HOLLYWOOD HILLS—On April 16, singer D4vd, whose real name is David Burke, 21, was arrested in Hollywood Hills by the Los Angeles Police Department in connection with the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. At 10 a.m. on Monday, April 20, Nathan Hochman, the Los Angeles County District Attorney, announced that the singer has been charged with murder.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has charged D4vd with first degree murder including special circumstances, which includes murdering a witness in an investigation. The other special circumstances include committing a crime for financial gain and lying in wait. These charges come with a special allegation that D4vd used a sharp weapon to kill Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
Hochman held a press conference on Monday where he announced charges that included dismembering the remains of a human body, as well as several counts of performing ongoing lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14.
On April 23, 2025, Celeste Rivas Hernandez was invited by D4vd to his residence in Hollywood Hills. She later vanished. Her dismembered remains were found in bags on September 8, 2025, inside a Tesla vehicle that was abandoned in a Hollywood Hills impound lot. The vehicle was registered to D4vd.
District Attorney Hochman also alleged that the victim, Celeste Rivas Hernandez, was a threat to D4vd’s musical career and that he murdered her because she was going to be a witness in an investigation into the singer.
If convicted, D4vd could face life in prison without the possibility of parole. In addition, he could also face the death penalty. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office has not yet decided if it will seek the penalty if D4vd is convicted.
D4vd’s lawyers maintain their client’s innocence in the case. He entered a plea of not guilty during his arraignment in court on April 20 in Department 40 at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. Celeste was 14 when she disappeared from her home in Lake Elsinore.
Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman will serve as the prosecutor on this case. She works in the Major Crimes Division of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.
