Singer D4vd arrested in murder case of teen found in SUV

Authorities have arrested singer David Anthony Burke, known professionally as D4vd, in the killing of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, turning a months-long homicide investigation into a formal criminal case. Burke, 21, was being held without bail after detectives took him into custody on suspicion of murder in the death of the teen whose remains were found in a vehicle tied to him.

The case drew attention last fall when Los Angeles police found a body in the front trunk of an abandoned Tesla that had been towed after being discovered in the Hollywood Hills. The car was registered to Burke. On Sept. 29, 2025, the LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division publicly confirmed it was investigating the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Her body was later identified on Oct. 16, 2025, and the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide.

Celeste Rivas Hernandez was from Lake Elsinore, in western Riverside County about 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles. ABC7 reported that she had been reported missing three times in 2024, with the final disappearance reported on April 5, 2024. Family members last heard from her in May 2024. A family GoFundMe described her as a beloved daughter, sister, cousin and friend, and said her family was devastated and heartbroken by her loss.

Investigators had not publicly named Burke as a suspect before the arrest, even as the inquiry intensified around his movements and the vehicle linked to the case. ABC7 reported that detectives executed a search warrant at a Hollywood Hills home on Sept. 18, 2025, and that Burke canceled the remaining dates of his U.S. tour the next day. A tattoo on Celeste’s index finger reading shhh... was also reported to be similar to one Burke has, adding another detail that drew scrutiny as detectives pieced together the timeline.

The arrest does not settle the central questions surrounding motive, timing or whether others may have been involved. But it marks the first major public move toward charging a suspect in a case that has hovered over both the music world and a long-running homicide investigation. For Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s family, it brings the case into the legal phase after months of uncertainty and speculation.