Singer D4vd pleaded not guilty Monday to one count of murder in the death of a 14-year-old girl last known to be alive nearly a year ago, whose dismembered and decomposed body was found in an apparently abandoned Tesla in September.The indictments revealed key details and were one of the first concrete public moves in a gruesome and gruesome case that has been under secret investigation for seven months since the discovery of Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s body. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said 21-year-old D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, was charged with first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts and mutilation of a corpse with a person under the age of 14. His attorney entered not guilty pleas on his behalf to all charges, and the judge said he would remain without bail.The girls’ parents were in court Monday for Burke’s first appearance in the case. Burke appeared behind glass in a surveillance area of the court, dressed in black.
Alleged child sexual abuse in a career on the rise
Authorities alleged that the Houston-born alt-pop singer killed Rivas Hernandez to protect her burgeoning career after she threatened to report their affair. His first album, “Withered”, was released just two days after he was reported alive. His family reported him missing in 2024, when he was 13 years old. That was her age, according to a criminal complaint, the singer sexually abused her continuously from at least September 2023 to September 2024. California law makes child abuse of children under 14 particularly harsh. Authorities, who described Monday as a “fleeing escape,” said she was 14 when she was killed with a sharp object on or about April 23, 2025, and went to the singer’s home in the Hollywood Hills. Prosecutors allege Burke mutilated her body two weeks later.The murder charges included special circumstances that could carry the death penalty – lying in wait, committing a crime for financial gain and killing a witness during an investigation. The prosecutor has not announced whether they will request it or not.The witness who allegedly killed Rivas Hernandez himself, who could have testified about the allegations of sex crimes.
The defense says D4vd didn’t kill her Celeste Rivas Hernandez’
“We believe that the actual evidence will show that David Burke did not kill Celeste Rivas Hernandez,” said lead defense attorney Blair Berk. “We would like the evidence to come to light.”Berk told the judge that after months of media coverage of the grand jury’s secretive proceedings, he would like a public preliminary hearing as soon as possible.Burke is entitled under California law to a preliminary public hearing, where a judge decides whether there is enough evidence for a trial, within 10 days of the court date. Almost all the defendants waived their right to have it happen so quickly, but it didn’t. A hearing was scheduled for Thursday to clarify what will happen next.Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman, the lead prosecutor, said, “We will be very happy to present the evidence that we have collected.”Burke was arrested at a Hollywood home on Thursday.
A missing child and the gruesome discovery of a corpse
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman called the case “a parent’s nightmare.” “Celeste, 14 at the time, went to Mr. Burke’s house in the Hollywood Hills. She was never heard from,” Hochman said at a news conference Monday. Rivas Hernandez’s long-dead body was found inside a Tesla that was towed through the Hollywood Hills on Sept. 8 while Burke was on tour in support of his album. A day passed after his 15th birthday. Her family reported her missing in her hometown of Lake Elsinore, about 112 miles from Los Angeles. The singer was being investigated by an LA County grand jury looking into the death. The probe was officially secret, but its existence — and its naming as a target — came to light in February, when his mother, father and brother contested subpoenas to testify in a Texas court. A 2023 Tesla Model Y was registered in the singer’s name at their address, according to court filings. Authorities did not publicly identify him as a suspect until after his arrest. Police investigators searching a Tesla trailer found a body bag “covered in insects and a strong odor of decay,” court documents say. Detectives partially opened a bag and found the 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 made public, and police got a judge to block the release of autopsy details. The court order was expected to be lifted after the charges.Rivas Hernandez’s family has remained private and has not made a public statement about his death or the case.“I had the opportunity to meet with some of Celeste’s family members and their grief over what happened to their daughter was unbelievable,” Hochman said.
D4vd was the social media savvy singer making the breakthrough
D4vd, pronounced “David,” gained popularity among Gen Z 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.The Associated Press confirmed that D4vd was dropped by Interscope last year.After the body was found, the singer continued his North American tour, but when news of his possible involvement spread, he canceled the last two shows and the upcoming European tour. On April 11, two weeks before the murder, he made his first appearance at the Coachella music festival, where he spoke to the AP. “I was such an internet kid. The internet is really what I call my home,” he said. “My neighborhood was Instagram and society was the internet.”
