrey Domingo, who attended school with Celeste, told KTLA at the vigil. “My friend told me about it, and it’s, like, I never imagined that would happen.”
Police said the car was impounded and towed to the yard by the city after being parked for more than three days in the same spot.
At the tow yard, the staff and neighbors reported a strong odor from the car, which led to the discovery of remains that were severely decomposed and dismembered in a bag in the trunk, according to reports.
Singer David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd, had been on his U.S. “Withered” tour — future tour dates were canceled after the girl’s ID was disclosed.
Los Angeles police seized several items as evidence after executing a search warrant at a home in the 1300 block of Doheny Place. D4vd doesn’t own the home but has stayed there, broadcast reports said, citing the LAPD.
A representative for the singer has said he was fully cooperating with the investigation.
Staff writer Ryanne Mena contributed to this report.