An ambitious US pop singer dubbed D4vd was arrested Thursday in connection with the death of a 14-year-old girl, whose remains were found badly decomposed in the trunk of a car registered to him last September.
Video captured the moment LAPD officers descended on the singer’s LA mansion taking him into custody.
Seven months earlier, 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s body was found in a Tesla Model Y registered to D4vd, AKA David Anthony Burke, who played a show in Minneapolis the day her body was discovered, but canceled his next show in Seattle after her identity was revealed.
Hernandez went missing in April 2024 from Lake Elsinore, Calif., and was 13 at the time of her disappearance.
D4vd’s Tesla had not been reported stolen, but it was impounded after it was left abandoned in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood, where the Houston-based singer was leasing a home.
After sitting in a tow yard for five days, workers reported a foul odor, leading investigators to uncover badly decomposed human remains in bags stored in the Tesla’s front trunk.
“At the time the body was found, officials said it was too decomposed to determine even the person’s sex, and had been hidden in the car for some time in the burning Los Angeles summer heat,” WCNC reported.
Police discovered a cadaver bag “covered with insects and a strong odor of decay,” according to court docs.
The “detectives partially unzipped the bag and observed a decomposed head and torso,” and next “discovered the arms and legs had been severed from the body.”
“A second black bag was found under the first, and dismembered body parts were inside it,” NPR reported.
The Los Angeles medical examiner at the time noted, “The decedent was found severely decomposed inside a vehicle.”
“She appears to have been deceased inside the vehicle for an extended period of time before being found,” the medical examiner added.
Hernandez and Burke had appeared in several photos together, and both had “shhh…” tattooed on their fingers.
Celeste’s mom also recalled she was dating a person named “David” when she went missing, TMZ reports.
Charges have not yet been filed.
D4vd reportedly cooperated with law enforcement and is currently being held without bail.
Months before the arrest, online sleuths were on the case hunting down evidence, turning over Discord chats between the pair when she was 12-years-old, video of him vigorously cleaning her shoes, and honing in on a suspicious song track titled, ”Romantic Homicide.”
The song features a verse stating:
In the back of my mind
I killed you
And I didn’t even regret it
I can’t believe I said it
But it’s true
I hate you
A disturbing explanation about “Romantic Homicide” raised further questions.
Death was also a central theme at D4vd’s shows, the LA Times reports:
D4vd’s Withered world tour includes themes of death and remembrance. Fans entering Burke’s show are greeted by a casket and guest book, where they can pay condolences to a character Burke sometimes reprises in his performances and music videos. Part of that character’s uniform includes a shirt covered in bloody handprints and a blindfold.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is still reviewing the case to determine whether there’s enough evidence to charge Burke, NPR reports.
