Law Law enforcement said that the girl, Celeste Rivas, was identified through forensics and that her death is being investigated as a homicide
The girl, Celeste Rivas, was identified through forensics, NBC Los Angeles reported. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet determined a cause of death.
"At this time, the LAPD does not have a crime classification from the coroner as to the mode or manner of death. Thus, we do not have any suspect information at this time,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Tuesday that it has confirmed with "the Los Angeles Police Department that Celeste Rivas Hernandez has been identified as the juvenile who was reported missing from Lake Elsinore."
In a follow-up statement, the sheriff’s office later clarified that the Los Angeles Police Department is the lead agency on the case and the main point of contact. It also apologized for initially calling the investigation a homicide.
The remains were found Sept. 8 after Los Angeles police were called to Hollywood Tow because of a foul odor coming from the Tesla, according to NBC Los Angeles and a police statement. The vehicle was impounded after a person reported that it had been abandoned.
The medical examiner’s office said the girl was wearing a tube top, black leggings, a yellow metal chain bracelet and stud earrings. She was described as having wavy black hair and weighing about 71 pounds, the office said.
Law enforcement sources told NBC News that the remains were not intact. The medical examiner had said it appeared the girl had been dead in the car for an extended period of time.
A spokesperson for D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, said he had been informed about what happened and was “fully cooperating with the authorities.”
When news of the remains’ being found broke, D4vd, the “Romantic Homicide” singer, was on his Withered World Tour. He was scheduled to perform Wednesday in Seattle, but that show was cancel.