Recently, singer songwriter David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd, was arrested on suspicions that he was involved in Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s death. He appeared in court for the first time on Monday, April 20. The prosecution accused him of first degree murder, continual sexual abuse, and mutilation of human remains. The defense pleaded not guilty.

On Sep. 8, 2025, a dead body was discovered in the trunk of D4vd’s car while being towed. They had checked the trunk while the car was impounded due to a foul odor. The body was found during his “Withered” tour, as his car was abandoned near where his residence in Hollywood Hills. The body was identified as a 14-year-old girl named Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the supposed girlfriend of D4vd. She had been reported missing a year prior to her body being found, though she had been seen in many images alongside D4vd.

The prosecution has revealed they had over 40 terabytes of evidence on him. According to CNN, a photo shows D4vd exiting the same car that her body was found in, heading for Rivas’ house. While it is unclear when she was killed, photos seem to imply that she was alive for almost a year after she went missing. She was last seen walking into D4vd’s home on April 23, 2025. 

It has been recently revealed that a Grand Jury investigation is taking place in order to figure out the truth about D4vd’s part in Rivas’ death. Police used breaching equipment to break down the door and arrest D4vd, though no evidence of murder was found in his house. 

D4vd’s defense attorneys, Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski, and Regina Peter state that they will fight their hardest for D4vd’s innocence. According to NBC News, the defense attorneys state that the evidence presented will not show that D4vd killed Rivas or that he was even related to her death. The court date was set for Thursday, April 23, 2026, where the prosecution presented all 40 terabytes of their findings.

After processing all of the evidence, the district attorney’s office reported D4vd has been sexually assaulting Rivas for months before her death. According to CNN, It’s thought that D4vd had a sexual relationship with Rivas, and killed her after she threatened to expose it. D4vd has been accused of using deadly and dangerous weaponry to kill Rivas, but the cause of her death has not been revealed.

The mutilation of human remains was said to have happened on May 5, 2025, making her body about five months old when she was found. When D4vd was taken into custody, the family of Rivas, specifically Jesus Hernandez, had said “Thank god… Justice for Celeste.” Right before D4vd’s arrest, the Coachella event displayed lights spelling, “Celeste is a liar” in the sky, most likely referring to Celeste Rivas Hernandez.

While his fate has yet to be determined, maybe someone will find more evidence for or against D4vd’s case.