D4vd charged with murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez
D4vd charged with murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez
KiMi Robinson and Edward Segarra, USA TODAYMon, April 20, 2026 at 5:21 PM UTC
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Musician D4vd is facing murder charges following his high-profile arrest in the slaying of teen Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office on Monday, April 20, announced that the 21-year-old singer, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, will be charged with first-degree murder with special circumstances, continuous lewd acts with an individual under 14 and mutilating human remains of a body.
The special circumstances for the first-degree murder charge include "lying in wait, committing this crime for financial gain or murdering a witness in an investigation," LA County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said during a press conference.
"She was never heard from again," Hochman said. Rivas Hernandez's "dismembered and decomposed remains were found in two bags" in a car registered to Burke. "The investigation was to determine who killed, who murdered, Celeste months and months before."
The charges carry a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole and the death penalty. Hochman said that a determination about the death penalty will be made at a later time.
The news of Burke's criminal charges comes days after he was arrested in Los Angeles around 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 16. He is jailed with no bail.
A makeshift memorial with flowers, candles and stuffed toys honors Celeste Rivas Hernandez near Jamieson Street in Lake Elsinore, California, after the arrest of David Anthony Burke on suspicion of her murder on April 17, 2026.D4vd's lawyers say singer 'was not the cause' of Celeste Rivas Hernandez's death
Burke's attorneys maintained the singer's innocence in a statement shared with outlets including NBC News and People.
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"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 lawyers, Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter, said. "We will vigorously defend David's innocence.”
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Singer-songwriter D4vd rose to fame in 2022 after his songs "Here with Me" and "Romantic Homicide" went viral on TikTok.Here's a look at the indie pop star's career, starting with D4vd's performance at the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, on April 20, 2025.
Rivas Hernandez was 13 when she was reported missing in February 2024. On Sept. 8, 2025, the day after she would have turned 15, she was found dead in the trunk of a car registered to Burke after Los Angeles Police Department officers responded to a report of a foul odor coming from the vehicle.
During its early investigation into Rivas Hernandez's death, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner reported that the teen's body "was found severely decomposed inside a vehicle" and appeared to "have been deceased inside the vehicle for an extended period of time before being found," according to a statement shared with USA TODAY on Sept. 18.
Celeste Rivas Hernandez's family says D4vd's arrest is 'justice for Celeste'
Rivas Hernandez was entered into the missing persons database after Riverside County Sheriff's Office deputies were dispatched to her family's Lake Elsinore, California, due to a report that she'd allegedly run away.
Los Angeles Police Department officers are seen during the April 16, 2026, arrest of musician D4vd, also known as 21-year-old David Anthony Burke, on suspicion of murdering 14‑year‑old Celeste Rivas.
A breakthrough in the search for the teen came on Sept. 17, when the LAPD notified the Riverside County Sheriff's Office that the body of the missing girl had been located and identified as Rivas Hernandez.
"The Rivas Hernandez family is committed to ensuring that Celeste's voice is heard and her memory is honored throughout this process," Patrick Steinfeld, the attorney representing the Rivas Hernandez family, said in a statement shared with outlets including CNN.
Jesus Rivas Rivas Hernandez's father, in the statement said, "Thank God … justice for Celeste," according to The New York Times.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: D4vd, singer, charged with murder in Celeste Rivas Hernandez's death
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
