Alt-pop musician d4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, has been formally charged with the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The charges were announced in Los Angeles on Monday, following months of investigation into the discovery of the teenager’s remains in the singer’s vehicle last year.
According to Deadline and The New York Times, prosecutors have charged the 21-year-old artist with first-degree murder, alongside counts of continuous lewd and lascivious sexual acts with a person under 14, and the unlawful mutilation of human remains.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman stated during a press conference that Burke allegedly murdered Rivas Hernandez to protect his rising career. “When she threatened to expose his criminal conduct and devastate his musical career, Burke allegedly murdered her,” Hochman said.
The investigation alleges that the abuse began in 2023, shortly after Rivas Hernandez turned 13, while she was living with Burke in Los Angeles. Authorities assert that the teen was last known to be alive on April 23, 2025, when she visited Burke’s Hollywood Hills home.
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Prosecutors claim that shortly after her death, Burke mutilated the teen’s body and concealed it in the trunk of a Tesla registered to him. The remains were discovered in the vehicle—which had been towed from an upscale neighborhood and sat in a tow yard—on September 8, 2025.
During his arraignment on Monday, Burke’s defense team entered a plea of not guilty. “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,” lead attorney Blair Berk said in court.
The murder charges include special circumstances—including lying in wait, committing a crime for financial gain, and murdering a witness—which could potentially carry the death penalty, though prosecutors have yet to announce if they will seek it. The case continues as the defense pushes for a public preliminary hearing.
