April 17, 2026
Singer D4vd Arrested In Connection With Death Of 14-Year-Old Girl
While the LAPD had previously searched a property in the Hollywood Hills linked to the singer, they had not publicly named him as a suspect until this week’s arrest.
Singer-songwriter professionally d4vd was arrested April 16 in connection with the death of a 14-year-old girl whose dismembered remains were found in his vehicle last year.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed on X that the entertainer, born David Anthony Burke, 21, was taken into custody and is being held without bail.
The arrest follows a months-long investigation and a secret grand jury probe into the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing since April 2024, The New York Times reported.
While the LAPD had previously searched a property in the Hollywood Hills linked to the singer, they had not publicly named him as a suspect until this week’s arrest. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is expected to review the case on April 20 to determine if there is sufficient evidence to file formal charges.
The case began in September 2025, when employees at a Hollywood impound lot reported a foul odor emitting from a Tesla registered to Burke. The vehicle was towed after it was found abandoned on a street and was subsequently searched. Authorities discovered the “severely decomposed” and “dismembered” body of Hernandez. Forensic evidence suggested she had been deceased for several weeks.
The attorneys representing D4vd, Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski, and Regina Peter, emphasized in a statement that their client had “only been detained under suspicion.”
“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,” the attorneys said. “There has been no indictment returned by any grand jury in this case and no criminal complaint filed.”
The investigation has also drawn significant attention to the alleged relationship between Burke and the victim. Allegations have surfaced that the teenager was in an inappropriate sexual relationship with Burke. Family members of Rivas Hernandez told local media that she had met the singer online and had previously been seen in his company.
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