Prosecutors are sharing gruesome new details about how they allege D4vd may have carried out the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
In a statement shared on Monday (April 20), Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced that the 21-year-old “Romantic Homicide” singer (born David Burke) was charged with murdering 14-year-old Rivas, seven months after her dismembered and decomposed body was found in the trunk of his Tesla.
D4vd’s charges include one count each of murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains.
Per the district attorney’s office, the criminal complaint also alleges that the singer “personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon, a sharp instrument, to commit the crime.” This was a detail not mentioned in Hochman’s press conference on Monday.
“Celeste was just a child, under 14 years old, when David Burke allegedly engaged in repeated lewd and lascivious sexual relations with her,” District Attorney Hochman said in a statement. “But Burke’s actions did not allegedly stop there. When she threatened to expose his criminal conduct and devastate his musical career, Burke allegedly murdered her, cut up her body and stuffed her body in two bags that were placed in the front trunk of his car.
“There the dismembered body sat for over four months decomposing until it was found at a tow yard on Sept. 8, 2025. This horrific and gruesome murder committed by the charged sexual predator is shocking and appalling. To Celeste’s loved ones, we will get the justice you seek and deserve.”
The DA’s office also shared an alleged timeline of events, stating that D4vd invited Rivas to his home in the Hollywood Hills on April 23, 2025 and was never seen again.
As previously reported, Rivas’ decomposed and dismembered remains were found in the front trunk of a Tesla registered to D4vd that had been impounded after the vehicle was reported as abandoned.
At the time that Rivas’ remains were discovered, D4vd was touring in support of his Withered album. He went on to perform on Sept. 9 at The Fillmore in Minneapolis after the story broke about the discovery, but he did not address the matter on stage nor his social media accounts.
His remaining tour dates were cancelled and a previously-announced deluxe edition for Withered did not materialize.
During his arraignment on Monday afternoon, D4vd entered a “not guilty” plea in front of the media, the public, and members of Rivas’ family, who wore all black. The singer was placed in a plastic holding box out of the crowd’s view.
If convicted, D4vd faces death or life in state prison without the possibility of parole. A decision on whether to seek the death penalty will be made at a later date.
