D4vd Case: Rapper Faces Trial in Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s Killing

D4vd is headed to trial in the killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose dismembered remains were discovered inside a Tesla registered to the musician in September 2025.

Nearly a year later, a Los Angeles judge ruled that prosecutors had presented enough evidence for the case against the singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, to proceed to trial. Burke has pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges and remains in custody.

Born in 2005, D4vd began making music as a teenager while creating online content around video games. His career took off in 2022 when the single “Romantic Homicide” went viral, followed by another hit, “Here With Me.”

Burke released two EPs in 2023, opened for SZA on her SOS Tour and later embarked on his own international tours. He made his Coachella debut in April 2025. His debut studio album, Withered, was released on April 25, 2025—two days after prosecutors allege Celeste was killed.

According to prosecutors, D4vd met Celeste in 2022 when she was 11. They say the relationship became sexual in November 2023 when Celeste was 13 and D4vd was 18. Messages introduced at D4vd’s preliminary hearing allegedly indicated that Celeste became pregnant and had an abortion in early 2024.

Celeste was reported missing multiple times during the period she knew D4vd. Prosecutors say the relationship nevertheless continued. Celeste even traveled with D4vd to London and Texas, where she met members of his family. Testimony also indicated that D4vd attended church with Celeste’s family, went on other outings with them and regularly picked Celeste up while she was staying with an aunt in Los Angeles.

Messages presented in court suggest the relationship was turbulent. At one point, D4vd described what they were going through as their eighth breakup. Prosecutors say Celeste also became increasingly upset about D4vd’s relationships with other women.

Prosecutors allege tensions between D4vd and Celeste came to a head on April 22, 2025. During an argument over text, Celeste threatened to expose their relationship and ruin D4vd’s career; his debut album was scheduled for release three days later.

The following evening, prosecutors say D4vd sent a rideshare to bring Celeste to his Hollywood Hills home. She arrived shortly after 10 p.m. on April 23 and was never seen alive again. Prosecutors allege D4vd stabbed her to death after she arrived.

Authorities say that D4vd then dismembered Celeste’s body in his garage, concealed her remains in bags and placed them in the front trunk, or “frunk,” of his Tesla.

The car was eventually towed from the Hollywood Hills home roughly four and a half months later. On September 8, 2025, police were called to the tow yard after workers noticed an odor coming from the vehicle. Investigators discovered Celeste’s dismembered remains inside.

Burke was arrested in April 2026.

Much of the prosecution’s case became public during D4vd’s five-day preliminary hearing in July 2026, which offered the most detailed account yet of the evidence investigators had collected.

A central part of the case involves digital evidence. Investigators recovered hundreds of messages between D4vd and Celeste that prosecutors say document their relationship and its increasingly volatile nature. Among them were exchanges from April 22 that prosecutors say support their theory that D4vd feared Celeste would jeopardize his increasingly lucrative music career.

Purchase records provide another part of the prosecution’s case. Investigators traced orders for items including chainsaws, a shovel, body bags and an inflatable pool to the period around Celeste’s disappearance; police later recovered two chainsaws and a blue inflatable pool from D4vd’s garage. Prosecutors say portions of the pool appeared to have been cut away, while blue plastic fragments were recovered with Celeste’s remains.

Forensic evidence also connected Celeste to the garage, according to testimony. Investigators detected apparent bloodstains on several surfaces and objects, and DNA testing of samples taken from locations—including a floor mat, rowing machine and Tesla charger—produced profiles matching Celeste.

The defense highlighted limitations in that evidence. A DNA expert acknowledged that testing could not establish when the material was deposited or, in every instance, whether it came from blood. No blood or Celeste’s DNA was found on the two chainsaws recovered from the garage, and D4vd’s attorneys questioned the handling and testing of physical evidence.

Prosecutors also presented evidence concerning D4vd’s movements after Celeste disappeared. Her passport was later found in a rural area of Santa Barbara County, and investigators say digital records show D4vd visited the area twice after Celeste’s disappearance.

A medical examiner testified that Celeste died from two sharp-force wounds to her upper body and ruled her death a homicide. Decomposition prevented investigators from determining exactly when she died.

Publicly reported evidence has not identified a murder weapon or an eyewitness to Celeste’s killing. At the preliminary hearing, D4vd’s attorneys argued that prosecutors had not shown he deliberately intended to kill Celeste or established the malice required for a murder charge.

D4vd is charged with murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains. The murder charge includes special-circumstance allegations of murder of a witness, murder for financial gain and murder by lying in wait.

If convicted as charged, D4vd could face life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. However, prosecutors have not yet announced whether they will seek a death sentence.

On July 27, 2026, Judge Charlaine Olmedo ordered D4vd to stand trial on all three charges, marking a major step in the case after months of investigation and a five-day preliminary hearing. At an August 31, 2026 pretrial hearing, Burke’s defense team asked to be removed from the case. The reason for their withdrawal was not disclosed, and a public defender was named to lead Burke’s defense. He remains in custody and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

In September 2026, Celeste's family filed a lawsuit against D4vd, alleging wrongful death, fatal stabbing, sexual battery, childhood assault, and other claims.