Vigil Held for Celeste Rivas Hernandez, 15, Who Was Allegedly Found in Trunk of d4vd's Tesla: 'I Just Couldn't Breathe' By Christina Coulter

A California community lit candles Sunday for 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez — just days after her body was found in the front trunk of an impounded Tesla police allege is registered to pop star d4vd.

ABC7, NBC Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Times reported that dozens of mourners gathered in Lake Elsinore, the teen’s hometown, to grieve and remember her.

“Even though I didn’t know her, I just couldn’t even breathe, knowing that a child had to go through that,” neighbor Kayleigh Cortez told ABC7.

Neighbors recalled seeing Rivas walking to school before she vanished.

“I recognized her because of her big, curly hair,” Cortez told the Times, adding that she would see the teen “walking with her backpack on her way to school.”

Another neighbor told ABC7 that her nephew had known Rivas for years.

“My nephew went to school with her since Kindergarten and I just want to say … if it was my daughter, I wouldn’t want her to be forgotten. I just want justice for this little girl because whatever happened to her wasn’t just an accident.”

Rivas was reported missing in 2024, authorities said. Her remains were discovered on Sept. 8 after police investigated a vehicle, which had been abandoned on a Hollywood street and subsequently towed, following a foul-odor complaint.

The vehicle was registered to singer d4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke; the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner later identified Rivas’ body and listed her cause of death as deferred.

Detectives subsequently executed a search warrant at a Hollywood Hills address associated with d4vd, per a release previously detailed by PEOPLE. Police said “several items of evidence were recovered” and that investigators are following several leads, but stressed that the 20-year-old musician has not been charged or named a suspect.

Both Rivas and d4vd have “Shhh…” tattoos on their right index fingers, and fans have focused on the singer’s lyrics in light of the case. The singer canceled subsequent tour dates, with remaining shows — including European stops — taken off venue websites.

One of the musician’s most notable songs was a 2022 single titled “Romantic Homicide.”

“In the back of my mind (whoa-oh), you died (whoa-oh) / And I didn’t even cry (whoa-oh), no, not a single tear / And I’m sick of waiting patiently (ooh-ooh) / For someone that won’t even arrive,” d4vd sang.

He later adds, “In the back of my mind, I killed you / And I didn’t even regret it, I can’t believe I said it / But it’s true / Do I love you? No, I hate you.”

Loved ones described Rivas as a “beloved daughter, sister, cousin, and friend” on a GoFundMe page seeking funeral donations.