Los Angeles County prosecutors formally charged David Anthony Burke — the 21-year-old music star known as D4VD — with murder on Monday in the killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose badly decomposed body was found in the trunk of a car in Hollywood last summer.
District. Atty. Nathan Hochman said that D4vd repeatedly sexually assaulted Hernandez and mutilated her body. According to Hochman, she was last seen at the singer’s home in April 2025, after which “she was not heard from again.” Hochman also said that the murder was committed for financial gain, so that Burke could “maintain his very lucrative music career.”
Hochman also accused the singer of murdering a witness because at the time of her death there was an active investigation into the sexual abuse of Hernandez by Burke.
Burke was arrested by Los Angeles police late last Thursday at a residence in Hollywood near Sunset Blvd. He surrendered after heavily armed officers stormed the street. Burke surrendered without incident and has denied all wrongdoing through his lawyers.
“Let us be clear – the actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and that he did not cause her death,” his legal team of Blair Burke, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter said in a statement.
If convicted as charged, Burke faces life in prison or the death penalty.
Hernandez was reported missing in Riverside County last summer. His body was found in the trunk of a Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard on September 8, 2025, and news immediately surfaced that the vehicle was registered to Burke. The rising singer — whose music features in the wildly popular video game “Fortnite” and has collaborated with Kali Uchis and 21 Savage — had just begun a national tour in support of his debut album “Withered” when reports of his possible connection to the teen’s death surfaced.
As soon as Burke canceled his visit, investigators began carefully building a case. In November, The Times reported that L.A. County prosecutors had convened a secret grand jury to gather evidence in connection with Hernandez’s murder. Investigative grand juries cannot return indictments against defendants, but they are often used to subpoena evidence and witnesses for future criminal proceedings. Earlier this year, Neo Langston, a member of D4vd’s crew, was arrested in Montana as he attempted to avoid appearing before an LA grand jury.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office is legally barred from releasing the cause of death in the case, but court records made public in February say Hernandez’s organs were severed from his body when he was found.
