Los Angeles police have launched an investigation following the discovery of a woman’s decomposed remains in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd. The body was found on Monday, September 8, 2025, at a Hollywood, California, tow yard. Workers reported a strong odor coming from the vehicle, which had been impounded for several days.
Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department arrived at the 1000 block of North Mansfield Avenue around 12:20 p.m. on Monday to investigate the reported smell. Detectives discovered human remains inside a bag in the front trunk of the 2023 Tesla.
The car is registered to David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd, a 20-year-old musician registered in Hempstead, Texas. The Tesla had been towed from the Bird Streets neighborhood in Hollywood Hills after being reported abandoned about five days prior to the discovery of the remains.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as a female who had been deceased inside the vehicle for an extended time. Due to severe decomposition, determining the woman’s age or ethnicity was not possible. The medical examiner reported that the woman was 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighed approximately 71 pounds.
The victim was wearing a tube top and black leggings, size small, along with yellow metal stud earrings and a yellow metal chain bracelet. She had wavy black hair and a distinctive tattoo reading “Shhh…” on her right index finger. The medical examiner noted it was impossible to determine her eye color due to decomposition.
D4vd, who gained fame through TikTok and has over 33 million Spotify listeners, is currently on his Withered World Tour. He performed in Madison, Wisconsin, on Sunday and was scheduled to perform in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Tuesday night. Representatives confirmed the singer is cooperating with authorities despite being on tour.
The case is being investigated as a homicide, according to law enforcement. Police Captain Robert Peters stated that the vehicle had been at the impound lot for several days. This incident is one of two this week involving bodies found in vehicles at Los Angeles tow yards.
In a separate case on Tuesday, another woman’s body was found in a burned Honda Civic at a different South Los Angeles tow yard. The car had been towed on Sunday from the 6800 block of South Flower Street after a fire. Family members tracked her location using the vehicle’s GPS. Authorities do not believe the cases are related.
D4vd’s corporate partners, including Crocs and Hollister, have distanced themselves from the singer during the investigation. They removed campaign content featuring D4vd from their “Dream Drop” collaboration, issuing a statement about their decision to respect the ongoing investigation.
D4vd, originally from Queens, New York, and later Houston, Texas, gained widespread recognition in 2022 with the singles “Romantic Homicide” and “Here With Me.” These tracks have over a billion streams on Spotify. He released his debut album “Withered” in April 2025 and began his world tour last month.
Despite the investigation, D4vd remains active on social media, promoting his album’s deluxe version as recently as Sunday. His tour will continue in North America until the end of September, including a performance in Los Angeles on September 20, followed by European dates in October and November.
Police are working to determine the victim’s identity and the circumstances of her death. The advanced decomposition may complicate identification efforts, as the body was not intact when found.
