D4vd Murder Case: Key Details, Charges and Timeline So Far
You probably know his voice. In 2022, D4vd’s breakout hit “Romantic Homicide” completely took over TikTok. He went from a regular teenager recording songs on his phone in his sister’s closet to a global pop sensation playing at massive festivals like Coachella,.
Today, the 21-year-old singer is at the center of one of the most disturbing celebrity criminal cases in recent history.
Behind the viral fame and millions of Spotify streams lies a horrifying set of allegations. David Anthony Burke — known professionally as D4vd — is currently sitting behind bars. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has charged him with the brutal murder and dismemberment of a 14-year-old girl named Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
How did a rising alt-pop star end up facing the death penalty? Let’s break down the verified facts, the complete timeline of the crime, and the shocking evidence prosecutors recently revealed in court.
(Disclaimer: This article contains graphic details of violence and abuse that may be disturbing to some readers.)
Key Takeaways
- The Charges: D4vd faces first-degree murder with special circumstances, continuous sexual abuse of a child, and unlawful mutilation of human remains.
- The Victim: Celeste Rivas Hernandez was just 14 years old when she was killed. Prosecutors allege she was trapped in an abusive relationship with the singer.
- The Motive: Court filings claim Burke killed her to protect his music career after she threatened to expose their illegal relationship.
- The Discovery: In September 2025, her dismembered remains were found in the front trunk of his abandoned Tesla at an L.A. impound lot.
Who is D4vd?
David Anthony Burke built his massive fanbase through gaming. He started making montage videos for Fortnite. When copyright strikes kept hitting his YouTube channel, his mom suggested he make his own music. He did exactly that. Using a cheap app on his smartphone, he recorded moody, genre-blending tracks that eventually exploded online,.
By 2024, he was touring the world. He had a major record deal. Everything looked perfect from the outside.
Behind closed doors, a very different story was allegedly unfolding.
The Victim and the Alleged Abuse
At the heart of this tragedy is Celeste Rivas Hernandez. She was a seventh-grader from Lake Elsinore, a small city about 70 miles east of Los Angeles,. Her family described her as a beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance.
According to a shocking nine-page brief filed by L.A. County prosecutors in April 2026, Burke first met Celeste in 2022. She was only 11 years old. The court documents allege that a sexual relationship began in 2023, when Celeste was 13 and Burke was a legal adult at 18,.
Over the next year, the relationship was reportedly stormy. The two constantly argued over text messages. Things reached a boiling point in early 2025.
Complete Timeline of the Crime
If the allegations hold up in court, the sequence of events is chilling. It reads more like a horror movie script than a pop star’s biography.
April 22, 2025
Investigators recovered text messages between the two from this exact date. Celeste was reportedly furious about Burke seeing other women. He had allegedly led her to believe they had a real future together.
Feeling betrayed, the young teen made a massive threat. She told him she was going to expose damaging information about their illegal relationship to the public. She wanted to destroy his life and end his skyrocketing career.
April 23, 2025
The very next day, Burke allegedly took action. He ordered a rideshare to pick up Celeste and bring her to his home in the Hollywood Hills. She walked through his front door and was never seen alive again.
“Knowing he had to silence the victim before she ruined his music career… defendant stabbed the victim to death multiple times and stood by while she bled out,” prosecutors wrote in their brief.
After the murder, Burke allegedly tried to cover his tracks. He started texting and calling Celeste’s phone, asking where she was. He was creating a fake digital trail just in case police came knocking.
May to July 2025
This is where the details get incredibly gruesome. How do you hide a body in a busy city like Los Angeles?
According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Burke used a fake name to order supplies online. He bought heavy-duty laundry bags, a shovel, two chainsaws, a blue inflatable pool, and a “burn cage” portable incinerator. All of these items were delivered directly to his Hollywood Hills address via Amazon and Postmates.
Interestingly, the apartment the LAPD eventually raided was not even leased in Burke’s name. The property was rented out in February 2024 by D4vd’s manager, Josh Marshall. The actual landlord told reporters he had no idea the famous musician was living there until detectives showed up with search warrants.
Prosecutors say Burke placed Celeste’s body inside the inflatable pool in his garage to contain the mess. Then, he used the chainsaws to dismember her. Horrifyingly, he allegedly amputated her left ring and pinky fingers. Why? Because she had his name tattooed on her ring finger. He wanted to destroy any physical link between them.
September 8, 2025
Months passed. Burke’s rented Tesla SUV was eventually towed from the Hollywood Hills because it was abandoned,. It sat in an impound lot for weeks.
Eventually, tow yard workers noticed a terrible smell coming from the vehicle. They opened the front trunk. Inside, they found two bags containing Celeste’s heavily decomposed and dismembered remains.
The Charges and Legal Breakdown
In April 2026, the law finally caught up with David Anthony Burke. Police arrested him at a home in Hollywood.
District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman didn’t mince words during a press conference. He called the case “a parent’s nightmare”.
Burke is currently facing a massive list of felony charges:
- First-Degree Murder: With special circumstances. These include lying in wait, murder for financial gain (protecting his lucrative career), and murdering a witness.
- Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child: Under the age of 14.
- Unlawful Mutilation of Human Remains:
But wait, it gets worse. During a recent court appearance, Deputy D.A. Beth Silverman revealed that investigators found a “significant amount” of child sexual abuse material on Burke’s phone and iCloud account.
Because of the “special circumstances” attached to the murder charge, the stakes are incredibly high. If found guilty, Burke faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. The state could even seek the death penalty. He is currently being held without bail.
Can Song Lyrics Be Used as Evidence?
When a musician is accused of a violent crime, the public immediately looks at their art. Fans quickly pointed to D4vd’s massive hit, “Romantic Homicide,” dissecting the lyrics for hidden confessions,.
But will those songs play a role in the actual trial? Probably not.
In 2022, the state of California passed a specific law (Cal. Evid. Code § 352.2) restricting when an artist’s creative work can be used as criminal evidence. This law was originally championed to protect rap artists from facing racial bias in court, ensuring that writing a violent lyric does not legally equate to committing a violent act. Unless prosecutors can prove a lyric contains a hyper-specific, factual confession about Celeste’s murder, Burke’s discography will likely remain out of the courtroom.
What Does the Defense Say?
Every accused person has the right to a defense. Burke’s legal team is fighting back hard.
During his arraignment on April 20, 2026, Burke pleaded not guilty to all charges,. His high-profile lead attorney, Blair Berk, released a firm statement. “We believe the actual evidence will show David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death”,.
His lawyers are pushing for a speedy preliminary hearing. They demanded the evidence be brought into the light of day as quickly as possible. As of now, the trial preparations are moving forward, with key evidentiary hearings scheduled for late May 2026,.
Do not expect this to be a quick trial. Lead prosecutor Beth Silverman noted that the vast majority of evidence remains completely secret. The Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division collected this data by serving more than 50 separate search warrants and utilizing three different investigative grand juries,. The sheer volume of evidence guarantees a long, brutal court battle.
The Internet’s Reaction and Conspiracy Theories
When a celebrity is accused of something this dark, the internet usually goes into a frenzy. This case was no exception.
Before the arrest, rumors swirled on Reddit and TikTok. Fans started heavily analyzing his old lyrics. Some users even claimed that Burke, who was the sole moderator of his own subreddit, was actively deleting posts that mentioned Celeste’s disappearance.
There was also a bizarre conspiracy theory claiming Celeste was seen backstage at a D4vd concert in Maryland in August 2025. This was weeks after she supposedly died. However, law enforcement has clearly established the timeline of her death in April, firmly debunking these wild online claims,.
A Tragedy Beyond the Headlines
It is incredibly easy to get wrapped up in the shocking celebrity angle of this story. A famous pop star using chainsaws and burner accounts sounds completely fictional.
But we cannot forget the reality. A 14-year-old girl lost her life. She was a middle school student with a family who loved her. She was allegedly groomed, abused, and silenced in the most horrific way imaginable just to protect a music career.
As the legal proceedings continue through 2026, the public will likely hear even more disturbing details. Justice moves slowly, but for the family of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the fight for accountability has only just begun.
Are you following the developments in the D4vd trial? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Make sure to bookmark this page for future updates as the court case unfolds.
Reference:
- https://www.nolo.com/news/d4vd-pleads-not-guilty-to-first-degree-murder-charges.html
- https://www.clickondetroit.com/entertainment/2026/04/29/prosecutors-say-singer-d4vd-stabbed-14-year-old-celeste-rivas-hernandez-to-death-to-silence-her/
- https://da.lacounty.gov/about/inside-LADA/singer-d4vd-charged-capital-murder-14-year-old-girl
- https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-04-29/d4vd-murder-case-hearing
- https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/29/d4vd-celeste-rivas-hernandez
- https://www.courthousenews.com/prosecutors-detail-grisly-evidence-in-murder-case-against-musician-d4vd/
- https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/article/what-to-know-about-singer-d4vd-and-the-killing-of-14-year-old-celeste-rivas-hernandez/
- https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/d4vd-celeste-rivas-hernandez-killing-9.7182165
- https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/d4vd-preliminary-hearing-set/
- https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/singer-d4vd-charged-with-murder-of-14-year-old-found-decomposed-in-his-car
- https://globalnews.ca/news/11814085/d4vd-court-appearance-murder-charges-procedural-hearing-evidence/
