D4vd Arrested for Murder After Celeste Rivas Hernandez, 15, Found Dead in His Tesla
Celeste Rivas Hernandez‘s family is breaking their silence over D4vd‘s arrest on suspicion of her murder.
Two days after the “Romantic Homicide” singer (real name David Anthony Burke) was taken into police custody, Rivas Hernandez’s dad Jesus Rivas shared his thoughts.
“Thank God,” the patriarch said, per his attorney Patrick Steinfeld in a statement to TMZ April 18. “Justice for Celeste.”
D4vd, 21, is currently being held without bail by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to jail records reviewed by E! News. He is expected to make his first court appearance on April 20.
Ahead of the hearing, D4vd’s legal team denied allegation that their client murdered Rivas Hernandez, whose body was found in the front trunk of a Tesla registered to the musician in early September.
“Let us be clear,” his lawyers Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter told People in a April 17 statement, “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.”
Investigators have deferred their findings into Rivas Hernandez’s official cause of death, with a medical examiner’s report obtained by E! News stating that authorities were unable to determine exactly when she died due to the “severely decomposed” state of her body.
However, LAPD Capt. Scot Williams said following D4vd’s arrest that the teen—who was reported missing from Lake Elsinore, a city approximately 70 miles away from Los Angeles, in April 2024—had been “dead for at least several weeks” before her remains were discovered on the day after what would have been her 15th birthday.
Swan Gallet/WWD via Getty Images; GoFundMe
Rivas Hernandez was laid to rest in October at the Queen of Heaven Cemetery and Mortuary in Rowland Heights, Calif. She was described as “beloved daughter, sister, cousin, and friend” in a GoFundMe set up to cover her burial costs.
The fundraiser’s description read, “Her family is heartbroken and devastated by this tragic loss.”
For more about D4vd and the ongoing investigation into Rivas Hernandez’s murder, read on.
Instagram/D4vd
Where is D4vd From?
Born in Queens, New York, D4vd (real name David Anthony Burke) moved to Houston, Texas, when he was 13 years old.
Josh Brasted/FilmMagic
How Did D4vd Become Famous?
D4vd first began his career as a streamer, playing Fortnite and other games in an attempt to go viral on YouTube. When he ran into copyright infringement challenges with the music he was adding to his videos in 2021, he turned to his mom.
“I’m like crying to Mom about it,” he told Benny Blanco during an interview for Hero magazine in September 2024. “I’m like, Yo, I don’t know what to do I’m not making any money anymore, blah blah blah.’ And she was on a phone, and she was like, ‘Just make your own music, go get out of my face.’ And I was like, ‘Wait a minute. I could probably do that.'”
From there, despite not having any musical experience other than singing for fun, D4vd downloaded an app on his phone and started making music. Soon, some of his songs went viral, and after more of his original music started to go viral on TikTok, his career began to really take off.
The 20-year-old eventually released his debut album, Withered, in April 2025, embarking on his first world tour shortly thereafter.
Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Riot / Netflix
When Was the Body Found in D4vd’s Car?
On Sept. 8, the Los Angeles Police Department was called to a tow yard in Hollywood over reports of a foul odor coming from a vehicle, law enforcement sources told NBC News.
The LAPD found human remains wrapped in a bag hidden in the front trunk of a Tesla, which was registered in Hempstead, Texas, under D4vd’s real name, David Anthony Burke.
Police said the vehicle had been towed to the impound lot after it was abandoned in the Hollywood Hills.
Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Made on YouTube 2024
Who Was the Victim Found in D4vd’s Car?
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office September 16 said the remains found in the Tesla were identified as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been reported missing on April 5, 2024. She was 13 years old at the time of her disappearance.
Her cause of death had been deferred, according to records from the Medical Examiner’s Office viewed by E! News on Sept. 17. Though her date of death was listed as September 8—the day her body was discovered—officials noted her body appeared to have been in the car for an extended period of time before its discovery and was “severely decomposed.”
Erika Goldring/Getty Images
What Has D4vd Said About the Investigation?
Following the discovery of Rivas Hernandez’s body, a spokesperson for D4vd said in a statement to NBC News that the singer “has been informed about what’s happened, and although he is still out on tour, he is fully cooperating with the authorities.”
Since then, D4vd canceled the remainder of his U.S. dates.
Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock
What Happened in the Case?
D4vd was arrested for Rivas Hernandez’s murder, the Los Angeles Police Department announced April 16, 2026.
“Detectives from Los Angeles Police Department, Robbery-Homicide Division have arrested David Burke, a 21-year-old resident of Los Angeles, for the murder of Celeste Rivas,” the public information officer stated on X. “Burke is being held without bail.”
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