Months after a teen’s body was found in the trunk of a car registered to singer D4vd, prosecutors are weighing whether to bring criminal charges against him.
The 21-year-old, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, was arrested Thursday in the Hollywood Hills on suspicion of killing 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, authorities said.
The arrest comes seven months after Celeste’s remains were discovered September 8 in the front trunk of a Tesla impounded at a Los Angeles tow yard. The car was linked to D4vd.
Until his arrest, investigators had not publicly named D4vd as a suspect. But court filings identified him as a “target” in a grand jury probe of who may have been “involved” in the teen’s death. His lawyers maintain their client’s innocence.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman and LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell are set to hold a press conference Monday where they are expected to announce charges. Celeste’s family will speak through their attorney.
D4vd, pronounced “David,” gained popularity among Gen-Z fans for his blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. He went viral on TikTok in 2022 with the hit “Romantic Homicide,” which peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.
D4vd arrested 7 months after teen’s body found
D4vd was taken into custody after officers breached a Hollywood Hills home using a ramming device, according to police.
The home is just over a mile from the tow yard where the teen’s body was found in his car.
Defense attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter stressed that D4vd has only been detained under suspicion, no indictment had been returned and no criminal complaint has been filed.
“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,” the defense lawyers said.
“We will vigorously defend David’s innocence.”
Celeste’s links to d4vd
Authorities have tied the teen to d4vd months before her disappearance.
In January 2024, Celeste appeared alongside him in a Twitch livestream, where they joked together into the early morning hours before he said, “Delete everything.”
Photos later surfaced showing d4vd near Celeste’s neighborhood in a black Tesla. Those images were posted to TikTok and later verified.
Around the same time, a concerned individual emailed an address associated with the singer, referencing rumors about Celeste’s disappearance and urging: “please do the right thing and take her home. Her parents are very worried.” The sender later confirmed the message’s authenticity, according to CNN.
Celeste returned home shortly after that email, but was reported missing again in March, and then for a final time in April, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.
Who is d4vd?
D4vd, pronounced “David,” whose real name is David Anthony Burke, rose to fame in 2022 with the viral TikTok hit “Romantic Homicide,” gaining a large Gen Z following for his blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop.
He later signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records, releasing the EPs “Petals to Thorns” and “The Lost Petals” before debuting his full-length album, “Withered.”
When the teen’s body was discovered in his Tesla in September, D4vd had been on tour in support of his first full-length album, “Withered.”
Later, the last two North American shows, in San Francisco and Los Angeles, along with a scheduled performance at LA’s Grammy Museum, were canceled, as was the European tour that was to have begun in Norway.
Who is Celeste Rivas Hernandez – the teen found dead in D4vd’s Tesla
Celeste Rivas Hernandez was just 13 years old when she was first reported missing from Lake Elsinore, southeast of Los Angeles, in February 2024.
She would be reported missing three times over the following months.
On September 8, 2025 – a day after she would have turned 15 – her dismembered body was discovered inside a cadaver bag in the trunk of a Tesla that had been towed from a Hollywood Hills street. The car was registered to singer D4vd.
According to court documents, investigators found the bag “covered with insects and a strong odor of decay,” and when it was partially unzipped, they “observed a decomposed head and torso.”
Her limbs had been severed and placed in a second bag under the other one.
Her death has been ruled a homicide, but the cause has not been publicly released.
Charges expected today for singer D4vd
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell are expected to announce charges today against D4vd in the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
Follow along with The Independent as we provide updates from the press conference, which will start at 10 a.m. PT, 1 p.m. ET.
Source: independent.co.uk