What to Know
- Singer D4vd is suspected in the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas, who was reported missing in the spring of 2025.
- The Lake Elsinore girl’s decomposed body was found Sept. 8 in the front trunk of a Tesla impounded at a Los Angeles tow yard.
- The car was impounded after someone reported it was abandoned in the Hollywood Hills, where neighbors say it had been parked for more than a month.
- They were found a day after what would have been Celeste’s 15th birthday.
- The “Romantic Homicide” singer’s world tour was in Minneapolis at the time of the discovery with a stop in Kansas City the next day.
The singer-songwriter known as D4vd was arrested Thursday in the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the teenager last seen alive a year ago whose decomposed remains were found in trunk of the singer’s abandoned Tesla, multiple law enforcement sources told NBC4 Investigates.
The development in the months-long investigation comes after D4vd, a 21-year-old TikTok star whose legal name is David Burke, was identified by authorities in November as a suspect in connection with the death of the 14-year-old Southern California girl. The teen’s remains were discovered in September 2025 inside the front storage area of the Tesla, which was registered to D4vd, that was impounded after it had been parked for an extended period in a Hollywood Hills neighborhood not far from a rental property where Burke had been living.
“Detectives from Los Angeles Police Department, Robbery-Homicide Division have arrested David Burke, a 21-year-old resident of Los Angeles, for the murder of Celeste Rivas,” the LAPD announced on social media.
Burke was arrested at a home in the Hollywood Hills Thursday on a probable cause warrant without any issue, the law enforcement sources told NBC4 Investigates.
Police said they followed the evidence and were careful not to compromise the investigation, which is why the arrest came months after Celeste’s body was found.
The singer was being held without bail as of Thursday.
The case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office on Monday for filing consideration, the LAPD added.
The DA’s office confirmed to NBC News that it is aware of the arrest, adding that prosecutors will review facts and evidence to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to file charges.
Burke’s attorneys, Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter, issued the following statement: “Let us be clear – the actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death. There has been no indictment returned by any grand jury in this case and no criminal complaint filed. David has only been detained under suspicion. We will vigorously defend David’s innocence.”
Celeste Rivas Hernandez is pictured on a missing person poster.
Police said Celeste’s death likely occurred in the spring of last year.
Celeste, who disappeared in the Lake Elsinore area in 2024, was identified through forensics. She was last seen April 5, 2024, in the western Riverside County community.
Details about the circumstances surrounding her disappearance at the age of 13 were not immediately available.
Celeste’s brother told NBCLA last year that family members, who still live in Lake Elsinore, were aware that the girl knew D4vd.
Her decomposed body was found Sept. 8 after workers at Hollywood Tow reported a strong odor coming from the Tesla registered to the singer. Officers opened the front trunk, also known as a frunk, and found the remains in two cadaver bags, according to LA County grand jury documents made public following a hearing in a Texas court.
The grand jury documents, including subpoenas for the testimony of Burke’s mother, father and brother, said Celeste’s remains were not intact.
They were found a day after what would have been Celeste’s 15th birthday.
The Tesla was impounded by LA parking enforcement officers after someone reported it was abandoned in the Hollywood Hills, where neighbors say it had been parked for more than a month.
The “Romantic Homicide” singer’s world tour was in Minneapolis at the time of the discovery with a stop in Kansas City the next day. A representative told NBCLA at the time that D4vd was cooperating with authorities in their investigation.
In November, an LAPD source with direct knowledge of the investigation told NBC4 Investigates that the Houston-raised artist has not been cooperative in the investigation.
In February, Burke’s parents and brother, who live in Texas, asked a judge to block LA grand jury subpoenas for their testimony, and the court there filed the grand jury documents in an open court file. The judge there declined to intervene, and it appeared the family members were compelled to come to Los Angeles and appear before the grand jury in February or March, but prosecutors declined to discuss what happened, citing the secrecy of grand jury proceedings prior to an indictment.
D4vd had not previously been publicly identified as a suspect in the teen’s death, but law enforcement sources told NBC4 Investigates months prior that he was the focus of the investigation.
Law enforcement sources also told NBC4 Investigates that more than one person may have been involved in Celeste’s death and the attempted disposal of her body.
The latest information on the investigation into the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose body was found inside a Tesla registered to the pop singer D4vd, appeared in Texas, where D4vd’s family tried to block an LA court order.
Citing the ongoing investigation, the LA County Department of Medical Examiner removed public information about the case last November, which indicated at the time that Celeste’s cause of death was still undetermined.
D4vd is a singer-songwriter who rose to fame with viral hits on TikTok, where he has 3.8 million followers. That success led to signings with Darkroom and Interscope Records.
Born in Queens, New York, Burke moved to Texas in his early teens and gained a following on YouTube playing Fortnite and other online games. He started creating original music, some of which went viral on TikTok.
D4vd released his debut album “Withered” in April 2025 and embarked on a world tour.
In an interview on the “Zach Sang Show,” D4vd said the 4 substituted for the a in his name was for search-engine optimization and a representation of four cinematic universes with various characters that he was creating.
