David Burke, a 21-year-old musician known professionally as D4vd, faces charges of murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains in connection with the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. According to prosecutors, Rivas Hernandez's decomposed remains were found in Burke's apparently abandoned Tesla in the Hollywood Hills, with her head and torso in one cadaver bag and her arms and legs in another.
The allegations extend back to 2023, when Burke's single "Romantic Homicide" had recently charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Prosecutors say Burke began sexually abusing Rivas Hernandez when she was 13 years old. She was reported missing from her Lake Elsinore home multiple times before her final disappearance. During one earlier disappearance, Riverside County authorities contacted Burke, who claimed he was unaware of her age and said they had last been in contact days prior. After sheriff's deputies informed him she was 13 and located her at his home, she returned to her family, and her parents confiscated her phone. Prosecutors allege Burke then paid $1,000 to a junior high classmate to give her a new phone so he could maintain contact.
Prosecutors contend Burke killed Rivas Hernandez on or about April 23 because she threatened to expose their relationship and posed a threat to his career. On that evening, Burke allegedly sent a rideshare car to pick her up from Lake Elsinore and bring her to his Hollywood Hills residence at approximately 10:10 p.m. Beginning at 10:30 p.m., prosecutors say Burke sent text messages asking where she was to conceal her death. At 11:30 p.m., he texted her cell again and drove to a remote area of Santa Barbara County.
According to the prosecution, Burke used the Postmates delivery app to have a shovel sent to his home. He later ordered two chainsaws using a fake name, which prosecutors say were used to sever her limbs. Prosecutors allege the dismemberment occurred on or around May 5 in an inflatable pool in Burke's garage, where DNA evidence matching Rivas Hernandez was subsequently found.
Burke returned to the remote Santa Barbara County location multiple times. Her passport was discovered there in January 2026. Prosecutors say Burke kept the girl's body in the front trunk of his Tesla and lied to friends and associates about the strong smell of decay around his home and vehicle. During a search of the residence, authorities found blood evidence matching Rivas Hernandez's DNA and the inflatable pool allegedly used for dismemberment, which bore several cut marks.
Burke had pleaded not guilty. His attorneys have stated he did not cause her death. He was arrested on suspicion of murder and is being held without bail. The charging documents allege circumstances that could result in enhanced sentencing, including that he was "lying in wait" for the victim and that he killed her for financial gain.
