Rising American indie-pop musician D4vd, legally known as David Anthony Burke, 21, is facing three counts of first-degree murder over the 2025 killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, Los Angeles County prosecutors announced in a public press conference.
According to District Attorney Nathan Hochman, Rivas Hernandez visited Burke’s Hollywood Hills residence on April 23, 2025, and was never seen or heard from again after that meeting. Five months later, on September 8, 2025, investigators recovered the teen’s dismembered, decomposed remains from the trunk of a Tesla vehicle registered to Burke’s Texas address. The remains were discovered at a Hollywood tow yard, where the vehicle had been impounded.
Prosecutors have outlined three aggravated special circumstances attached to the murder charges. First, they allege Burke lay in wait to carry out the killing. Second, they claim the murder was committed for financial gain: Hochman stated Rivas Hernandez was threatening to expose Burke that night, which would have endangered his fast-growing, lucrative music career. Third, prosecutors say Burke killed Rivas Hernandez to eliminate her as a witness to prior sexual offenses he is alleged to have committed. Additional charges against Burke also include multiple counts of sexual assault of a minor and corpse mutilation. Hochman confirmed that prosecutors could pursue the death penalty in the case if Burke is convicted.
Burke was arrested last week and remains in custody without bond. He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday at a downtown Los Angeles court. His legal team has issued a forceful denial of the allegations following his arrest, stating that factual evidence in the case will prove Burke did not kill Rivas Hernandez and is not responsible for her death. The BBC has reached out to his attorneys for additional comment ahead of the arraignment, but has not received a further response.
Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell addressed widespread public criticism over the seven-month gap between the discovery of Rivas Hernandez’ remains and the filing of charges. He defended the investigation’s pace, emphasizing that the priority was to build a solid case that would not be jeopardized by premature disclosure of details.
“ My duty is not to fuel speculation. It’s to deliver justice, and that requires patience and discipline on everybody’s part,” McDonnell said. He noted that the degraded condition of the remains, which had been left undiscovered for months, delayed efforts to determine an official cause of death and degraded key evidence. Hochman echoed that explanation, adding that investigators had to interview dozens of witnesses, some of whom were uncooperative, and thoroughly process all available evidence before moving forward with charges. He urged any member of the public with additional information about the case to contact authorities.
Before his arrest, D4vd had become one of the fastest rising young stars in indie pop. A Houston native, he first gained an online following as a teenager posting Fortnite gameplay content before teaching himself music production. He broke into the mainstream in 2023 with the viral hit singles *Here With Me* and *Romantic Homicide*, and released his debut EP *Petals To Thorns* that same year. He earned a spot on *Variety*’s 2023 Young Hollywood list and opened for Grammy-winning artist SZA on her SOS world tour. He released his first full-length studio album in April 2025, and at the time of his arrest he had 22 million monthly listeners on Spotify and nearly four million followers on TikTok. When remains were first discovered in the singer’s vehicle in September 2025, Burke was mid-world tour. He immediately canceled all upcoming tour dates and withdrew from public view. He was publicly named as a target of a grand jury investigation into Rivas Hernandez’ death in court documents released in February 2025. It remains unclear how the grand jury process will move forward following the filing of formal charges. Rivas Hernandez’ family has not issued any public statement about the case to date.