R&B singer D4vd, born David Anthony Burke, has been arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of killing 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose dismembered body was found in his Tesla, police said on Thursday. The 21-year-old musician is being held without bail.
In September, LAPD detectives were called to a Hollywood tow yard after reports of a foul smell from an impounded car registered to Burke. The vehicle had been towed from the Hollywood Hills after appearing abandoned. Inside, they found a severely decomposed body, later identified as Hernandez, who had been reported missing in 2024 and last seen in Lake Elsinore, about 60 miles south-east of downtown Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles County medical examiner determined that Hernandez had been dead in the vehicle for an extended period. Police said Burke's case will be presented to the district attorney's office on Monday. The district attorney's office acknowledged the arrest and said prosecutors will review the evidence to determine whether to file charges.
Burke's legal team, including Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter, maintains his innocence. In a statement, they said: '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 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.'
Burke, who rose to fame in 2022 with viral TikTok hits including 'Romantic Homicide', was on tour when Hernandez's body was discovered; the tour was later cancelled. Hernandez's brother, Matthew, told NBCLA that before she went missing, she said she was going to watch a movie with Burke. Authorities have not commented on the nature of their relationship.
