Bail denied to teen accused of causing crash that killed pregnant woman and unborn child
In short:
Aaron Papazoglu has been denied bail after police argued he ran through an orange light at “excessive speed” before causing another car to hit a 33-year-old pregnant woman, who was taken to hospital but could not be saved.
The 19-year-old’s lawyer argued it was a “tragic outcome” and there was no racing involved or alcohol in his system at the time of the crash.
What’s next?
He will next appear in Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday.
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A teenager accused of killing a pregnant woman and her unborn child in a crash in Sydney’s north on Friday night has been denied bail by a magistrate.
The victim — a 33-year-old woman — was treated at the scene on George Street at Hornsby, where paramedics were called about 8pm on Friday, before being taken to Westmead Hospital in a critical and unstable condition.
Neither she nor her unborn baby could be saved.
Aaron Papazoglu, 19, appeared in court via video link to face charges of dangerous driving occasioning death — drive manner dangerous, negligent driving (occasioning death) and cause loss of fetus — death of pregnant woman.
Police have argued he ran through an orange light at “excessive speed” before causing another car to hit the victim.
Sergeant Candice Chapman said bail should be denied considering “the nature and seriousness of the matter” and that “custodial sentence is a likely outcome” if convicted in the case.
Sergeant Chapman told the court that if the accused were granted bail, police would be concerned about his “likely failure to appear” and the risk of “endangering the safety of the community”.
She also alleged Mr Papazoglu was speeding and intentionally ran a yellow light, saying that “this is a matter that wasn’t a momentary lapse in judgment”.
Sergeant Chapman told the court the accused chose to proceed through an “orange light at excessive speed in a manner that is dangerous”.
Magistrate Ray Plibersek said there was no evidence for the speeding and that the police were asking the court to make an “inference”.
Mr Papazoglu’s lawyer Patrick Schmidt argued the Macquarie University student was a young man of good standing, with no criminal record and strong ties to the community.
“There was no alcohol or drugs involved, no street racing, no police pursuit,” he said.
He also countered the prosecution’s claims about Mr Papazoglu’s alleged negligence, saying “it wasn’t a prolonged intentional act”.
“This is by all terms of the word a tragic outcome to a series of unfortunate events that led to this sequence,” Mr Schmidt said.
Mr Papazoglu’s lawyer also provided statements from his mother, aunt and uncle, who all spoke of his good character.
In Parramatta Bail Court, Magistrate Plibersek said that after considering all submissions from the defence and prosecution, Mr Papazoglu’s bail should be denied due to the seriousness of the matter.
Magistrate Plibersek said there had been a “terrible outcome for two families, not just the deceased mother”.
“My heart goes out to the family and the community for their loss,” he said.
“It’s a very serious allegation.
“I’ll be refusing bail and he’ll be remanded in custody.”
When asked by the magistrate if he had any questions, Mr Papazoglu answered, “I just really want to see my family”.
His next court appearance will be at Downing Centre Local Court on November 18.
Who was Celeste Rivas, the missing teen found dead in singer d4vd’s Tesla?
The LAPD identified the body of a girl in the car of Romantic Homicide singer d4vd. She went missing in 2024, aged 13.
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A decomposing body found in the boot of American singer d4vd’s impounded Tesla by police on September 8 was identified by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) as missing California teenager Celeste Rivas on Wednesday.
It is unclear how or when she died, and the case has taken the internet by storm in the United States ever since.
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Here is what we know so far:
Who is d4vd?
David Anthony Burke, professionally known as “d4vd”, is a popular, 20-year-old American singer and songwriter. He was born in Queens, New York.
D4vd began releasing his music on audio platform Soundcloud and posting his songs to his YouTube channel in 2021.
The first music video he posted was a song titled Romantic Homicide in September 2022. As of Thursday, the video has had 179 million views on YouTube.
The audio of this song was released in July 2022. A snippet of the song went viral on social media platform TikTok: “In the back of my mind. You died. And I didn’t even cry. No, not a single tear.”
D4vd also shot to TikTok fame with another song titled Here With Me, the video for which he released on YouTube in November 2022. As of Thursday, this video had 244 million views. The lyric from that song, which went viral, was: “I don’t care how long it takes, as long as I’m with you, I’ve got a smile on my face.”
The singer is currently on tour, performing in cities across the US, United Kingdom and Europe. He performed in Minneapolis on Tuesday.
What do we know about the person found in d4vd’s car?
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) found female human remains in a Tesla registered to d4vd on September 8. The Los Angeles Times reported that the body was found at 12:20pm (19:20 GMT).
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The car had been taken to a Hollywood tow yard, having been abandoned locally for five days. Authorities have not revealed who towed the car, or where it had been abandoned.
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Police were called to check the car at the yard following reports of a foul odour coming from it, the BBC reported, citing LAPD officials.
LAPD Officer Charles Miller said that the car was likely to have been towed away “a couple of days” before the remains were discovered by police, the BBC reported.
According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office, authorities could not initially identify the age and ethnicity of the person whose remains were found in the boot of the car.
However, they did report that the deceased person was 5 feet 2 inches (157cm), and weighed about 31kg (70lbs). She was wearing a tube top and size small black leggings. They added that she had wavy black hair and was wearing a yellow metal stud earring and chain bracelet. The body was reported to have a tattoo on the index finger with the text “Shhh”.
On Wednesday, the LAPD said it had identified the body as that of Celeste Rivas, who disappeared last year when she was 13 years old. Rivas, who was from Lake Elsinore in California – around 113km (70 miles) from Los Angeles – and would now be aged 15, was last seen on April 5, 2024, according to a missing person flyer seen by CBS news.
The Medical Examiner’s office told Al Jazeera that Rivas was positively identified by dental radiograph comparison, using dental X-rays.
The cause and time of her death have not yet been determined.
What happens now?
D4vd is cooperating with the investigation, according to police. It is unclear whether he has been formally arrested.
“At this time, the LAPD does not have a crime classification from the coroner as to the mode or manner of death. Thus, we do not have any suspect information at this time,” the LAPD said in a statement to NBC News, the outlet reported on Wednesday.
The singer cancelled the tour’s show scheduled to be held in Seattle on Wednesday.
Dismembered teen girl, 15, met D4vd on social media, alleged former teacher says
by: Josh DuBose
A former teacher at Lakeland Village School in Lake Elsinore, who claims Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose dismembered remains were found in the Trunk of a Tesla registered to an R&B artist earlier this month, met the popular musician on social media, TMZ reported.
According to the science teacher, who spoke with the outlet, Rivas had run away in early 2024, a detail earlier confirmed by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
In that instance, the teacher said she made her way to Hollywood after meeting David Anthony Burke, a performer with millions of fans and followers who performs under the name D4vd, who she met on social media.
Police were able to track her down that time and return the then 13-year-old girl back to her mother in Lake Elsinore, the teacher claimed.
In video obtained by TMZ, the teacher, now at a different Southern California school, can be seen and heard sharing many of these details with his current students, even showing them a picture of himself and Rivas in front of a poster that he still has in his classroom and saying she’d “been missing since I taught her.”
Rivas was again reported missing in April 2024 and that was the last he’d heard of her until Wednesday, when the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner identified the 15-year-old’s remains.
On Sept. 8, the teen’s remains, described by authorities as a “head and torso,” were found inside a bag in the trunk of a Tesla impounded at Hollywood Tow. The vehicle had been at the tow yard for about five days after it was reported abandoned in the Hollywood Hills.
Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department responded to the lot at around 12:30 p.m. only after an employee reported a foul stench coming from the vehicle, which had been parked on the roof of the yard’s parking structure.
The medical examiner’s report noted that the teen’s body was severely decomposed and, at the time, only described the remains as approximately 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighing around 71 pounds with dark wavy hair.
The 15-year-old was wearing a tube top and had a distinctive tattoo on her right index finger with the letters “Shhh.”
LAPD said the car, which had Texas plates, was registered to D4vd, who is currently on tour.
- Celeste Hernandez Rivas, 15, was found dismembered in the trunk of a Tesla at an L.A. tow yard on Sept. 8, 2025. (RCSD)
- A missing posted released by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department after Celeste Rivas Hernandez, then 13, went missing in April 2024. (RCSD)
- Musical artist Dv4d seen in this Instagram photo was the registered owner of the Tesla that the remains of a missing girl, 15, from Lake Elsinore were found on Sept. 8, 2025. (IG @D4VDDD)
- Musical artist Dv4d seen in this Instagram photo was the registered owner of the Tesla that the remains of a missing girl, 15, from Lake Elsinore were found on Sept. 8, 2025. (IG @D4VDDD)
- Human remains were discovered in the trunk of a Tesla after workers at a Hollywood tow yard reported a foul stench coming from the car on Sept. 8, 2025. (KTLA)
- Human remains were discovered in the trunk of a Tesla after workers at a Hollywood tow yard reported a foul stench coming from the car on Sept. 8, 2025. (KTLA)
- Human remains were discovered in the trunk of a Tesla after workers at a Hollywood tow yard reported a foul stench coming from the car on Sept. 8, 2025. (KTLA)
- Human remains were discovered in the trunk of a Tesla after workers at a Hollywood tow yard reported a foul stench coming from the car on Sept. 8, 2025. (KTLA)
- Human remains were discovered in the trunk of a Tesla after workers at a Hollywood tow yard reported a foul stench coming from the car on Sept. 8, 2025. (KTLA)
While homicide detectives have been tight-lipped about the investigation, many observers have pointed to other alleged ties between D4vd and Rivas beyond just the Tesla’s registration.
Along with a song entitled “Romantic Homicide,” TMZ reported that in a leaked song, the artist is heard singing about a person named Celeste, with lyrics that include, “Oh Celeste / The girl with my name tattooed on her chest / I hear her voice each time I take a breath / I’m obsessed.”
Leaked in December 2023, the track was reportedly titled “Celeste_Demo unfin.” D4vd’s album release suspended in wake of investigation into dismembered girl
According to Rivas’ mother, who spoke with TMZ, the 15-year-old had a boyfriend named David before she went missing, with the outlet adding that a photo of the musician surfaced online Wednesday showing him with a girl in Lake Elsinore, not far from the home the teen shared with her family.
D4vd also reportedly has a tattoo on his right index finger with the words “Shhh,” similar to the one Rivas has.
Initial reports suggested the musician was cooperating with investigators, but on Thursday, a spokesperson for LAPD told KTLA, “We do not have that information.”
Police did say, however, that a search warrant was executed Wednesday in the 13000 block of Doheny Place, the Hollywood Hills home where D4vd had been living, according to TMZ’s reporting.
“Several items of evidence were recovered and will be analyzed by detectives in the coming days. This is an ongoing investigation,” the LAPD spokesperson said. “Investigators are following up on several leads.”
So far, no arrests have been made and it’s unclear if D4vd has spoken with detectives.
As for the artist himself, he has not spoken publicly or on social media about the investigation or his alleged ties to Rivas. He cancelled his concert in Seattle last night and is scheduled to play at The Greek in L.A. on Saturday, though it’s unclear if the concert will continue as planned.
Rivas’ alleged former teacher told TMZ that the teen was often absent from school and that he knew nothing of her home life. In relating to his new students what he knew of Rivas and the case, he told the outlet it was a “cautionary tale” about how dangerous social media can be.
Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division at 213-486-6890. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-222-8477.
