Following his arrest last Thursday, the recording artist known as D4vd has been formally charged with the murder of a teenage girl whose remains were discovered inside his vehicle, Variety reports.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced during a press conference on Monday that the singer, whose legal name is David Burke, faces a first-degree murder charge. This escalates the case significantly as it introduces the possibility of the death penalty. Burke is also facing further charges for committing lewd acts with a minor and dismembering the teenager’s body.
Authorities identified the victim as Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Hochman stated that she was last seen alive on 23 April 2025 when she visited Burke’s residence in the Hollywood Hills. Her remains were not located until five months later. While the District Attorney refused to specify the exact cause of death, he confirmed that the coroner’s report would be published shortly.
«We intend to present physical, forensic and digital evidence in court to prove these charges beyond a reasonable doubt,» Hochman remarked.
Court documents allege that Burke utilised a «sharp instrument» to carry out the killing. During an arraignment on Monday afternoon, a defence lawyer entered a not guilty plea on behalf of the singer.
Prosecutors claim Burke was engaged in a sexual relationship with Rivas. She had originally run away from home at the age of 13 and was just 14 at the time of her murder. The murder charge includes several «special circumstances» that make Burke eligible for either life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
These aggravating factors involve lying in wait, murder for financial gain and the killing of a witness to a crime. Rivas is legally considered a witness to the alleged lewd acts.
A lengthy investigation
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell used the press briefing to defend the department’s choice to withhold investigative details from the public. He stated that his duty was to deliver justice rather than fuel speculation, adding that the process demanded discipline and patience from everyone involved.
Burke was apprehended last week and remanded in custody without bail following an extensive investigation by the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division.
The grim discovery was made in September 2025 when officers were dispatched to a Hollywood vehicle pound to investigate a foul stench coming from a car that had been stored there for days.
Police discovered the decomposed body stuffed inside a bag in the front boot of a Tesla registered to D4vd at an address in Texas. The vehicle had been impounded a week prior after being abandoned in the Hollywood Hills where local residents had complained of a putrid smell.
Initial reports suggested the singer was fully co-operating with investigators. However, just a week after he was publicly linked to the discovery of the body, he cancelled all remaining dates on his U.S. tour.
Rivas had been officially reported missing in 2024. In November, the LAPD acknowledged they were looking into a trip D4vd made to the Santa Barbara region in the spring of 2025 shortly after the teenager vanished. Furthermore, the medical examiner’s office noted that police had previously barred them from releasing any specific details regarding her death.
