Grand jury said to hear case of body in Tesla

The remains of a 14-year-old girl were in a car belonging to singer D4vd.

- RICHARD WINTON AND JAMES QUEALLY

A Los Angeles County grand jury is hearing evidence related to the death of a teenage girl whose body was discovered stuffed inside the trunk of singer D4vd's Tesla this year, two law enforcement sources told The Times.

The revelation follows the gruesome discovery of the remains of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez in a Hollywood tow yard on Sept. 8. Although the Los Angeles Police Department has publicly declined to characterize the girl's death as a homicide, a recent court filing by an LAPD detective referred to the case as a murder investigation.

Now, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office has begun presenting evidence to what's known as an investigative grand jury, according to one of the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case with the media.

One of the sources said the grand jury was in session for several days in mid-November, but it was unclear whether prosecutors had completed their presentation of evidence.

Prosecutors may convene an investigative grand jury to subpoena witnesses and compel other evidence, including videos. Such investigative panels may recommend charges but cannot themselves return an indictment.

In addition to the two law enforcement sources, a court petition provided to The Times on Monday contained a "GJ number," referencing the existence of a grand jury.

In that document, LAPD Det. Joshua Byers of the Robbery-Homicide Division successfully persuaded a judge to bar the L.A. County medical examiner from divulging autopsy results and other details related to the girl's death that would otherwise be public.

It was Byers who characterized the probe into the girl's death as "an investigation into murder," according to the document.