Malden Trifunovic tells Los Angeles, “We’ve hired a PI because our home was placed at the center of a serious investigation..”
Malden Trifunovic, the owner of the Hollywood Hills mansion raided by the LAPD in connection with the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, has hired a private investigator to dig into the unanswered questions surrounding the case. The LAPD’s lack of updates weeks after the discovery of the remains has frustrated many. Rivas Hernandez’s decomposed body was found on September 8, 2025, in the front trunk of an impounded Tesla registered to TikTok star D4vd, real name David Anthony Burke, more than a year after she went missing from her Lake Elsinore home for the first time in February 2024 at age 13. On September 17, LAPD homicide detectives searched the $4.1 million property where D4vd had been living since February, rented by his manager Josh Marshall for $20,000 monthly. During the raid, the LAPD collected “several items of evidence” for analysis but offering no further details. Since then, the department has remained largely silent, with no arrests, named suspects, or determined cause of death disclosed. Trifunovic previously told Los Angeles that he had no idea that the singer D4vd was living in the home until after Rivas Hernandez’ body was found, and someone showed him a news article. He also expressed to us that nothing seemed “off” in or around the home, however he is still concerned that his home is at the center of a death investigation.
NEW🚨from @LAmag: Homeowner Saw Zero Suspicion in D4vd’s Domain – As Autopsy Results Loom on Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s Mysterious and Tragic End…
The Hollywood Hills homeowner, Malden Trifunovic, said nothing seemed “off” in or around the Hollywood home occupied by D4vd..
Full… pic.twitter.com/joZ5FndYkb
— Lauren Conlin (@conlin_lauren) October 7, 2025
Trifunovic tells Los Angeles, “We’ve hired a PI because our home was placed at the center of a serious investigation when it shouldn’t have been, and we want clear answers for our family.”
Los Angles asked the homeowner if the PI was given any tangible evidence that was left at the house, besides potential surveillance footage. Trifunovic answered, “The only thing I can add is that our PI is conducting his own independent investigation. I can’t speak to specific evidence or findings at this stage, and I want to respect both the LAPD’s process and the memory of the victim.”
Los Angles recently spoke to PI Steve Fischer, who confirmed that he was doing some hired work on the case, but would not disclose who he was working for.
D4vd’s current location remains unclear, and his high-profile attorney has yet to comment.