Entertainment

Singer D4vd Faces Murder One Charge in Celeste Rivas Case

By Erica Coleman · April 21, 2026

The arrest was Thursday. The charge that followed is the most serious one prosecutors can bring.

Los Angeles prosecutors formally charged singer D4vd with first-degree murder Monday in the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose decomposed remains were discovered last September in the front trunk of a Tesla registered to the 21-year-old artist. According to CBS News, the filing of first-degree murder — rather than the lesser second-degree charge — signals prosecutors believe they can prove the killing was premeditated and deliberate.

D4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, was arrested Thursday afternoon at his Hollywood Hills home by LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division on a probable cause warrant. He has been held without bail since.

Celeste Rivas Hernandez was a 14-year-old from Lake Elsinore in Riverside County, reported missing multiple times in the final year of her life. Her remains were found September 8, 2025, after workers at a Hollywood tow yard reported a strong odor coming from an impounded Tesla. The vehicle had been sitting abandoned in the Hollywood Hills for more than a month. When officers opened the front storage compartment, they found remains in two cadaver bags. The car was registered to Burke.

Investigators identified Burke as a suspect in November 2025. One of the significant challenges in building the case was determining Celeste’s cause of death, given the advanced state of decomposition. LAPD and the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office confirmed Monday they are satisfied the evidence supports a first-degree murder charge — the highest classification under California law.

Burke’s attorneys have maintained his innocence.

“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 attorneys said in a statement.

D4vd rose to prominence on TikTok — he has nearly 4 million followers — and built a devoted fanbase through songs including Romantic Homicide and Here With Me before breaking into mainstream streaming and a world tour. That tour, called the Withered World Tour, was canceled following the discovery of Celeste’s remains in September. His catalog remains available on streaming platforms, a decision that streaming services will likely face renewed pressure to address in the wake of the murder charge.

A first-degree murder conviction in California carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.