TMZ investigates: Why singer D4vd was arrested for Celeste Rivas Hernandez's murder
D4vd arrested in murder of Celeste Rivas-Hernandez
Los Angeles Police Department arrested David Anthony Burke, 21, who is known by the name D4vd, on Thursday and said the case will be presented to the District Attorney's Office on Monday.
LOS ANGELES - Singer David Anthony Burke, the alt-pop artist known as D4vd, is in custody as Los Angeles authorities prepare to present a murder case to the District Attorney's Office following the gruesome discovery of a teenager's body in his vehicle.
What we know:
D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, 21, was arrested by LAPD officers around 5 p.m. Thursday in the Hollywood Hills.
The arrest follows a months-long investigation into the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, a 14-year-old girl from Lake Elsinore who had been missing since 2024.
In an interview with Good Day LA, TMZ's Charles Latibeaudiere discussed the outcome of the case.
"If you go back to September, when Celeste's body was found decomposing in a Tesla that David owned, everyone thought immediately like, 'okay, well this guy has to have something to do with it. Why haven't they arrested him?' And obviously the police did not have the evidence that they needed and they've been working on this case," he said.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- D4vd arrested in connection to murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez
- D4vd arrested in connection to murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez: LAPD
"We know that the DA had also convened a grand jury going back as far as November. And that we're told that was an investigative grand jury and they saw testimony up until February, I believe was the last time we know that they had convened and that there was someone in there. They had tons of witnesses go through, and yet there hasn't been enough for an arrest. So as for what changed yesterday, why they finally felt they had enough to arrest him? We're not sure exactly," he added.
TMZ details D4vd's arrest in Celeste Rivas-Hernandez murder case
TMZ's Charles Latibeaudiere talks with Good Day LA about the recent arrest of singer D4vd in connection with the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas-Hernandez, whose decomposed body was found seven months ago in his apparently abandoned Tesla.
When Burke was arrested, according to Latibeaudiere, the LAPD said their findings would be turned over to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office on Monday, and that DA Nathan Hochman would then determine if there is enough evidence to charge Burke with Rivas Hernandez's murder.
Burke has not been charged.
"What's curious about that is the police saying they're gonna turn their investigative findings over to the DA's office, but the DA office has been running a grand jury for several months and has presumably seen all of this evidence. So that's the part that doesn't add up here and maybe might point to some holes that the prosecutors have in their case because they assembled the grand jury but they didn't get an indictment. They say that that grand jury was just there for investigative purposes," Latibeaudiere said.
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When asked what had taken so long for Burke's arrest, Latibeaudiere reiterated it was likely a potential hole in the investigation.
"As far as we know, the medical examiner's office still does not have a manner of death. And if you can't say that Celeste was... killed in a particular way, then how can you say someone did that thing? You have to be able to say what it is that in this case they've arrested David, so clearly they think he did it, but how did he do it? How did she die? And because of how decomposed the body is, you know, we'd been told by sources in the medical examiner's office months ago that they were having a very difficult time determining a manner of death and were uncertain if they would ever be able to," he said.
"What was always really creepy about this case is that Celeste is only 14 years old. She would have turned 15 a few days after the body was found in David's Tesla. So you know Celeste's mom told us that she had run away and it seems like the family had some minimal contact with her since she had ran away the year before. This would have been in 2024 when she ran away and they had minimal contact, but certainly the mother, Celeste's mother, knew about someone named David that as she put it was dating her daughter," Latibeaudiere added.
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Police had previously made contact with Rivas Hernandez at least once before she disappeared and returned her to her family, only for her to run away again.
"Police were aware of the fact that she was a missing person, that her family had reported her as a missing person, and had made contact that one time. But once she ran away again, there's no indication that the police had contact with her after that," Latibeaudiere said.
It is believed that Burke's friends were under the impression that Rivas Hernandez was of legal age since she had attended multiple age-restricted events.
"We do know that his friends certainly... Thought that they were a couple. They said what we were told is that they sort of presented as a couple when they would be at social gatherings. But nobody had any idea how young she was, is what we're told. They thought that she was a student at one of the colleges here in LA, had no idea. And people were shocked to find out she was as young as she was, he said.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Celeste Rivas believed to be 19-year-old USC student, D4vd's friends say: report
When asked if there are other suspects being sought in the case, Latibeaudiere said at the moment authorities are focusing on Burke as the only suspect in Rivas Hernandez's murder.
LAPD: D4vd arrested for murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez
LAPD announced that 21-year-old singer D4vd has been arrested in connection to the murder of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The teen's body was found inside the trunk of a Tesla registered under the singer's name.
The other side:
Burke's legal team, including attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski, and Regina Peter, issued a firm statement denying his involvement.
"Let us be clear, the actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez, and he was not the cause of her death. There has been no indictment returned by any grand jury in this case and no criminal complaint filed. David has only been detained under suspicion. We will vigorously defend David's innocence," the statement read.
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"Obviously, the police are hoping that he's gonna be charged with first-degree murder and that's why he's being held without bail. But his attorneys said after his arrest that they will prove that the facts of this case will show that David did not cause her death and that he is not the one who killed her," Latibeaudiere said.
"And it seems like they're kind of hinting that... maybe he knows something about how her body ended up in his car, but that he was not the person who actually killed her. That's what they said the evidence will show. So they are looking forward, they said, to trying this case in court," he added.
The backstory:
Rivas Hernandez's remains were found on Sept. 8, 2025 in the front trunk of a 2023 Tesla Model Y registered to Burke.
The car had been towed to a police lot after being abandoned near a Hollywood Hills home Burke was renting. Workers at the impound lot had called the police due to a foul odor emanating from the car, which had been there for several days.
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According to the court documents, officers found two separate cadaver bags in the front storage compartment: one covered with insects containing a "decomposed head and torso" and a second containing the girl's arms and legs. Officers described her body as "severely decomposed" and said the strong smell of decay was attracting flies to the car.
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The Department of Transportation marked the vehicle and issued a citation before impounding it, the filings stated. D4vd was on tour at the time the car was impounded.
Burke was previously labeled a "target" of the investigation but never officially declared a suspect until his arrest on Thursday.
What we don't know:
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has not yet released an official cause of death due to a "security hold" placed on the investigation last November.
While Burke is being held on suspicion of murder, it is unclear if authorities believe he acted alone; previous reports suggested he may have had assistance in the dismemberment of the body.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Celeste Rivas case: LAPD chief stays mum on D4vd's alleged role in teen's death investigation
The exact timeline of when and where Rivas Hernandez died remains under investigation, as she is believed to have been dead for several weeks before the car was towed.
What's next:
Police investigators are scheduled to present the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on Monday.
Prosecutors will then review the evidence to determine if formal criminal charges will be filed.
Video from Celeste Rivas' teacher may be 'smoking gun' in case
A teacher is captured on cell phone video telling his students that Celeste Rivas, the 15-year-old girl found dead inside singer David Anthony Burke's Tesla had been his student and that he knew she had run away a couple of times.�
Burke remains held without bail in the meantime.
The Source: This report is based on official statements from the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, and court filings submitted by both the prosecution and the defense team. Information regarding the discovery of the victim was corroborated by Los Angeles County Medical Examiner records and statements provided to NBC4 and ABC News by the families involved.