Written by D4vd has been arrested for the murder of Celeste Rivas, a 14-year-old girl whose body was discovered in the musician’s car in California last fall. The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed on Thursday, April 16 that the artist, real name David Burke, is being held without bail.
According to the LAPD, Burke’s case will be presented to the District Attorney’s office for filing consideration on Monday, April 20. 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,” Burke’s attorney, Blair Berk, said in a statement. “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.” When reached by Pitchfork, a representative for the LAPD had no further comment.
The Houston singer-songwriter was first tied to Rivas’ death in September 2025, when police discovered a trash bag containing a dismembered, decomposing body in a Tesla registered under Burke’s name. The vehicle had been left parked in a Hollywood tow yard. When Rivas’ remains were discovered, Burke was in the middle of a North American tour in support of his debut album, Withered. He canceled the run after Rivas’ identity became public, and has remained away from the spotlight since then.
In November 2025, NBC4 reported that the LAPD were investigating Burke, but that he had not been named a suspect. Sources identified as anonymous law enforcement officials told TMZ at the time that they were treating the case as a homicide, but were not close to making an arrest. Burke was officially named a suspect in February 2026, after his parents and brother petitioned the court to avoid traveling from their home in Texas to California to testify for the grand jury.
