The Los Angeles Police Department has reportedly began to explore D4vd as a potential suspect in the homicide of Celeste Rivas.
On Tuesday (November 18), TMZ reported that sources close to the investigation have stated the LAPD are "looking at D4vd as a suspect" in the crime.
No one has yet been charged for Rivas' murder, and a manner of death has yet to be determined by the medical examiner. Despite the update, the LAPD has not gotten close to making an arrest.
"I can neither confirm nor deny the claims in that TMZ report. It remains an ongoing investigation by LAPD detectives," stated Captain Mike Bland of the LAPD Media Relations division exclusively to Complex.
Also being looked into by the police department is the Withered vocalist traveling in the middle of the night to Santa Barbara County in spring of this year, and remaining at the location for several hours.
In early September, the remains of 15-year-old Rivas were found in the trunk of a Tesla owned by D4vd, real name David Burke, at a Hollywood impound. Before the vehicle was towed, it was abandoned on a street near D4vd's former Hollywood Hills rental property.
The teenager's body was found dismembered and decomposing in a plastic bag. At the time of the discovery, D4vd was on the U.S. leg of his tour before the remaining dates were cancelled.
Private investigator Steve Fischer, who was hired by the owner of the home where the artist resided, has given brief updates about his findings over the past month. Among them were "heavy-duty tools" that Fischer thought to be "unusual" found at the home, along with the Tesla being parked in multiple spots around the neighborhood before being parked once more on July 29, around the time D4vd embarked on his tour.
In an interview with Law&Crime Sidebar with Jesse Weber earlier this month, Fischer speculated that there may have been "plans" to dispose of Rivas' body and alleged that the teen might have had a drug overdose. A "sadistic" decision might have also been made, he continued, as to not "expose" a possible relationship between Rivas and 20-year-old D4vd.