LOS ANGELES (Court TV) — A singer has been arrested on suspicion of murder months after a missing teenager was found dismembered in the trunk of his car.
FILE PHOTO: d4vd performs onstage at Made on YouTube at Pier 57 on September 18, 2024, in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Made on YouTube 2024)
David Burke, 21, known professionally as “d4vd,” was arrested on Thursday evening for the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the Los Angeles Police Department announced. “The case will be presented to the District Attorney’s Office on Monday for filing consideration,” the department said in a statement posted to social media.
Burke had previously been named a target of a grand jury investigation after the victim’s dismembered body was found in the trunk of a Tesla registered in his name on what would have been her 15th birthday. Her body was described in court documents as “severely decomposed.” Her head and torso were found in a cadaver bag, covered with insects, in the trunk. When officers removed the bag, they found a second underneath containing Rivas Hernandez’s arms and legs.
Photo shows LAPD officers executing the arrest of singer David Burke, known as ‘d4vd.’ (LAPD)
Burke has not been indicted in the case; now that he’s been arrested, his case will be presented to prosecutors who will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to file criminal charges, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement to Court TV.
Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter, attorneys for Burke, said in a statement after his arrest that their client is innocent. “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. 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.”
A photo of singer d4vd’s abandoned Tesla where Los Angeles police discovered the decomposing remains of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez in the front trunk. (SF Investigates via Dept. of Transportation)
Burke was touring when the victim’s body was found in September. He initially cooperated with the investigation, police said.
Rivas Hernandez was last seen in April 2024, when she was 13 years old, in Lake Elsinore.
Burke is a singer-songwriter who rose to popularity in 2022 with the song “Romantic Homicide,” which went viral on TikTok and peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. He released his debut EP, “Petals to Thorns,” and a follow-up, “The Lost Petals,” in 2023.
