Singer D4vd has been arrested on suspicion of killing a decomposing body in an apparently abandoned Tesla seven months ago, authorities said Thursday, while his lawyers pleaded not guilty. Los Angeles police said in a brief statement that homicide detectives arrested the 21-year-old Houston-born alt-pop singer, whose legal name is David Burke, in the murder investigation of Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
D4vd’s lawyers say he is innocent
Defense attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter responded in an email: “Let’s be clear – the real evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not kill Celeste Rivas Hernandez and was not the cause of her death.”Defense attorneys added, “No indictment has been returned by a grand jury in this case and no criminal charges have been filed. David is being held on suspicion only. We will vigorously defend David’s innocence.”
The police will present the case to the prosecutor’s office on Monday
Police said investigators will present a case to prosecutors Monday at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The office said in its statement that it is aware of the arrest and that the Major Crimes Division will review the case to determine if there is sufficient evidence to file charges.
D4vd was not designated as “suspicious”.
It was the first public statement about the case. Authorities did not publicly name Burke as a suspect until after his arrest. He was held in jail without bail. The singer was being investigated by an LA County grand jury looking into the death of Rivas Hernandez. The probe was officially secret, but its existence – and the naming of D4vd as a target – came to light on February 25 when his mother, father and brother contested subpoenas in a Texas court.
Regarding the case of the death of Celeste Rivas
Rivas Hernandez’s body was found in a decomposing Tesla that had been towed through the Hollywood Hills, one day after his 15th birthday. She was a 13-year-old seventh grader when her family reported her missing in 2024, about 112 miles from her hometown of Lake Elsinore, Los Angeles. Authorities say she was 14 when she was killed in court documents.The 2023 Tesla Model Y was registered in the singer’s name at the Texas address of the subpoenaed family members, according to prosecutors’ filings. It was towed from an upscale neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills where it sat, seemingly abandoned. Police investigators searching a Tesla trailer found a body bag “covered in insects and a strong odor of decay,” court documents said, and “detectives partially opened the bag and found a decomposed head and torso.”Investigators with the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office removed the bag and “found that the arms and legs had been severed from the body,” according to court documents. A second black bag was found under the first one, with dismembered body parts inside. The cause of death has not been publicly disclosed.
About singer D4vd
D4vd, pronounced “David,” gained popularity among Gen Z fans for his blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. He went viral on TikTok in 2022 with the hit “Romantic Homicide”, which peaked at #4 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. He then signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records and released the EP “Petals to Thorns” and a follow-up, “The Lost Petals” in 2023.When the body was found, D4vd was on tour in support of his first full-length album, “Withered.” Later, the last two North American shows, in San Francisco and Los Angeles, along with a scheduled performance at the Grammy Museum in LA, were canceled, as well as a European tour that was supposed to start in Norway.
