D4vd Charged in Death of Teen Girlfriend Celeste Hernandez

Celeste Abigail Rivas Hernandez was a 14-year-old eighth grader from Lake Elsinore, California. She had thick dark curls, Hello Kitty slippers, and a missing persons poster that went up after she disappeared in April 2025. On April 16, 2026, nearly a year after she was last seen alive, the singer known as D4vd was arrested in connection with her death. He was formally charged on April 20 with first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains.

How Her Remains Were Found

Celeste’s decomposed and dismembered body was discovered on September 8, 2025, inside the front trunk of a Tesla registered to David Anthony Burke - the artist’s legal name - after the vehicle was towed from a street in the Hollywood Hills. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide, citing multiple penetrating injuries. She was 13 when she was last seen alive, going to Burke’s home in April 2025. She never came back.

What Prosecutors Allege

According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Burke met Celeste in January 2022 when she was 11 years old. Prosecutors allege a sexual relationship began in late 2023 when she was 13 and Burke was 18. When Celeste threatened to expose the relationship, prosecutors allege Burke killed her to protect his music career. A court filing stated he ‘stabbed the victim to death multiple times and stood by while she bled out.’ Burke has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His attorneys have said he is innocent and did not cause her death.

Special Circumstances and the Death Penalty

The charges include three special circumstances: murder of a witness, murder for financial gain, and lying in wait. Prosecutors have said they are considering whether to seek the death penalty. Burke was booked without bail at LAPD’s 77th Street Station on April 16. He appeared in court April 20, pleaded not guilty, and remains in custody. His preliminary hearing, where prosecutors will present evidence, is scheduled for May 26, 2026.

A Family Waiting for Justice

The Rivas Hernandez family issued a statement through their attorney following Burke’s arrest, calling it ‘a first step toward justice’ and urging prosecutors to pursue the maximum possible charges. The family had cooperated fully with investigators throughout a months-long grand jury process that preceded the arrest. In Lake Elsinore, a neighbor who knew Celeste as a little girl with big curls tended a makeshift memorial outside the family home. ‘She was a daughter, a sister, a friend,’ neighbor Kayleigh Cortez told CNN. ‘She was a young girl just trying to figure out life, and she doesn’t get to grow up.’

References: D4vd Singer Charged With Murder: Timeline of Investigation Into Death of 14-Year-Old Celeste Rivas Hernandez | D4vd Arrested and Charged in Death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez | D4vd Celeste Rivas Hernandez Autopsy Results