Singer D4vd Arrested in Murder of 14-Year-Old Celeste Rivas Hernandez After LAPD Raid in Hollywood

Singer D4vd was arrested on April 16, 2026, on suspicion of murder in connection with the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose decomposed remains were found in the front trunk of a Tesla registered to the singer and impounded at a Los Angeles tow yard in September 2025.

The arrest followed a months-long investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery Homicide Division and the Gang and Narcotics Division, which served a search warrant at D4vd’s home in the Hollywood Hills on September 18, 2025, and collected electronics and other items as evidence. The singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, was taken into custody at a residence in an upscale neighborhood on Doheny Drive, north of Sunset Boulevard.

According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Burke was formally charged on April 20, 2026, with murder, repeated sexual abuse of a minor, and mutilation of human remains. Prosecutors alleged that the crimes occurred in April 2025, after Celeste was last seen entering Burke’s Hollywood Hills home and was not heard from again. The District Attorney described the case as “a parent’s nightmare” and stated that Burke sexually abused the teenager before killing her and dismembering her body to conceal the crime and protect his rising music career.

Celeste Rivas Hernandez, a resident of Lake Elsinore in Riverside County, was reported missing in the spring of 2024. Her remains were discovered on September 8, 2025, after law enforcement responded to a foul odor coming from the impounded Tesla. Forensic examination revealed that her arms and legs had been severed from her body. A memorial was held in her honor on September 21, 2025, in the Lake Elsinore community.

In February 2026, a grand jury witness was returned to Los Angeles from Montana after failing to appear for testimony, and documents filed in the case identified Burke as the “target” of a Los Angeles County criminal investigation into Hernandez’s death. The investigation had linked Burke to the case since November 2025, when authorities named him a suspect in the teenager’s disappearance.

D4vd, a 21-year-old musician and TikTok star, gained prominence through songs such as “Romantic Homicide” and had been performing on tour, including stops in Minneapolis and Kansas City, around the time Celeste’s remains were discovered. His legal team has not issued a public statement regarding the charges, and he remains in custody awaiting further proceedings.

The case continues to be prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, with support from the Los Angeles Police Department and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, which assisted in the initial missing persons investigation. No trial date has been set as of April 22, 2026.