OAN Staff Lillian Mann and Brooke Mallory
5:56 PM – Monday, April 20, 2026
21-year-old singer David Burke, known professionally as “d4vd,” pleaded not guilty on Monday to first-degree murder and several other felony charges in connection with the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
The charges follow the grim discovery of the teenager’s dismembered remains in the front trunk of Burke’s Tesla on September 8, 2025 — one day after what would have been her 15th birthday and seven months before the formal indictment.
Burke was arrested in Los Angeles last Thursday on counts including murder with special circumstances, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and the mutilation of human remains. Authorities, including Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell, stated that Hernandez was a runaway from Riverside who had been missing since 2024 and was allegedly involved in an illicit sexual relationship with Burke.
Investigators believe the girl was killed on or around April 23, 2025, shortly after she arrived at the singer’s Hollywood Hills home, which was the last time she was seen alive. Prosecutors further allege that her body was mutilated approximately two weeks after the murder occurred.
“I am a parent of three children, and a parent’s nightmare is a situation where your daughter goes out one night and never comes back,” following press conference Monday with Los Angeles County District Attorney, Nathan Hochman.
“The substantial amount of time that passed between her death and the discovery meant that crucial evidence had degraded or disappeared, and as detectives worked to uncover the truth, they also had to sift through and debunk a great deal of false information circulating publicly,” McDonnell added.
Hochman emphasized that prosecutors are pursuing three specific enhancements to the murder charge: lying in wait, murdering a witness to an investigation, and financial gain.
The allegation of financial gain stems from the theory that Burke killed Celeste Rivas Hernandez to protect his lucrative music career, which she was reportedly threatening on the night of her death. According to the DA, the murder was an attempt to silence allegations of lascivious sexual acts filed against the singer.
Additionally, the criminal complaint asserts that Hernandez was sexually assaulted between September 7, 2023, and September 7, 2024, during a period when Burke lived with and had recurring access to the child. While Burke currently faces a sentence ranging from life in prison to the death penalty, Hochman noted that a final decision on whether to seek capital punishment will be determined at a later date.
Authorities discovered Hernandez’s remains after reports of a foul odor led them to Burke’s abandoned Tesla, which had been towed from an upscale Hollywood Hills neighborhood to a storage yard. According to court documents, investigators searching the vehicle located a cadaver bag covered in insects and emitting a strong scent of decay; upon opening it, they found a head and torso.
Representatives from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office later determined that the victim’s arms and legs had been severed from the body. A second bag containing additional dismembered remains was subsequently recovered from the vehicle.
Prosecution filings also reveal that the Tesla was registered in the singer’s name at a Texas address belonging to family members who have since been subpoenaed.
The singer d4vd, born David Burke, first rose to prominence in 2022 through viral success on TikTok, but his career came to a halt when his North American tour was canceled following the discovery of Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s remains.
Evidence of their prior connection includes a June 2024 photograph of Hernandez backstage at Burke’s sold-out performance at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles. A private investigator later uncovered additional images placing the two together during shows in late December 2024 and early January 2025.
In response to the allegations, Burke’s legal team — comprising attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski, and Regina Peter — issued a statement confirming their intent to vigorously defend their client’s innocence.
“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,” the statement read.
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