On Apr. 16, singer David Burke, also known as D4vd, was arrested by LAPD on suspicion of the murder of 14-year-
old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. On Apr. 20, Burke was formally charged on several counts, including three counts of first- degree murder.
Burke was arrested more than seven months after the discovery of Rivas Hernandez’s body on Sep. 9, 2025 in the back of a 2023 Tesla Model Y registered to Burke. The vehicle had been abandoned and towed from a Hollywood neighborhood to a police impound yard, where the discovery of the body was made. This was the catalyst for a months-long investigation, which was scrutinized by the public, as they believed Burke should have been arrested immediately after the discovery.
Los Angeles Daily News
According to the prosecution, Burke met Rivas Hernandez in January 2022, when he was 17 and she was just 11. It was later reported that in November 2023, then-18-year-old Burke and 13-year-old Rivas Hernandez began to have a sexual relationship. After she ran away from home, Rivas Hernandez was first reported missing by her family in February 2024; Burke claimed at that time he had no connection with her. Later, Rivas Hernandez’s family would confiscate her cell phone and again report her missing in April. At this time Burke allegedly supplied her with a new phone by which they were in contact. By March 2025, it was reported that Burke and Rivas Hernandez had broken up, but continued to have a sexual relationship.
On Apr. 22, 2025, it was reported that Rivas Hernandez and Burke got into an argument in which she threatened to release information about their relationship to the public. These threats may have led Burke to send an Uber to Rivas Hernandez’s house on the night of Apr. 23, 2025 to bring her to his rented Hollywood Hills home; Rivas
Hernandez was last seen alive that night entering Burke’s home. In early May 2025 and later that summer, Burke allegedly used a fake name to order items online that could be used to dispose of a body. However, Rivas Hernandez’s remains had been found in the Tesla.
After the accusations against Burke came to light, many of his fans looked through his music catalog and social media posts, where they found a livestream with Burke and a female suspected to be Rivas Hernandez. During the livestream, this person made a statement that appeared to be a joke about Burke having non-consensual sexual relations with a minor. The two seemed to laugh it off in the moment, but immediately after the comments, Burke allegedly stopped the
livestream and attempted to scrub the footage from the internet.
Fans were also able to find an unreleased song of Burke’s containing the lyrics, “Oh, Celeste. The girl with my name tattooed on her chest,” leading fans to believe that Burke and Rivas Hernandez were, indeed, in a relationship.
The investigation is ongoing, and Burke’s next court date is June 17, when the courts will decide if there is sufficient evidence to begin a full trial on June 29.
Article By Elliott Gardner and Luke Zamberlan