Singer D4vd was charged with murdering 15-year-old Celeste Rivas — after allegedly dismembering her with a chainsaw in an inflatable pool

A 21-year-old Los Angeles singer has been charged with murder after a missing teenager was found dismembered inside his car trunk, prosecutors said.

The defendant, David Anthony Burke, 21, is a recording artist who performs under the name D4vd and resides in Los Angeles, according to police.

He faces charges of first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14 and mutilating a body, court records show.

The musician entered a plea of not guilty to all three counts, according to court documents. He is being held without bail, authorities said.

Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department Robbery-Homicide Division arrested Burke on April 16, 2026, police said.

“Detectives from Los Angeles Police Department, Robbery-Homicide Division have arrested David Burke, a 21-year-old resident of Los Angeles, for the murder of Celeste Rivas. Burke is being held without bail,” the department said in a statement.

“The case will be presented to the District Attorney’s office on Monday for filing consideration,” the statement added.

Burke’s attorneys, Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter, addressed the arrest in a written statement, according to TMZ.

“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,” the attorneys stated.

“There has been no indictment returned by any grand jury in this case and no criminal complaint filed,” the defense team said.

“David has only been detained under suspicion. We will vigorously defend David’s innocence,” the attorneys added.

On April 20, 2026, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced during a news conference that Burke would face a first-degree murder charge, prosecutors said.

“I am a parent of three children, and a parent’s nightmare is a situation where your daughter goes out one night and never comes back, as we will show in a court of law,” Hochman said.

Special allegations attached to the complaint could make Burke eligible for the death penalty, prosecutors said. A final determination on capital punishment will be made at a later date, according to the district attorney.

Authorities released a booking photograph showing the singer in a black hoodie following his arrest, records show.

The victim, Celeste Rivas Hernandez, had been reported missing in April 2024, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.

She turned 15 years old one day before authorities discovered her remains, records show.

On September 8, 2025, police officers responded to the 1000 block of Mansfield Avenue in Hollywood following a report of a foul odor coming from a vehicle at a tow yard, police said.

Responding detectives located human remains inside the front trunk of a Tesla, according to police.

The car was registered in Hempstead, Texas, to David Anthony Burke, records show.

On September 17, 2025, law enforcement officials confirmed that forensic testing identified the recovered remains as Rivas, according to NBC Los Angeles.

The girl’s mother stated in an interview that Rivas had a boyfriend named David, according to TMZ. The defendant’s full legal name is David Anthony Burke, records show.

Rivas had a tattoo on her finger reading “Shhhh,” her mother told TMZ. Burke reportedly has the identical tattoo on his right index finger, the outlet reported.

The finger tattoo design had been popularized by singer Rihanna in 2008 and later worn by other entertainers, according to reports.

On September 17, 2025, investigators searched a home in the Hollywood Hills in connection with the homicide probe, law enforcement confirmed.

Burke did not own the property but had been staying at the residence, according to KABC Los Angeles.

Detectives removed a computer and multiple evidence bags from the house, according to TMZ.

Burke had been traveling on his Withered world tour when the investigation developed, records show. He canceled a scheduled concert in Seattle on September 16, 2025, according to Fox 13 Seattle.

The victim’s relatives organized an online fundraiser to cover funeral expenses following the identification, according to a GoFundMe page.

“As many of you know, Celeste Rivas Hernandez has been identified as the body found last week,” the family wrote on the page.

“She was a beloved daughter, sister, cousin, and friend. Her family is heartbroken and devastated by this tragic loss. They are seeking help to lay her body to rest. Any funds you are able to donate are greatly appreciated,” the posting stated.

The online collection accumulated more than $14,000 toward a $20,000 target by September 19, 2025, records show.

Burke’s management canceled his remaining United States concert appearances in San Francisco and Los Angeles amid the investigation, according to TMZ.

A planned appearance at the Grammy Museum was canceled alongside upcoming shows across Europe and Australia, according to tour listings.

Interscope and Universal Music Group paused the scheduled September 19, 2025, release of the deluxe version of his album, TMZ reported.

Burke had released his full-length project titled Withered in April 2025, which featured a track named “Afterlife,” records show.

“Every song written exclusively by me on my phone baby, this is a passion project i put together to make sure i didn’t lose the raw emotional weight my music carries and how much it means to u all,” Burke wrote on Instagram before the planned deluxe release.

“Thank you to all the friends who collaborated with me on this everyone ATE THEIR VERSES UP ❤️❤️❤️,” the singer added.

Burke had previously released the single “Romantic Homicide” in 2022, accompanied by a music video depicting a bloodied woman, records show.

“Everything has a meaning behind it. I think that’s what poetry is,” Burke told Genius in an earlier interview.

“It’s like an interpretation, and another person can read the same thing and take something else out of it, and find new things every time. … All of my songs, I think, are poetry,” the defendant told the outlet.

On September 6, 2025, two days before the vehicle was inspected, Burke posted on social media that he was beginning media training, according to Instagram records.

On September 23, 2025, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner released Rivas’ remains to her family, TMZ reported.

LAPD Captain Scot M. Williams told People on September 28, 2025, that Rivas had likely been dead for several weeks before the discovery.

“We know that the Tesla had been parked at the location from which it was towed for several weeks, so it is very likely Celeste Rivas Hernandez had been dead for several weeks prior to her body being discovered,” Williams said.

“The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has not determined a cause or manner of her death, so we don’t know for sure if anyone has any criminal culpability for her death beyond the concealment of her dead body,” Williams added at the time.

A death certificate reviewed by TMZ indicated Rivas was not pregnant at the time of her death and had not been pregnant in the preceding year.

Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department had responded to Rivas’ residence in Lake Elsinore 11 times between February 2024 and April 2025, police records show.

Deputies visited the address three times in a single day on March 19, 2024, according to police logs.

Most of those emergency calls were categorized as minor crime investigations, with one logged as suspicious circumstances, TMZ reported.

In November 2025, law enforcement sources confirmed that investigators had formally named Burke as a suspect in the death, NBC News reported.

On December 16, 2025, private investigator Steve Fischer stated on social media that he had inspected the Hollywood home Burke was renting, according to posts on X.

Fischer stated that he discovered an unused 55-pound burn cage inside the property still sealed in its original box, the post said.

The equipment operated at 1,600 degrees, which exceeds temperatures commonly maintained by commercial crematoriums, according to the investigator.

Operating an incinerator of that type is prohibited under municipal ordinances within the city of Los Angeles, records show.

An autopsy report released in April 2026 determined Rivas died from multiple penetrating injuries caused by objects, the medical examiner said.

Rivas sustained two penetrating wounds to her torso, according to the post-mortem report.

The medical examiner documented bilateral dismemberment of the victim’s upper and lower extremities alongside multiple skin defects, the report stated.

Toxicology testing revealed the presence of alcohol, benzodiazepines, methamphetamine and MDMA in her system, according to the findings.

Investigators discovered the victim’s torso and head wrapped inside a body bag placed in the front trunk of the car, the report stated.

Her severed arms and legs were discovered inside a separate trash bag placed within the compartment, according to the report.

Through their legal representative, the Rivas family told TMZ they were devastated and experiencing profound emotional pain after reviewing the findings.

The relatives described the findings as horrible and gruesome while requesting privacy, according to their attorney.

During an April 23, 2026, court appearance, prosecutors asserted that evidence recovered from Burke included child sexual abuse material stored on his iCloud account, according to court statements.

Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman told the court that the defendant’s cloud account held eight terabytes of electronic data, NBC News reported.

Silverman stated that forensic investigators had downloaded one terabyte of files and identified significant quantities of illicit imagery, according to the hearing.

“We believe the actual evidence will show David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez,” defense attorney Blair Berk told the court, according to PBS.

Burke agreed during the proceeding to schedule a preliminary hearing for May 1, 2026, records show.

In a court brief filed on April 29, 2026, prosecutors alleged Burke killed Rivas on April 23, 2025, following a dispute conducted over text messages the prior day.

“The messages reveal the victim’s jealousy over defendant’s relationships with other women, as defendant led her to believe they had a future together,” prosecutors alleged in the brief.

“She became extremely upset and threatened to disclose damaging information about her relationship with defendant to end his career and destroy his life. Defendant’s first studio album was due to be released on April 25, 2025. He had an emerging multi-million-dollar career already in progress. He also had multiple product endorsements, which were highly profitable,” the document stated.

Electronic messages exchanged between Burke and the teenager discussed sexual activity, pregnancy, abortion and emergency contraception, according to prosecutors.

“All we do is have sex and just hang out man I want more than that for myself,” Rivas allegedly wrote in one text message, according to the filing.

Investigators recovered nude images of Rivas and photos documenting sexual contact from when she was 13 years old on Burke’s mobile device, prosecutors alleged.

The filing alleged Burke scheduled an Uber vehicle to transport Rivas to his rented Hollywood Hills residence on April 23, 2025, according to court documents.

Burke stabbed Rivas multiple times and waited while she bled to death, prosecutors alleged.

Burke subsequently sent text messages and placed telephone calls to Rivas asking about her whereabouts to fabricate a false timeline, the prosecution alleged.

The singer purchased supplies under the fictitious name Victoria Mendez to cut up and conceal the body, prosecutors alleged.

The ordered merchandise included a cadaver bag, heavy laundry bags and a blue inflatable swimming pool delivered through Amazon, according to the brief.

Burke placed Rivas’ body inside the inflatable pool to catch blood before severing her extremities with a chainsaw and other tools, prosecutors alleged.

“He placed her limbs into a garbage bag, which he deposited into his front trunk, laying the cadaver bag on top,” the prosecution brief alleged.

“For several weeks, or possibly months, defendant left the victim’s body to decompose inside his Tesla,” the filing stated.

Burke entered a plea of not guilty at his formal arraignment hearing in August 2026, records show.

The defendant replaced his retained private attorneys with the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office prior to the proceeding, court records show.

“This morning, the court granted our request to withdraw as counsel and appoint the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office, after it was determined David qualified for appointed counsel,” Burke’s departing attorneys said in a statement.

“We continue to support David and his defense against these serious charges. We are grateful that the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office had taken over the representation and that David has a highly capable and committed team of attorneys and investigators behind him,” the statement added.

Deputy Public Defender Walid Kandeel requested an adjournment to examine preliminary hearing transcripts, according to court records.

The presiding judge denied the postponement request, noting that the three filed charges remained unchanged from the initial arrest, records show.

Burke remains detained without bail while awaiting future trial proceedings in Los Angeles Superior Court, records show.