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Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced earlier this year that musician David Anthony Burke known professionally as D4vd faced charges of first-degree murder with special circumstances continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains in the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The 21-year-old Houston-born artist whose legal name is David Anthony Burke pleaded not guilty to all counts at an earlier hearing. A preliminary hearing that featured testimony from a dozen witnesses and extensive photographic evidence concluded with Judge Charlaine Olmedo finding sufficient probable cause to send the case to trial.
Prosecutors told the court that Burke sent threatening text messages to the 14-year-old on April 22 2025 that included the statements “I swear to GOD I will kill u” along with promises to end her career and her life. The district attorney’s office stated that the teenager arrived at his Hollywood Hills home the next day via an Uber arranged by Burke where she was stabbed multiple times before her body was dismembered and placed in bags inside the front trunk of his Tesla. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner report released in April 2026 determined that Rivas Hernandez died from multiple penetrating injuries and ruled the manner of death a homicide.
According to filings detailed by the district attorney’s office and covered by ABC News Burke purchased tools including chainsaws under a false name in the period after the killing as part of an alleged effort to cover his tracks. The decomposed remains were found in September 2025 when the Tesla was impounded leading to the investigation that resulted in Burke’s arrest the following April. Timeline information compiled by ABC7 shows the sequence began with the April 2025 events and culminated in formal charges announced by Hochman on April 20 2026.
Defense representatives argued during the preliminary hearing that Rivas Hernandez had misrepresented her age to Burke claiming at various times to be 16 or 18 years old. They stated that her parents had provided written consent for her to travel with the musician and that the pair had attended church services together with her family. Court testimony covered by multiple outlets indicated text messages showed Burke expressing care for her after their relationship ended and that medical experts could not definitively establish the origin of all wounds with no interior surveillance video available from the home.
Hochman said in a statement from the district attorney’s office that Celeste was just a child under 14 years old when Burke allegedly engaged in repeated lewd and lascivious sexual relations with her. The district attorney added that when the teenager threatened to expose the conduct and damage his music career Burke allegedly murdered her dismembered the body and concealed the remains in his vehicle. “To Celeste’s loved ones we will get the justice you seek and deserve” Hochman stated in the office announcement.
The murder charge includes special circumstances of lying in wait murder for financial gain and eliminating a witness all of which the judge found met the required burden according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Burke remains in custody without bail ahead of his scheduled arraignment on August 31 2026 after which the trial must commence within 90 days court officials said. The Houston Public Media report noted that the charges could carry the death penalty though a final decision on seeking capital punishment has not yet been announced.
