David Burke, the singer known as D4vd, was taken into custody on Thursday as part of an investigation into the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Her body was discovered last September in the trunk of an abandoned Tesla in Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) announced the arrest on social media, stating, “Detectives from LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division have arrested David Burke, a 21-year-old Los Angeles resident, for the murder of Celeste Rivas.” They also noted that Burke is being held without bail.
The LAPD further mentioned, “The case is scheduled to be presented to the District Attorney’s office on Monday for consideration of formal charges.”
Before this arrest, authorities had not publicly identified D4vd as a suspect, though he had been under investigation by a Los Angeles County grand jury since February in relation to Hernandez’s death.
The Associated Press previously reported that Hernandez’s decomposed body was found in an abandoned Tesla registered to Burke. The vehicle had been towed from the Hollywood Hills, according to court documents.
The Associated Press reported in February that Hernandez’s body was found decomposed in an abandoned Tesla registered to D4vd and towed from the Hollywood Hills, citing court documents.
Prosecutors described the Houston-born alt-pop singer as the target of the investigation in grand jury subpoenas issued Jan. 15, seeking testimony from three of his relatives.
The Associated Press obtained the once-sealed documents, which were made public after the singer’s mother, father and brother appealed the subpoenas in Texas.
Photographs, intimate notes, and flowers are among the items left at a memorial on Thursday for slain teen Celeste Rivas Hernandez who was found dead in the trunk of a Tesla in a Hollywood tow yard on September 25, 2025 in Lake Elsinore, California. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The documents state: “Target may be involved in having committed the following criminal offenses against the laws of the State of California, to wit: One count of Murder.”
The body of Hernandez was found Sept. 8, a day after she would have turned 15. She had been reported missing in 2024 as a 13-year-old seventh grader from her hometown of Lake Elsinore, about 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Authorities say she was 14 when she was killed, according to court documents.
The subpoena states that investigators searching a 2023 Tesla Model Y at a tow yard found a cadaver bag “covered with insects and a strong odor of decay.”
Singer D4vd arrested in Los Angeles in connection to the murder of a 14-year-old girl found in a Tesla trunk, police say. (Photo by Timothy Norris/Getty Images for Coachella)
“Detectives partially unzipped the bag and observed a decomposed head and torso,” the subpoena states. Investigators from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office responded to the scene.
“Upon removing the cadaver bag from the front storage compartment, it was discovered the arms and legs had been severed from the body,” the document says. “A second black bag was discovered underneath the cadaver bag. Upon opening the second bag, the dismembered body parts were discovered.”
The singer was on a U.S. tour at the time and continued performing after the body was discovered. He later canceled the remaining shows, along with a planned European tour, as reports linking him to the case gained wider attention.
D4vd built a following among Gen Z fans with his blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. He gained traction on TikTok in 2022 with “Romantic Homicide,” which climbed to No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. He later signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records and released Petals to Thorns and The Lost Petals in 2023.
