Entertainment

Singer D4vd Arrested in Murder of Teen Found in His Tesla

By Erica Coleman · April 17, 2026

The months-long investigation into one of music’s most disturbing cases reached a new turning point Thursday afternoon.

Singer D4vd — whose legal name is David Anthony Burke — was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department on suspicion of murder in connection with the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose decomposed remains were discovered in September inside the front trunk of a Tesla registered to the singer.

Burke, 21, was taken into custody at approximately 4:30 p.m. Thursday at a home on Marmont Avenue in the Hollywood Hills, according to the LAPD. He is being held without bail. The LAPD said the case will be presented to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office Monday for filing consideration.

Celeste Rivas Hernandez, a 14-year-old from Lake Elsinore in Riverside County, was last seen alive in April 2024. She was reported missing multiple times in the final year of her life. Her remains were found September 8, 2025, inside the front storage compartment — known as a “frunk” — of the Tesla, which had been impounded by Los Angeles parking enforcement after neighbors reported the vehicle had been abandoned in the Hollywood Hills for more than a month.

D4vd was on his “Withered” world tour at the time of the discovery, with a stop in Minneapolis the night the body was found. The remainder of the tour, including shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles, was subsequently canceled.

Investigators had identified Burke as a suspect in November 2025. At the time, his representative said he was “fully cooperating with authorities.” A later NBC Los Angeles report indicated that cooperation had stopped. Thursday’s arrest came on a probable cause warrant and proceeded, according to LAPD sources, without incident.

Burke’s attorneys issued a statement maintaining his innocence.

“Let us be clear — 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.

One of the significant challenges in building the case, according to ABC News sources, has been determining Celeste’s cause of death due to the advanced state of decomposition of her remains. Investigators said they can now prove the death was a murder. The medical examiner’s findings had been sealed by court order since November.

D4vd first went viral on TikTok, where he has nearly 4 million followers, and rose to mainstream attention with his song “Romantic Homicide.” He is one of a cohort of artists who built careers almost entirely through social platforms before transitioning to label deals and touring. His arrest Thursday carries implications well beyond the criminal case — for his label, his streaming catalog, and a fan base that is predominantly young.