D4vd held without bail in murder of teen whose body was found in Tesla

Singer David Burke, known as D4vd, was arrested Thursday in connection with the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose body was found in September 2025 in the trunk of an abandoned Tesla in Los Angeles.

“Detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department, Robbery-Homicide Division, arrested David Burke, a 21-year-old Los Angeles resident, for the murder of Celeste Rivas,” the LAPD said in a social media post. “Burke is being held without bail.”

In another message, police said: “The case will be presented to the District Attorney’s Office for review on Monday. »

Until Thursday, authorities had not publicly named D4vd as a suspect in the case, although in February he was the target of a Los Angeles County grand jury investigation into Hernandez’s death.

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Singer D4vd was arrested in Los Angeles in connection with the murder of a 14-year-old girl found in the trunk of a Tesla, according to police. (Cyril Zingaro/Keystone via AP)

The Associated Press reported in February that Hernandez’s body was found decomposed in an abandoned Tesla registered to D4vd and towed from the Hollywood Hills, citing court documents.

Prosecutors described the Houston-born alternative pop singer as the target of the investigation in grand jury subpoenas issued Jan. 15, seeking testimony from three of his relatives.

The Associated Press obtained the formerly sealed documents, which were made public after the singer’s mother, father and brother appealed subpoenas in Texas.

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Photographs, intimate notes and flowers are among items laid out Thursday at a memorial for murdered teenager Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who was found dead in the trunk of a Tesla at a Hollywood tow lot on September 25, 2025 in Lake Elsinore, California. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The documents state: “Target may be involved in committing the following criminal offenses against the laws of the State of California, namely: One count of Murder. »

Hernandez’s body was found on September 8, a day after she would have turned 15. She was reported missing in 2024 when she was 13, in seventh grade, from her hometown of Lake Elsinore, about 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Authorities say she was 14 when she was killed, according to court documents.

The subpoena says investigators searching a 2023 Tesla Model Y in a tow yard found a bag of corpse “covered in insects and a strong rotting odor.”

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Singer D4vd was arrested in Los Angeles in connection with the murder of a 14-year-old girl found in the trunk of a Tesla, according to police. (Photo by Timothy Norris/Getty Images for Coachella)

“Detectives partially opened the bag and observed a decomposed head and torso,” the subpoena states. Investigators from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office responded to the scene.

“Upon removing the body bag from the front storage compartment, it was discovered that the arms and legs had been severed from the body,” the document states. “A second black bag was discovered under the body bag. When the second bag was opened, the dismembered body parts were discovered.”

The singer was on tour in the United States at the time and continued to perform after the body was discovered. He then canceled the remaining shows, as well as a planned European tour, as reports linking him to the affair attracted greater attention.

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D4vd has built a following among Gen Z fans with its blend of indie rock, R&B, and lo-fi pop. He gained traction on TikTok in 2022 with “Romantic Homicide”, which peaked at #4 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. He then signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records and released Petals to Thorns and The Lost Petals in 2023.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.