David Anthony Burke, mainly recognized as D4vd, is an American singer-songwriter. Recently, D4vd was charged in connection with the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who was allegedly in a long-term secret relationship with him.
Celeste Rivas Hernandez went missing after she was allegedly picked up by an Uber on April 23, 2025, and was taken to D4vd’s Hollywood Hills home. She was found heavily decomposed and dismembered in D4vd’s Tesla on Sept. 8, 2025. The coroner’s report showed that she had multiple stab wounds and fragments of plastic were found in them. Additionally, benzodiazepines and methamphetamine were found in her system.
Prosecutors charged D4vd with murder; however, he pleaded not guilty. D4vd was held at the LAPD 77th Division and then transferred to the Twin Towers Correctional Facility -the same facility where Nick Reiner, who was accused of murder of his parents is being held.
“It shocks me because of the evidence suggesting that he was really interacting with a 14-year-old girl and may have actually killed her,” sophomore Mars Maceda said.
In case 26CJCF02399, D4vd was charged with first-degree murder, murder of a witness, murder for financial gain, continuous sexual abuse of a child, lewd and lascivious sexual acts with a child, unlawful mutilation of human remains and a special allegation of using a deadly weapon.
“I feel very disgusted. It’s so horrendous what D4vd did and why he did it. All his songs allegedly being about her too are also weird, and it really sucks,” sophomore Toby Lavigne said.
D4vd is faced with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, without the possibility of the death penalty or parole. Prosecutors believe the reason for Celeste’s murder was for financial gain, to maintain his musical career that Celeste was threatening. She allegedly threatened D4vd to expose their sexual relationship to “end his career and destroy his life.” As a result, he murdered her to silence her and to protect his career.
D4vd and Celeste met in Jan. 2022 and began a sexual relationship in Nov. 2023. During that time, D4vd started to produce songs such as “Romantic Homicide,” “One More Dance” and “Celeste.” These songs all have dark themes, which led people to draw unsettling parallels to D4vd and Celeste’s relationship.
In the song “One More Dance,” it featured D4vd who was blindfolded in a bloodied shirt standing nearby as two people put a body inside into the trunk of a car. This drew many suspicions from people since it resembles exactly how Celeste was found in the trunk of a Tesla. In addition, “Celeste” was an unreleased song made to express D4vd’s love for Celeste. The lyrics featured the lines, “Oh, Celeste. The girl with my name tattooed on her chest.”
“D4vd is guilty for what he had done to Celeste, especially by seeing the evidence,” Maceda said.
Additionally, D4vd allegedly ordered two chainsaws, an inflatable pool and a body bag on Amazon using a fake name, Victoria Mendez prior to the murder. He also allegedly ordered a burn cage incinerator on July 7, 2025 under the same account in a plan to “incinerate evidence.”
Further evidence against D4vd will be presented at the preliminary hearing, where the court will determine whether the case will proceed to trial. Witnesses will also be called in this hearing. The preliminary hearing will take place on May 26, 2026.
