Platinum-selling artist D4vd was arrested Thursday on suspicion of murdering 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, seven months after Los Angeles police found the teen’s dismembered and severely decomposed body in the trunk of his impounded Tesla. A source at the singer’s Hollywood Hills home told Rolling Stone that D4vd, born David Anthony Burke, was “completely cooperative” when he was taken into custody. Separately, law enforcement sources said detectives had obtained a probable-cause warrant and arrested Burke shortly after 4:30 p.m.The California Post obtained video showing heavily armed LAPD officers leading Burke away with his hands behind his back.
He was still being booked when police announced his arrest on social media. Burke’s defense lawyers quickly issued a statement saying he was not a killer. David has only been detained under suspicion.
We will vigorously defend David’s innocence.” Burke was out of state on a national tour when his dented 2023 Tesla Model X was towed from the affluent Bird Streets neighborhood of the Hollywood Hills on Sept. 5, 2025. The tow yard called police, saying the impounded vehicle was “emanating a foul odor and attracting flies,” according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by Rolling Stone. When detectives opened the trunk, they found Rivas Hernandez’s decomposed head and torso inside a black cadaver bag “covered with insects and a strong odor of decay,” court documents previously obtained by Rolling Stone revealed.
Detectives unzipped a second bag underneath and discovered Rivas Hernandez’s severed arms and legs inside, the filings said. Burke is being held without bail,” police said in their social media post on Thursday, April 16. The ME’s office vocally opposed the security hold, saying it precluded the agency from “serving our community with full transparency.” Witnesses were summoned to testify before a secret grand jury in downtown Los Angeles, but it wasn’t until Burke’s parents and brother challenged their subpoenas in their home state of Texas that sealed documents were finally made public, confirming Burke was the “target” of a murder probe.
The documents described Burke as someone who “may be involved in having committed” a crime identified as “one count of murder.” The D.A.’s office issued a statement Thursday evening saying it was “aware of the arrest.” “The case is expected to be presented to the Major Crimes Division, at which point prosecutors will review the facts and evidence to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to file charges,” the statement sent to Rolling Stone said. We will share an update on Monday once a filing decision has been made.” After the grisly discovery last September, Rivas Hernandez was quickly identified by friends and family as a missing teen from Lake Elsinore, a city about 75 miles southeast of Los Angeles. According to online fliers, her family had reported her missing in February 2024 and again two months later in April of 2024.
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