Plastic-Wrapped Human Remains Found in Popular Singer's Tesla

A decomposed, currently unidentifiable. dead body has been found in a car out in. LA. And who was this car registered to? A famous singer. We are bringing on. Detective Eric Barnes to analyze what. may come from this investigation and. what we should be looking out for. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and. Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. [Music]. Okay. Have you heard of David? Spells it. D4V. the 20-year-old singer with singles.

like Runa Away, Life's a Dream, Here. With Me, Feel It, Romantic Homicide. You. go on his YouTube channel, he's got over. two million subscribers. He has over. three and a half million followers on. Tik Tok, 2 million on Instagram, billions and billions of streams on. Spotify. Currently on his Wii world. tour, well, apparently a decomposed body. was just found in a Tesla registered in. his name out in LA. Yeah, found in an. impound lot to be more specific. This. happened out on Monday. Yeah, not the. headline I imagine for this week either, but according to a police statement,

authorities were called to this towy. yard. It's called Hollywood Tow, and. they were called by workers at the lot. due to what they said was a foul odor. coming from a vehicle. So, LAPD. responded shortly before 12:30 p.m. They. opened the front trunk and they find. this body wrapped up in a bag. According. to NBC, law enforcement indicated that. these human remains were not intact and. that there has been no positive ID as of. yet. That decomposition with this victim.

is a major issue here. In fact, KTLA had. previously reported that the LA County. Medical Examiner's Office arrived at the. scene and couldn't even determine the. gender of this person. However, there. has been an update. According to TMZ, just last night, the office listed the. victim's gender as female, a height of. about 5'1 and 71 lbs. This person has. wavy black hair, and she apparently has. a tattoo on her right index finger that.

reads, "Sh." Apparently, she had been. wearing a tube top, black leggings, had. a metal stud earring, and a metal chain. bracelet in the shape of a W. According. to TMZ though, to be more specific here, there is no definitive conclusion as to. age, gender, or cause of death. But. authorities are treating this as a death. investigation. A spokesperson for the. singer, whose real name, by the way, is. David Anthony Burke, said in a statement. to NBC News that he quote has been.

informed about what's happened, and. although he is still out on tour, he is. fully cooperating with the authorities. Now, we're going to talk about potential. legal consequences here, but I have to. say the singer may already be feeling. the economic consequences. Maybe, maybe. not. I mean, there's been reporting that. his show last night, we'll talk about. it, was like packed. There were tons of. people out in Minneapolis, but TMZ has. reported that the clothing brand. Hollister, they're no longer featuring. him on their website where he had been. modeling different items for them. So,

no, he apparent no, apparently he had. been removed in the wake of this news. So, I want to bring on right now. Detective Eric Barnes to try to figure. out what is going on. Detective, thanks. so much for coming on. So, first of all, nothing to indicate that David has been. brought in or right that he had to. cancel his tour. Does that tell you that. investigators at this point don't think. he's actually involved in the in. connection with this dead body? You. know, Jesse, anytime there is a death.

investigation, homicide detectives are. are going to treat it as if it's a. murder. That way, um you're able to. scale down a lot of times and and you. just treat all your evidence as if. there's foul play. Um and I think on. this particular case, one of the things. that is is intriguing is the fact that. there's very little known information. So, uh, as a detective, you have to make. sure that you get all your ducks in a. row before you start, you know, uh, making moves and strategizing,

>> but he, I mean, they didn't call him in, right? He's on tour. He's on tour and. he's just performed, uh, I think at the. Fillmore last night in Minneapolis. Uh, he was in Chicago over the weekend. He. has a stop in Kansas City today. Actually, by the way, his last US date. is scheduled for LA on September 20th. Any plans to go to Europe, UK, Ireland. for more dates? Are they going to let. him go? Um, are they just waiting for. him to come back to LA? If it was urgent. enough,

would I mean, wouldn't there be some. sort of action? >> I think that the kind of at this point. in the investigation, the priority is. definitely going to be with identifying. uh the deedent. Once you get a positive. ID on that individual, then you can kind. of work up into what may have happened. to to her. Um, I think it, you know, you. kind of overall you keep an eye on uh. definitely who the registered owner of. the vehicle is. Uh, you know who uh you. know who he is. You know, he's out on. tour. And I think the first thing that. you check out probably they've been in.

contact with him and his team over the. phone just to figure out, you know, what. his schedule has been like the last few. days and and definitely who was in. possession of his vehicle. Now, we're. definitely going to want to stay on top. of this story. So, let me real quick. thank our sponsor, Morgan and Morgan, for helping make this happen. This is. America's largest injury law firm. This. is a firm with over a thousand. attorneys. You know why they're so big? Because they win a lot. They have. recovered over $25 billion for more than. 500,000 clients. Think about that. In. the past few months, a client in Florida. received $12 million after the insurance.

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forthepeople.comlcside. by clicking the link below or scanning. the QR code on screen. So, this 2023 Tesla has Texas license. plates. It's registered to him. It was. impounded after someone reportedly said. it was abandoned in the Hollywood Hills. Rolling Stone reporting that this was in. the high-end Bird Streets area. And in. fact, LAPD Captain Robert Peters said, "We were notified this morning and the. car has been here for a couple of days.".

So, reporting indicates, by the way, it. could be up to five days. If that is. true, what does that tell you? I mean, how can someone dispose of a body in. this area, wait for the car to be. impounded? I mean, that presents its own. series of questions, right? Did they. mean for it to be impounded? Was it in. like I'm made of questions, but the idea. of the body being found in this car that. was located in this, you know, substantial neighborhood in LA, so. strange.

>> Yeah, it it definitely is. And you know. immediately you have uh you have to. analyze what happened in that vehicle. You you you start doing a bunch of uh. physical test to try to collect any kind. of DNA evidence that may be left around. just to see if there was any signs of. foul play, but also you have to have in. the back of your mind that uh that the. car may just be a secondary location. that there may have been a incident. leading to the vehicle. And obviously. with a vehicle being mobile, you you.

have a hard time tracking down where. this incident initiated at. >> How do they process the car? What are. they looking for? Fingerprints, DNA, sequence of events. What do they do? >> That that car right now is the most. important piece of evidence that they. have. Um you are going to take your time. with before you do anything else. You're. going to basically uh shut everything. down to a screeching hole and move at. like a turtle's pace looking for uh. fingerprints, any blood. Also, uh any. any type of of DNA that may be left,

whether it's hair, follicles, maybe. fingernails, that kind of thing. Just. anything that may give you any idea that. there was a struggle that took place or. if someone uh inadvertently left. something behind. >> Are they able Are they going through. surveillance footage right now to see. where the car was? I mean, how do they. track the movements of the car? Can they. >> I haven't had the the opportunity uh or. the to work a case involving a Tesla, but from what I know about Teslas, Teslas are probably the most uh friendly.

uh vehicles for investigators to work. with. They store so much data. A car is. just as much a computer as it is a. vehicle. So, there's going to be tons of. information stored on the the memory. board of that car. And also, there's. cameras also connected to Teslas that. have helped other homicide detectives. around the country solve cases. So that. is going to be very interesting to see. what they're able to get from that. vehicle. But in terms of a traditional. canvas, typically at this point in. investigation, detectives are going. basically doortodoor, blockto block,

looking for any uh Ring doorbell camera. or businesses that may have video. footage to see what was going on with. this car in the days leading up to uh. the body being discovered. >> And I'll talk more about the body in a. minute. I just want to focus on this car. for a second. So why why theoretically. abandon the car and not get rid of it? Why leave it there to be potentially. towed? Is it timing issue? Was there a. conflict? Maybe it's hard to do. I I. think about what would it take for. somebody to deposit a body in a trunk of.

a car? Uh who would have the means and. the opportunity to do that? But then I. also think why leave it there for it to. potentially be impounded and be. processed. >> with the information that's just known. uh which is very bare bones at this. point. Uh the the seating that they. found inside this vehicle appear to be a. very small individual. 70 lbs is not. very not very heavy. It also you're. looking at possibly one person that. could be capable of of moving uh the.

body and placing it inside the trunk. And also you have the aspect of the. plastic bag. You know, if you see. someone carrying a trash bag out the. middle of the night, it's not really. going to raise any any eyebrows. And I. think that uh you know, one of those. things that when thing crimes often. happen uh out of spur of the moment and. so you don't have time to plan things. out from a criminal aspect, when it hits. the fan, it hits the fan. And you're. kind of forced at that moment to come up. with the best strategy possible. And. sometime that best strategy possible.

leaves you with a moment of I don't know. what to do at this point. And I think. that's what happened with this vehicle. There's uh while I figure out what I. need to do with it, the best course of. action could be just to leave it in the. trunk of this car. >> Yeah. And we're still trying to piece. together what's going on here. Um by the. way, I mean, you got to call out those. workers who smelled something. And by. the way, I I hate to ask this, but I. think it's important. Is that smell. distinct? The smell of a dead body. >> Yes, it is. Once you've smelled it one.

time, you know exactly what it is the. next time you smell it. >> And I'm not saying they even knew that, but they smelled something and thought. enough that there's a problem here. Um, let's go talk about this victim. Um, oh, by the way, going back to the idea. before we get to the idea of the victim, if the car, this state of decomposition, this in this car for five days, that. gives a timeline, too, right? I mean, that can. that can tell something about the. sequence of events.

>> Yes, there's a lot of factors that that. play into uh decomposition. You know, the weather, uh the level of humidity, obviously the fact that uh you know, the. time of the year that it is, you know, the weather can actually speed up uh. decomposition. And so, um although there. are some times where it can help you, there's a lot of different factors can. that can weigh into that analysis. And. just to be clear, when you're hearing. reporting that the body was not intact, does that mean it was mutilated? Does.

that mean it was severed in some way, chopped up? >> It gives the it gives the indication. that that there was that it's been. tampered with in one way or another. Um, you know, I I when I heard that, the. first thing I thought was uh they didn't. necessarily just go to that it had been. mutilated. But also, I've seen uh I've. been on crime scenes where advanced. levels of decomposition can also lead to. uh the body coming apart. So, that's. also a theory that could come into play.

Let's talk about the ID of this victim. I mentioned it before. To me, the tattoo. and the jewelry are very, very. important. What do investigators do with. that to try to figure out who this. person is? I mean, do they obviously. it's being reported, so perhaps somebody. who knows somebody that has that kind of. tattoo and coupled with that jewelry. will come forward, but beyond that, what. do investigators do? >> Definitely, at this point in time, the.

media is going to be your best friend. with getting your victim identified. I. think the tattoo is very distinct. So, if there's uh people that are aware of. someone that has a tattoo um like that, it's going to stand out and hopefully. they get in contact with with the LAP. Police Department. Um also, I think that. from a detective standpoint, while. you're waiting on media to potentially. made a connection, you're just scanning. through your databases looking for uh. any police reports uh or anything that. may document someone with that kind of.

that kind of tattoo. I mean, and you don't even know if that. person got the tattoo in LA, but do you. do you go to tattoo par tattoo tattoo. parlors and say, "Have you ever done a. tattoo like this?" Um, also the jewelry, I don't know where it was purchased. I. mean, is that anything that they go to. the uh the suppliers and try to see. where any of that where this person. might have purchased it. It might seems. like a daunting impossible task because. you just don't know. >> right at this point. You don't you don't. take anything off the table. I think.

that that is the priority for these. investigators is to get this this young. lady identified or this uh to be able to. determine, you know, who she is. And. once you can figure out who she is, then. you can kind of figure out where she was. at and who was she was supposed to be. around. And I think that's going to open. up a bunch more answers and. possibilities for your investigators. >> Does fingerprints or DNA play a role in. identifying a decomposed victim? >> They do. Um at this point in in the. investigation, I think just depending on.

the level of of. um. de decomposition, you have to uh you. have to be very mindful that you know. fingerprints, they can also go away. So. they also weigh very heavily if there's. a high level decomposition and they'll. focus on dental records. Hopefully, there'll be something that they can. reach into that if the f the hands are. decomposed that the dental uh should be. intact and hopefully that'll help them. lead them in the right direction.

>> Doesn't it also tell you something if. this reporting is true that wearing. these clothes, wearing this jewelry, having this identifier on the finger. that and I hate to say this, but a a a. professional killer would not have left. those identifying marks. um let alone. probably let alone leave a dead body in. a car to be found. But doesn't that tell. you something about who may have done. this? >> As you as you stated, I I think there.

are just a lot of things that um if. someone had the time to think through. circumstances and and plan it out a. little better. if that was the case with this um that. they wouldn't make these mistakes. You. know, leaving a car abandoned on the. street, especially in an area that is. heavily populated, uh has towway zones, you're going to that car is going to be. discovered at a certain amount of time. And also, um with people that may be. walking dogs and going out exercising, you know, the smell is going to give.

away the fact that there's a body hidden. inside this vehicle. So, I think it was. there's a lot of uh rush and judgment in. making decisions on this situation. >> And not to play conspiracy theory, but. there's always a possibility here, right, that perhaps that person who did. this, right, wanted the body to be. found. If if David has nothing to do. with this, there is always a possibility. that the body was placed in his car. He. didn't know who was driving it, you. know, someone had access to the car. I.

wonder if those are questions that he's. cooperating with law enforcement, right? who had access to the car? Do you know. anybody who drove it? Um, and whether or. not there is a situation where they. wanted to throw suspicion on him. Don't. not playing conspiracy theory, but. again, I'm tell I'm trying to balance. all this. You know, they're he's. cooperating. He's still on tour. They. may not believe he's involved. Makes it. seem like somebody else potentially was. trying to frame him or cast suspicion. Am I thinking about this the right way? >> Uh, 100%. Like I I think it this what. makes a successful investigation and a.

successful investigator is that you. don't take anything off the table until. you're able to rule it out. So they have. their hands full definitely with looking. at every single possibility in this. case. I think also if I'm David or I'm. his spokesperson, I'm going to want to. give the police as much cooperation as. possible because the last thing I want. to do is for him to uh take a hit in in. the the social realm and start to lose. fans because of uh any kind of suspicion. that's unwarranted. By the way, from a.

legal point of view, I've seen cases. before where bodies are found and and if. they're in such a state of decomposition. or the body is severed in such a way, it. can be difficult to determine cause of. death or manner of death. And you might. have a situation where somebody is. charged with tampering with evidence or. um disposing of a body, but they might. ne not necessarily be charged with. murder. There could be other. circumstances that would support it, but. if you don't have those answers from the. body itself, you could have somebody who.

overdosed. You could have somebody who. slipped and fell. You could have. somebody a number of different scenarios. and then someone panics and then does. something to the body. I mean, you just. don't know. Self-defense. I I So, if the. body is so decomposed, that could be a. problem for potential prosecution, right? >> Yes. I think that uh that it definitely. uh presents some challenges um because. you don't have the the ready available. testing that is normally done when you. have a uh a fresh scene or a fresh.

victim. I also think that what you. brought up was very interesting in terms. of overdose. I've worked several. overdose scenes where um everybody's. partying at night um people go to bed. kind of crash and when they wake up. someone is uh has passed away and so it. the last thing they want to do is call. the police and say hey we've you know. been using drugs so you have a cleanup. process that takes place and so that. that as well I think could be a very uh.

viable uh situation here just depending. on what information comes Yeah. >> Yeah. And I'm I'm being clear. I'm. speculating. I don't know. I'm just. trying to work through different. scenarios here as we try to make sense. of this uh in real time. Do you think. they're looking into David. investigators? Are they following him? Um obviously if they want to track. communications, I imagine they would. need a warrant, but do you think they're. keeping a very careful eye on him and he. doesn't know it? I think at this point I think obviously. the fact that this happened uh that that.

a. a body was found inside his vehicle. I. don't think that there's any secret at. this point to him that the police are. investigating him at some level. And I. think that um I think the way that he. can kind of show his lack of involvement. is just being fully cooperative with law. enforcement, which it it appears that. there is some level of cooperation. But. I think there's at this point the. primary focus of those investigators is. just identifying the victim. You kind of.

have to work off of the facts of where. your victim was at, what they were. doing, and who were the last people that. were with her. And I think that kind of. will keep you from going down so many. rabbit trails. >> So really, really uh distressing case um. and it's evolving very rapidly. So. hopefully they make an ID. Hopefully we. get some answers and we will keep a. careful eye on it. Uh Detective Eric. Barnes, thank you so much for taking the. It was good to see you. >> Thanks, Jason. >> All right, everybody. That is all we. have for you right now here on Sidebar. Thank you so much for joining us and as. always, please subscribe on YouTube,

Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you. should get your podcast. I'm Jesse. Weber. You can follow me on Instagram or. X. I'll catch you next time. [Music].