Court Filings Name Singer d4vd Target in Celeste Rivas Hernandez Death Probe

Court filings unsealed in Texas identify 20-year-old Houston-born alt-pop singer David Burke, stage name d4vd, as the “Target” of a Los Angeles County grand jury investigation into the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The filings quote the allegation bluntly: “Target may be involved in having committed the following criminal offenses against the laws of the State of California, to wit: One count of Murder.”

Investigators discovered human remains inside the front trunk (front storage compartment/front boot) of a Tesla registered in Burke’s name on Sept. 8, 2025, when tow-lot staff at a Hollywood impound reported a “strong smell of decay” and flies. Detectives who examined the vehicle “immediately noticed a smell of decaying biological material consistent with a decomposing corpse coming from the front storage compartment of the vehicle,” the filings state. Officers unzipped a black cadaver bag covered with insects and found a decomposed head and torso; a second black bag contained severed arms and legs, the documents say.

The grand jury subpoenas shown in the court filings were dated Jan. 15 and sought testimony from Burke’s parents, Colleen and Dawud Burke, and his brother Caleb. Those subpoenas were sealed in California and became public after the family filed an appeal in Texas, a move that included portions of the California case not previously available to the public. NBC-language in the filings ordered Colleen and Dawud Burke to appear before an L.A. County grand jury scheduled for Feb. 11; the father was asked to appear as a witness.

The Tesla was registered at the address of the subpoenaed family members, the filings say, linking the vehicle registration to the home tied to the family. Law enforcement documents and reporting note that a Los Angeles Police Department source had previously described Burke as a suspect, but prosecutors’ filings have identified him as a grand jury “Target.” Burke has not been arrested or publicly charged in connection with Hernandez’s death, and grand jury proceedings remain ongoing.

Burke appears in reporting under the legal names David Burke and David Anthony Burke; his stage name is stylized as d4vd and pronounced “David.” Court documents and reporting place him on tour when the remains were discovered; he canceled at least a Seattle performance and other dates after authorities publicly identified the victim. His representatives have said he was cooperating with police; a lawyer for Burke did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The filings describe a case with graphic, forensic detail and a procedural path that is still unfolding: sealed subpoenas unsealed by appeal, a grand jury probe that could lead to indictment, and no public arrest to date. Prosecutors and investigators will control the next steps as L.A. County grand jury work continues.