LOS ANGELES – In a shocking development, alt-pop artist D4vd has been formally accused of sexually assaulting, murdering, and disfiguring the body of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Her remains were discovered in what appeared to be an abandoned Tesla, belonging to the singer, seven months ago, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The charges were announced on Monday, but the grim allegations trace back to 2023, a year following the artist’s breakthrough onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The 21-year-old singer, whose real name is David Burke, has pleaded not guilty through his attorney during Monday’s court session.
This case not only casts a shadow over the music industry but also sheds light on Burke’s rise to fame and the subsequent investigation that followed.
2022: The Rise of David Burke
David Burke, who emerged as D4vd, initially gained traction as a content creator pairing his music with video game footage online. His breakout hit, “Romantic Homicide,” went viral on TikTok, climbing to No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. This success led him to secure a deal with Darkroom and Interscope Records.
September 7, 2023: The Allegations Surface
Burke allegedly begins the continuous sexual abuse of Rivas Hernandez, who had just turned 13, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office. The girl has been described by authorities as a runaway, and court documents say she lived with Burke in Los Angeles.
April 5, 2024: Rivas Hernandez is reported missing
Rivas Hernandez’s family reports the seventh grader missing from her home in Lake Elsinore, a town about 70 miles (112 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles, for the last time. They had reported her missing several times before.
April 11, 2025: Burke makes his Coachella debut
Burke performs at the music festival Coachella and goes viral again — this time for face-planting hard on the stage during a failed backflip attempt. In an interview with The Associated Press during the festival, Burke talked about using social media feedback from fans to refine his set lists. “I am my fans and my fans are me. And we work in tandem with each other and it’s such a beautiful poetic kind of thing that we have,” he said.
April 23, 2025: Rivas Hernandez is last known to be alive
The charging documents filed by prosecutors in the case against Burke have few details, but they do allege he killed Rivas Hernandez “on or about” April 23, the day they say she was last heard from. Prosecutors say Burke killed Rivas Hernandez because she posed a threat to his career.
April 25, 2025: Burke releases debut album, ‘Withered’
Burke releases his first album, “Withered.” In social media posts and media interviews, he describes using a recurring motif in his music and videos — an alter ego character he calls “IT4MI,” after “itami,” a Japanese word for pain. “He’s basically like the evil version of me,” Burke said in a YouTube interview with the “Tape Notes” podcast published May 2025. Burke’s videos sometimes depict the character blindfolded, in a shirt that appears covered in blood.
May 5, 2025: Authorities say Rivas Hernandez’s remains are mutilated
One of the felony charges against Burke is “unlawful mutilation of human remains.” Prosecutors say Rivas Hernandez’s arms and legs were severed from her body on or around May 5.
Aug. 5, 2025: Burke launches tour
Burke’s tour for the album “Withered,” begins with a show in Del Mar, California. He also released an official Fortnite anthem, “Locked & Loaded,” on Sept. 3. The collaboration with video game creator Epic Games echoed his start in the music world, when he would create and post Fortnite montages online.
Sept. 8, 2025: Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s body is discovered
One day after she would have turned 15, Rivas Hernandez’s badly decomposed remains are discovered in body bags inside the trunk of a Tesla registered to Burke, prosecutors say. The 2023 Tesla Model Y had been towed from an upscale neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills where it had been sitting, seemingly abandoned. Police searching the vehicle found a cadaver bag covered in bugs with Rivas Hernandez’s head and torso inside. A second bag containing her arms and legs was found underneath the first, according to court documents.
Sept. 19, 2025: Burke’s remaining tour dates are canceled
The remaining dates of Burke’s tour, which had been scheduled to wrap up Nov. 4 in Warsaw, Poland, are canceled. The Associated Press confirmed that D4vd was also dropped by his label, Interscope Records, at some point in 2025.
Oct. 6, 2025: A funeral service is held for Rivas Hernandez
Multiple news outlets reported that Rivas Hernandez’s family held a funeral service for her on at the Queen of Heaven Cemetery and Mortuary in Rowland Heights, California.
Nov. 24, 2025: Police block release of coroner’s report
In an unusual move, police block the release of the coroner’s report on Rivas Hernandez’s death. The medical examiner’s office said in a statement that it had received a “court order, initiated by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), to place a security hold” on the case. The order said no records or details, including the cause and manner of death, could be released until further notice.
February 2026: Burke revealed as the target of a secret grand jury probe
The grand jury investigation into the case was kept under seal, as is standard in grand jury proceedings. But some documents were made public by an appeal of subpoenas by Burke’s mother, father and brother that was filed in Texas. The court filings said the Tesla was registered in Burke’s name at the address of his subpoenaed family members, and that the “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.”
April 16, 2026: Burke is arrested
Burke is arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with Rivas Hernandez’s death and is held without bail. The Los Angeles Police Department announces the arrest on social media pages, posting photos of several officers wearing tactical gear and holding weapons approaching a home.
April 20, 2025: Burke is charged with murder
Burke is formally charged with murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14 and mutilating a body. The charging documents also allege several factors connected to the crimes that could lead to a harsher sentence if Burke is convicted. Those circumstances include allegations that Burke was “lying in wait” for Rivas Hernandez, who entered his home and was never seen again; that she was a witness to an investigation into the lewd and lascivious acts committed against her; and that Burke allegedly killed her for financial gain.
“When she threatened to expose his criminal conduct and devastate his musical career, Burke allegedly murdered her,” the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office wrote in a statement.
___
Boone reported from Boise. AP Music Writer Maria Sherman and journalist Liam McEwan contributed.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
