Employees of Los Angeles Coroner's Office Investigated for Leaks in D4vd Case
· Telemundo McAllen (KTLM)
More than a dozen employees from the Los Angeles County Coroner's Department, including investigators and administrative staff, have been summoned to testify about whether they accessed police investigation files without specific authorization. This follows reports detailing the graphic death of Celeste Rivas Hernández, the teenager allegedly murdered by pop singer D4vd, before the autopsy report was officially released. The Rivas case may have prompted an investigation by the Los Angeles County Human Resources Department, which has recently begun notifying employees to appear for recorded interviews, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to NBC4 Investigates. The Coroner's Department, commonly referred to as the coroner's office, stated on Monday that it does not comment on ongoing investigations. The discovery of Rivas's remains last September inside an abandoned Tesla sedan registered to D4vd garnered significant public attention, leading detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department's (LAPD) Robbery-Homicide Division to request that coroner records be kept confidential until the investigation concluded. The coroner initially denied the LAPD's request, citing a 'lack of jurisdiction' to keep the case information secret until the LAPD obtained a court order in November to restrict access to the file. The union representing coroner investigators, the Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association (PPOA), stated it could not comment on ongoing personnel investigations but confirmed that some employees had received county notifications regarding the inquiry. 'We expect the county to conduct any investigation in a professional, fair, and unbiased manner,' the PPOA wrote in an email on Monday. 'We urge everyone to allow the process to run its course before drawing conclusions.' SEIU 721, the union representing other administrative employees of the Coroner's Department, also indicated it could not comment on the nature of the investigation. 'However, we can unequivocally state that our union is firmly committed to protecting the privacy of all victims. Patient privacy is a matter we take very seriously, especially since many of our members work in healthcare and have direct or indirect contact with patients,' the union noted in a statement. D4vd, whose legal name is David A. Burke, was arrested in April on suspicion of murdering Rivas, allegedly in April 2025, at the home he rented in Hollywood Hills, according to court documents. He was charged with murder with aggravating circumstances of stalking, murder for financial gain, and murder of a witness. The prosecution also claims he personally used a knife to commit the homicide. Burke has pleaded not guilty, and his attorneys stated earlier this year that they will vigorously defend his innocence. The Los Angeles County Human Resources Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, an official indicated that county personnel investigations are typically kept confidential until they are concluded.
AI summary · Source: Telemundo McAllen (KTLM) →
