Singer D4vd pleads not guilty to murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez

Singer D4vd pleaded not guilty Monday to the murder case of a 14-year-old girl who was found smashed and badly decomposed in the trunk of the Tesla the singer allegedly abandoned last September.

The 21-year-old alt-pop artist, identified as David Burke from Houston, was arrested in Los Angeles last Thursday following seven months of public speculation surrounding the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who was first reported missing in 2024.

He has since been charged with first-degree murder, with special circumstances including lying in wait, committing a crime for financial gain and killing a witness during an investigation, allegations that could carry the death penalty, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said Monday.

Additional charges include sustained sexual acts with a person under the age of 14, lewd and lascivious acts, and dismemberment of human remains.

SINGER D4VD WAS ARRESTED IN THE CASE RELATING TO THE YOUNG FOUND DEAD IN TESLA AND HE WAS ARRESTED WITHOUT A HEAD: POLICE

At Burke’s hearing on Monday afternoon, his defense team entered a not guilty plea on all charges on Burke’s behalf, arguing there was evidence showing Burke did not kill the girl, the Associated Press reported.

“We believe the actual evidence will show that David Burke did not kill Celeste Rivas Hernandez,” said lead defense attorney Blair Berk. “We want the evidence to come to light.”

According to media reports, Burke was denied bail at the hearing, which was attended by the girl’s parents.

Burke allegedly harassed the victim repeatedly for at least a year, starting when she was 13 and running from September 2023 to September 2024, according to authorities.

He later ran away from his home in Lake Elsinore, about 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles, when he was 14, authorities said. based on to Fox 11 Los Angeles.

On April 23, 2025, Burke allegedly invited the victim to his Hollywood Hills home after she threatened to expose their relationship as her career was taking off, where he is accused of killing her with a sharp object.

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Photos, special notes and flowers are among the items left at a memorial service Thursday for slain teenager Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who was found dead in the trunk of a Tesla at a Hollywood tow truck in Lake Elsinore, California, on Sept. 25, 2025. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Prosecutors allege Burke dismembered her body about two weeks later, Fox 11 said.

Four months later, on September 8, 2025, the victim’s decomposed and dismembered remains were found in the trunk of a car registered to Burke, which was seized after it was reported abandoned.

“Celeste was a child under the age of 14 when David Burke allegedly engaged in sexually explicit and lascivious sexual intercourse with her on an ongoing basis,” Hochman said.

“But Burke’s actions allegedly didn’t end there. When she threatened to expose his criminal behavior and destroy his music career, Burke allegedly killed her, cut up her body, and stuffed her body into two bags placed in the front trunk of her car. The dismembered body remained there, decomposed, for more than four months until it was discovered in a tow truck on September 8, 2025. This horrific and grisly murder committed by this accused sexual predator is shocking, and to Celeste’s loved ones, you deserve and seek the justice you seek.” “We will provide it.”

Singer D4vd has been arrested in Los Angeles in connection with the murder of a 14-year-old girl found in the trunk of a Tesla, police said. (Cyril Zingaro/Keystone via AP)

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Burke was reportedly on tour in support of his album when Hernandez’s body was discovered. He canceled the rest of his shows after allegations of his involvement emerged.

According to the charges, Burke faces death or life in state prison without the possibility of parole.