CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses alleged murder.
US musician D4vd has been charged with murder after the dismembered remains of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez were found in a Tesla registered to his name, according to Los Angeles authorities.
Prosecutors in Los Angeles County say the 21-year-old singer, whose legal name is David Burke, is facing charges including first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14, and mutilating human remains in connection with Celeste’s death.
The murder count includes special-circumstance allegations such as lying in wait, financial gain and killing a witness in an investigation, which make the case eligible for the death penalty, though prosecutors have not said whether they will pursue that option.
Burke is being held without bail after his arrest in Hollywood following a months-long investigation involving Los Angeles police and a county grand jury.
Celeste was reported missing by her family in 2024, when she was 13, and investigators say she was 14 at the time she died. Her remains were discovered on September 8, 2025 in an impounded 2023 Tesla Model Y that had been towed from an upscale Hollywood Hills street after complaints about the apparently abandoned vehicle, with court records stating the car was registered to Burke at a Texas address linked to his relatives.
Police searching the car at a tow yard found a cadaver bag “covered with insects and emitted a strong smell of decay” and, when they partially unzipped it, they saw a decomposed head and torso inside, according to court documents cited by US media.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has not publicly released a cause of death, with a court order keeping autopsy findings sealed.
Burke was identified as the focus of a secret grand jury probe earlier this year when his family in Texas moved to quash subpoenas ordering them to testify about the case, revealing that he was the target of the investigation.
After police presented their case, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed charges and publicly announced them at a press conference.
Burke’s lawyers insisted he is innocent, saying in a statement: “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”, and adding, “We will vigorously defend David’s innocence”.
Celeste’s family has not spoken publicly about the charges and has asked for privacy through their representatives.
Burke built a large Gen Z following online after his 2022 track “Romantic Homicide” took off on TikTok and continued touring after Celeste’s remains were first found in the vehicle, but later cancelled several shows and was even dropped by Australian festival, Spilt Milk’, as reporting around the investigation intensified.
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Lead image: Getty
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