Singer D4vd charged with first-degree murder in 14-year-old's death

Singer D4vd has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, authorities said Monday, more than seven months after her body was discovered in his impounded vehicle.

The alt-pop star, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, 21, faces up to life in prison or the death penalty if convicted, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman told reporters during a press conference.

Hochman said Burke, who was arrested last week, had been charged with first-degree murder with special circumstances - lying in wait, murder of a witness to an investigation and murder for financial gain. He’s also charged with lewd and lascivious acts with an individual under 14 and mutilating a body.

Rivas Hernandez, who was reported missing in 2024, had been last spotted at Burke’s Hollywood Hills home in April 2025 and was “never heard from again,” Hochman said. He also accused Burke of committing the slaying for financial gain so he could “maintain his very lucrative musical career,” which the teen allegedly threatened.

Hochman did not indicate whether prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty in the high-profile case.

“I had the chance to meet with some of the family members of Celeste, and their grief is incalculable as to what happened to their daughter,” Hochman said. “But they have demanded, [and] what we have assured them, is that the district attorney’s office working with LAPD will give them, is proof beyond a reasonable doubt on who killed their daughter, on how their daughter was killed, when their daughter was killed, and bring that killer to justice. That killer that we have now charged is David Anthony Burke.”

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said investigators had learned during a seven-month investigation that Burke had engaged in a sexual relationship with Celeste, who was reported missing in 2024. She was last seen alive upon arriving at Burke’s home in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles on April 23, 2025, McDonnell said.

“On September 8, 2025, Miss Rivas’ dismembered and badly decomposed body was discovered in the front trunk of Mr. Burke’s impounded Tesla,” the police chief said. “From that moment forward, our investigators (faced) an extraordinarily difficult and complex case.”

The condition of the teen’s remains delayed a medical examiner’s ability to determine a cause of death, McDonnell said.

“The substantial amount of time that passed between her death and the discovery meant that crucial evidence had degraded or disappeared,” McDonnell said.

The police chief also expressed his condolences to Celeste’s relatives.

“We cannot undo the pain you are feeling,” he said. “Our hope is that today brings some measure of accountability and a step in the journey toward healing. Please know that the Los Angeles Police Department remains fully committed in seeking justice on behalf of your daughter.”

Los Angeles police arrested Burke on Thursday, more than seven months after Rivas Hernandez’s body was discovered in his vehicle, which had been abandoned at a tow yard after being impounded.

The gruesome discovery in Hollywood Hills on September 8 came just a day after Rivas Hernandez - who had been initially reported missing in 2024 from her family’s home in Lake Elsinore, California - would have celebrated her 15th birthday. Authorities discovered the decomposing corpse after responding to a report of a foul odor emanating from Burke’s Tesla.

The alleged link between Rivas Hernandez and Burke has sparked rampant speculation online, although attorneys for the rising alt-pop artist told Newsweek in a statement last week that evidence would indicate the singer “did not murder” the teen or cause her death.

“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,” attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter said in a statement on Friday. “There has been no indictment returned by any grand jury in this case and no criminal complaint filed. David has only been detained

under suspicion. We will vigorously defend David’s innocence.”

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