US singer D4vd, 21, arrested on suspicion of murdering girl, 14

American alt-pop singer D4vd has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a teenage girl, who was reported missing.

According to Reuters, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said on Apr. 16 that they arrested David Anthony Burke, a 21-year-old musician known professionally as D4vd.

He was alleged to have murdered a 14-year-old girl, Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose dismembered and decomposed remains were found in a Tesla registered to him.

Discovery of Rivas’ remains

Rivas, who lived about 120km away from where her remains were found, was reported missing by her family in April 2024, BBC reported.

Her remains were discovered on Sep. 8, 2025, after workers reported a foul odour coming from an abandoned vehicle parked for weeks in a tow yard in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles.

Investigators found her decomposed head and torso in a bag in the front trunk of a Tesla car registered to Burke’s address in Texas.

According to a Los Angeles medical examiner, the body was “severely decomposed", and Rivas might have been dead “for several weeks”.

The circumstances of the girl’s death and how she ended up in the vehicle remain unclear.

LAPD previously stated that they raided Burke’s Hollywood Hills mansion, blocks from where his vehicle was towed.

Case developments

A judge ordered Rivas' death records to be sealed in November 2025 to ensure that investigators received information from medical examiners before the public.

A grand jury began hearing evidence on the case in December 2025.

Burke’s arrest marks the first significant development in the case.

Statement from D4vd’s lawyers

Burke’s defence attorneys stated in an email that “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,” Associated Press reported.

His lawyers added that there has been no indictment returned by any grand jury in this case, and no criminal complaint was filed.

“David has only been detained under suspicion. We will vigorously defend David’s innocence,” his lawyers stated.

It was his lawyers' first public statement on the case.

Police said investigators would present a case to prosecutors at the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office on Apr. 20.

The office stated that it is aware of the arrest and its Major Crimes Division will review the case to determine if there is enough evidence to file charges.

A LAPD statement on X said Burke is being held without bail.

D4vd

David Anthony Burke, known professionally as D4vd, gained fame in 2022 after songs he recorded on his phone for his gaming videos went viral on TikTok.

He is known for his songs, such as “Romantic Homicide”, “Here With Me” and “Feel It”.

Top photos via Live Nation & Riverside Sheriff's Office