D4vd has officially been charged with murder, seven months after the body of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas was found in his car.
Charges against the singer, real name David Burke, had been expected following his arrest last week. They were announced on Monday (Apr. 20) at a joint press conference held by Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell.
The most serious charge against Burke is first degree murder with special circumstances. Those special circumstances mean that the maximum sentence is life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, Hochman explained. The decision on whether to try for the death penalty will be made “at a later date.”
“The special circumstances include lying in wait, committing this crime for financial gain, [and] murdering a witness in an investigation,” Hochman said.
Other charges include “continuous sexual acts” with an individual under 14, and mutilation of a body.
In September, 2025, a decomposed, dismembered body was discovered in the front trunk of Burke’s Tesla, which had been abandoned in the Hollywood Hills and later towed to an impound lot.
The remains were eventually identified as Rivas, whose mother told TMZ she had a boyfriend named David and that she had been missing for over a year.
Burke had been touring in support of his album Withered at the time Rivas’ body was discovered. He continued on with a performance on Sept. 9 at The Fillmore in Minneapolis after the story broke about the discovery. He did not address the matter on stage nor his social media accounts.
Recent resurfaced videos from concerts held in July and August, particularly from a show on July 30 at The Warfield in San Francisco, show what appears to be a prop casket and a mock memorial used as part of D4vd’s stage performance.
The “Romantic Homicide” singer was scheduled to perform on Sept. 16 in Seattle, but the show was canceled just hours after Rivas’ body was identified.
On Sept. 18, LAPD homicide detectives searched through a home rented by Josh Marshall, D4vd’s manager. The singer was reportedly living there based on photos and videos shared earlier this year that TMZ noted matched the home’s interior. During the search, detectives reportedly seized a computer and several bags of evidence.
Burke was arrested last Thursday and held without bail. His attorneys and parents have proclaimed his innocence.
