LOS ANGELES — Singer D4vd has been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the death of a 14-year-old girl whose decomposed body was found in the trunk of his Tesla last September, Los Angeles police said Thursday.
David Anthony Burke, 21, who performs as D4vd, was taken into custody shortly after 4:30 p.m. in Hollywood and is being held without bail, according to LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division Capt. Scot Williams. The case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office on Monday for a determination on whether to file formal charges.
The singer’s attorneys issued a statement Thursday asserting his innocence. “Let us be clear — the actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death,” lawyers Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter said in a joint statement. “There has been no indictment returned by any grand jury in this case and no criminal complaint filed. David has only been detained under suspicion,” the attorneys added.
Celeste Rivas Hernandez was reported missing in 2024 from Lake Elsinore, about 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Her body was discovered on Sept. 8, 2025, one day after what would have been her 15th birthday, at a Hollywood tow yard after employees noticed a foul odor emanating from a Tesla that had been impounded from an upscale Hollywood Hills neighborhood. The vehicle was registered to Burke.
According to court documents, investigators found a black cadaver bag in the car’s front trunk “covered with insects and a strong odor of decay”. Upon opening the bag, detectives observed a decomposed head and torso; the arms and legs had been severed from the body. A second bag containing additional dismembered body parts was found underneath. The medical examiner has not publicly released a cause of death.
Burke had been the target of a Los Angeles County criminal grand jury investigation into the girl’s death since November, according to law enforcement sources. The LAPD’s decision to arrest Burke ahead of a grand jury indictment prompted reports of tension between police and prosecutors.
The Houston-born singer gained popularity on TikTok in 2022 with his hit “Romantic Homicide,” which peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. He had been scheduled to tour in support of his debut album “Withered” before canceling dates following the discovery of the body.
