D4vd charged with murder in slaying of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez

Richard Winton and James Queally, Los Angeles Times on Apr 20, 2026

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LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County prosecutors formally charged David Anthony Burke — the 21-year-old music star better 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 Attorney Nathan Hochman said D4vd repeatedly sexually abused Hernandez and mutilated her body. She was last seen at the singer’s home in April 2025, according to Hochman, then was “not heard from again.” Hochman also said the killing was committed for financial gain, so that Burke could “maintain his very lucrative musical career.”

Hochman also accused the singer of killing a witness because there was an active investigation into Burke’s sexual abuse of Hernandez at the time of her death.

Burke was arrested by Los Angeles police late last Thursday at a residence in Hollywood near Sunset Boulevard. He surrendered after a phalanx of heavily armed officers stormed the street. Burke surrendered without incident and has denied all wrongdoing through his attorneys.

“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,” his legal team of Blair Berk, 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. Her body was found in the trunk of a Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard on Sept. 8, 2025, a day after her 15th birthday, and news quickly surfaced that the vehicle was registered to Burke. The ascendant singer — whose music features in the wildly popular video game “Fortnite” and who has collaborated with Kali Uchis and 21 Savage — had just started a national tour in support of his debut album, “Withered,” when reports surfaced of his potential link to the teen’s death.

As Burke canceled his tour, investigators began meticulously building a case. In November, the Los Angeles Times reported that L.A. County prosecutors had convened a secret grand jury to collect evidence in connection with Hernandez’s killing. Investigative grand juries cannot return indictments against defendants, but they are often used to enshrine evidence and subpoena witnesses for a future criminal proceeding. Earlier this year, a member of D4vd’s entourage, Neo Langston, was arrested in Montana after he attempted to avoid appearing before the L.A. grand jury.

The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office has been legally barred from revealing a cause of death in the case, but court records made public in February said Hernandez’s limbs were severed from her body when she was found.