The D4vd singer pleaded not guilty Monday to a charge of first-degree murder in the death of a 14-year-old girl who was last known to be alive nearly a year ago, and whose dismembered and decomposed body was found in September in an apparently abandoned Tesla.The charges revealed key details and were among the first concrete public moves taken in a grisly and horrific case that was subject to a largely secret investigation during the seven months after Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s body was found. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said the 21-year-old D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, is charged with first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14 and mutilation of a corpse.
His lawyer pleaded not guilty on his behalf to all charges against him, and the judge said he would remain detained without bail.The girls’ parents were in court for Burke’s first appearance in the case on Monday. Burke appeared behind glass in the court’s detention area, wearing black clothes.
Alleged child sexual abuse during a career is on the rise
Authorities alleged that the Houston-born alternative pop singer killed Rivas Hernandez to protect her rising career after she threatened to report her sexual relationship.
His debut album “Withered” was released just two days after they announced he was last alive. Her family reported her missing in 2024, when she was 13 years old. That was her age when, according to the prosecution in a criminal complaint, the singer engaged in sustained sexual abuse of her for at least a year from September 2023 to September 2024.
California law punishes abuse of children under 14 with special cruelty. Authorities, who on Monday described her as a “runaway,” said she was 14 years old when she was killed with a sharp object on or about April 23, 2025, and was headed to the singer’s Hollywood Hills home. Prosecutors allege Burke mutilated her body about two weeks later.The murder charges included special circumstances – such as lurking, committing a crime for financial gain, and killing a witness in the investigation – which could carry a penalty of death. Prosecutors have not announced whether they will request this.The witness he allegedly killed was Rivas Hernandez herself, who would have testified about the sex crime allegations.
Defense says D4vd “did not kill.” Celeste Rivas Hernandez
“We believe the actual evidence will show that David Burke did not kill Celeste Rivas Hernandez,” lead defense attorney Blair Burke said. “We would like the evidence to come to light.”Burke told the judge that after media reports of months of secret grand jury proceedings, she wanted to hold a public preliminary evidentiary hearing as soon as possible.Burke is entitled under California law to a public preliminary hearing, where a judge decides whether there is enough evidence to stand trial, within 10 court days of being charged.
Almost all of the defendants waive their right for it to happen so quickly, but he didn’t. A hearing to determine what happens next is scheduled for Thursday.“We would be very happy to present the evidence we have gathered,” said Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman, the lead prosecutor.Burke was arrested at a home in Hollywood on Thursday.
A missing child and the discovery of a horrific body
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman called the case “a parent’s nightmare.” “Celeste, who was 14 at the time, went to Mr. Burke’s house in the Hollywood Hills. She was never heard from again,” Hochman said at the news conference on Monday. Rivas Hernandez’s long-dead body was found inside a Tesla that was towed from the Hollywood Hills on September 8, when Burke was on tour in support of his album. It was the day after she turned fifteen. Her family had reported her missing from her hometown of Lake Elsinore, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles. The singer was under investigation by a Los Angeles County grand jury into the death. The investigation was officially secret, but its existence — and its identification as its target — was revealed in February when his mother, father and brother objected in a Texas court to subpoenas demanding that they testify. A 2023 Tesla Model Y was registered in the singer’s name at their address, according to court filings. The authorities did not publicly recognize him as a suspect until his arrest.
Police investigators who searched the Tesla at the tow lot found a body bag “covered in insects and a strong odor of decomposition,” court documents said. Investigators partially unzipped the suitcase and found a head and torso. According to court documents, investigators from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office removed the bag and “discovered that the arms and legs were severed from the body.” A second black bag was found under the first, containing torn human remains.
The cause of death was not publicly revealed, and the police turned to a judge to prevent the publication of details of the autopsy. The court order is expected to be lifted after charges are filed.Rivas Hernandez’s family has remained secret and has not made any public statements regarding her death or the case.“I had the opportunity to meet some of Celeste’s family and their immeasurable grief over what happened to their daughter,” Hochman said.
D4vd was a social media savvy singer who had breakthroughs
D4vd, pronounced “David”, has gained popularity among Generation Z for its mix of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. He went viral on TikTok in 2022 with the song “Romantic Homicide,” which peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. He then signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records and released his debut album, “Petals to Thorns” and a follow-up, “The Lost Petals”, in 2023.The Associated Press confirmed that Interscope dropped D4vd last year.When the body was discovered, the singer continued his North American tour, but when reports of his possible involvement became widespread, he canceled the final two shows and the European tour that was to follow. On April 11, about two weeks before the killing, he made his first appearance at the Coachella music festival, where he spoke to the AP. “I was an Internet kid. The Internet is really what I consider home,” he said. “My neighborhood was Instagram and the community was the Internet.”
