Singer D4vd charged with murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez found dead in his Tesla
Warning: Graphic content
Los Angeles: Singer D4vd has been charged with murder in the death of a 14-year-old girl whose body was found in her apparently abandoned Tesla in September, prosecutors said.
D4vd, 21, whose legal name is David Burke, was charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who was reported missing by her family in 2024 when she was 13 years old, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said. Authorities say he was 14 years old when he died.
Lawyers for the Houston-born alt-pop singer said in a statement that he is innocent after homicide detectives arrested him at a Hollywood home on Thursday.
“Let’s be clear; the real evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not kill Celeste Rivas Hernandez and that he was not the cause of her death,” the attorneys said.
Rivas Hernandez’s body was found inside a Tesla towed from the Hollywood Hills on September 8, one day after he turned 15. His family reported him missing from his hometown of Lake Elsinore, about 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
Authorities did not publicly release Burke’s suspect name until after his arrest. And his lawyers’ statement last week that they would “strongly defend David’s innocence” weighed in publicly for the first time.
The singer was under investigation by an LA County grand jury investigating the death. The investigation was officially secret, but his presence and his designation as a target were revealed in February when his mother, father and brother objected to subpoenas demanding they testify in a Texas court.
The 2023 Tesla Model Y was registered in the singer’s name at the Texas address of subpoenaed family members, according to prosecutors’ court filings. It was taken from the upscale Hollywood Hills neighborhood, where it looked as if it had been abandoned.
Police investigators searching the Tesla tow truck found a cadaver bag “covered with insects and a strong odor of decomposition,” court documents said. Detectives partially unzipped a bag and found a head and torso.
Investigators with the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office removed the bag and “discovered the arms and legs had been severed from the body,” according to court documents.
A second black bag was found underneath the first, containing dismembered body parts. No cause of death has been publicly disclosed and police have asked a judge to block the release of autopsy details. On Friday, the medical examiner told The Associated Press that the court order remained in effect following Burke’s arrest.
Rivas Hernandez’s family has remained private and has not made any public statements regarding his death or his case.
D4vd, pronounced “David,” gained popularity among Gen Z with its blend of indie rock, R&B, and lo-fi pop. It went viral on TikTok in 2022 with this hit Romantic MurderIt peaked at #4 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. He later signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records and released his first EP. From Leaves to Thorns and a follow up Lost LeavesIn 2023.
When the body was found, the singer continued her North American tour, but when news of her possible involvement spread widely, she canceled the last two shows and a subsequent European tour.
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