The singer faces first-degree murder and additional charges that could see him face life without parole or the death penalty.
Singer D4VD has been charged in the United States with murder in the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, a 14-year-old girl who was last seen alive nearly a year ago.
The 21-year-old musician, whose legal name is David Burke, has been charged with first-degree murder and additional charges, including indecent acts with a minor and bodily mutilation. D4vd pleaded not guilty on Monday.
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Rivas Hernandez’s disfigured and mutilated body was found inside an abandoned Tesla car belonging to the singer in September, the prosecutor said.
Authorities said the special circumstances involved in the case – lying in wait, committing a crime for financial gain and the alleged murder of a witness in the investigation – make Burke eligible for life without parole or the death penalty.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said prosecutors would decide later whether to seek the death penalty.
Burke was arrested Thursday at a home in Hollywood and is being held without bail.
The witness he is accused of murdering is Rivas Hernandez, who could have testified about sex crime charges.
Rivas Hernandez disappeared in 2024, when she was 13 years old. That was her age when the singer repeatedly sexually assaulted her for at least a year, from September 2023 to September 2024, according to allegations in a criminal complaint.
Hochman said authorities believe the girl went to D4vd’s Hollywood Hills home on April 23, 2025, and “was never heard from again.”
Burke’s lawyers said Monday that the evidence will show he is innocent.
“The actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and that he was not the cause of her death,” he said. “We will vigorously defend David’s innocence.”
Court documents outline undercover investigation
The singer’s death was being investigated by a Los Angeles County grand jury.
The investigation was officially secret, but its existence and his designation as its target were revealed in February when his mother, father and brother objected to a subpoena seeking to testify in a Texas court.
According to court filings, a 2023 Tesla Model Y was registered in the singer’s name at his address. Authorities did not publicly acknowledge him as a suspect until his arrest.
Police investigators searching the Tesla at a tow yard found a body bag that was “covered with maggots and had a strong odor of decay,” court documents say.
Detectives partially opened a bag and found a head and torso.
Investigators with the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office removed the bag and “discovered that the arms and legs had been severed from the body,” according to court documents.
A second black bag was found under the first bag and inside it were dismembered body parts. No cause of death has been publicly revealed, and police have barred a judge from releasing details of the autopsy.
It was expected that the court order would be withdrawn after the allegations.
rise to fame
D4vd gained popularity among Gen Z for its mix of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. He went viral on TikTok in 2022 with the hit Romantic Homicide, which peaked at number 4 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.
They then signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records, and released their debut EP, Petals to Thorns, and a follow-up, The Lost Petals, in 2023.
When the body was discovered, the singer continued his North American tour, but when news of his possible involvement spread widely, he canceled the final two shows and a subsequent European tour.
