Recent developments in the case of Celeste Rivas’s untimely demise have emerged, complicating the authorities’ pursuit of the truth behind her death.

According to TMZ, investigators discovered that Rivas’s remains were “partially frozen” prior to being hidden in the trunk of a Tesla belonging to D4vd.

The complexity presented by the frozen and subsequently thawed condition of her dismembered body poses a significant challenge for the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, who struggles to determine an official cause of death.

Though the case is being investigated as a homicide, the medical examiner anticipates that the cause of death may ultimately be classified as “undetermined.”

Authorities are also probing a nighttime trip taken by Burke to a secluded location in Santa Barbara County earlier this year. This journey is speculated to involve the temporary storage of Rivas’s body on ice, as reported by TMZ.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, Rivas’s “severely decomposed” body was found in the front trunk of a Tesla registered to Burke, on September 8, a day after her 15th birthday.

Police found the vehicle at a tow yard near Burke’s Hollywood Hills rental home, where it had been taken after the vehicle had been abandoned on the street.

The vehicle had been at the lot for several days before police made the discovery. Police said the girl’s dismembered body had been put in a bag and left in the front trunk.

It is also believed there is a second person of interest in Rivas’s death, dismemberment, and disposal.

Check back for updates.

[Feature Photo: Celeste Rivas/GoFundMe and D4vd/Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP]