Los Angeles police are working two grisly and seemingly unrelated cases this week after decomposing remains of two women were discovered in separate vehicles at different impound lots. Both are now being investigated as homicides.
The first discovery came Monday at Hollywood Tow on Mansfield Avenue, where workers reported a foul odor coming from a Tesla with Texas plates. Inside the front trunk, investigators found a bag containing a woman’s remains—initially described as a “head and torso,” but later confirmed to be more complete. The vehicle, which had been abandoned in the Hollywood Hills’ Bird Streets neighborhood for five days before being towed, is registered to 20-year-old musician David Anthony Burke, better known as D4vd.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner released details Tuesday describing the victim as a 5-foot-2 woman weighing 71 pounds, wearing a tube top and black leggings, with wavy black hair, a stud earring, and a bracelet. A tattoo on her right index finger read “Shhh…” Officials said the body was severely decomposed and may have been in the car for an extended period.
Police sources told the Los Angeles Times that the “Romantic Homicide” singer has been cooperating with authorities and is not considered a suspect. Representatives for D4vd echoed that sentiment in statements to outlets, saying he has been informed of the situation and is assisting investigators while continuing his tour.
Even so, fallout came swiftly. On Tuesday, Crocs and Hollister announced they had pulled promotional campaigns featuring the singer, saying they were aware of “the developing story” and would wait for the investigation’s outcome.
Just a day after the Tesla discovery, authorities announced a second body was found in another tow yard across the city. This time it was a Honda Civic, towed after a car fire on August 25 in South Los Angeles. Firefighters had extinguished the blaze, but investigators now say the woman’s partially burned body was left undiscovered inside the trunk until the car reached the impound.
The second victim has not yet been publicly identified, but police confirmed that the Civic is connected to a missing person case. Law enforcement sources told NBC Los Angeles the remains were discovered only after family members asked to look at the car, prompting investigators to return to the scene.
At present, police say there is no evidence linking the Hollywood Hills case to the South Los Angeles case. But the timing—two women’s bodies surfacing in separate cars within days of each other, one tied to a rising music star’s vehicle—has raised eyebrows even among veteran investigators.
For now, both cases remain open homicide investigations, with detectives from LAPD and the coroner’s office working side by side to identify the victims and retrace their final days. As the details emerge, Los Angeles finds itself at the intersection of celebrity, violence, and tragedy—two mysteries playing out in tandem under the same uneasy spotlight.
