Los Angeles police arrested singer D4vd on Thursday after discovering the body of a 14-year-old girl in the trunk of his Tesla, which had been parked for weeks in a Hollywood Hills neighborhood.
The victim, identified as Celeste Rivas Hernandez, had been reported missing since April 2024 when she was 13 years old and living in Lake Elsinore, approximately 110 kilometers southeast of Los Angeles.
Neighbors reported a strong odor of decomposition coming from the vehicle, prompting authorities to inspect the trunk where they found the girl’s body wrapped in plastic and in an advanced state of decomposition.
<!– wp:paragraph /> wp:paragraph /> wp:paragraph >The car, registered in Texas under D4vd’s legal name David Anthony Burke, had been sitting at a towing company lot in Los Angeles for several days before the discovery on September 8, 2025 — one day after the girl’s 15th birthday.
/wp:paragraph –> <!– wp:paragraph /> wp:paragraph >Authorities confirmed the teenager was 14 years old at the time of her death, correcting earlier reports that listed her age as 15.
/wp:paragraph –> <!– wp:paragraph /> wp:paragraph >D4vd, known for his hit “Romantic Homicide” and the 2025 album “WITHERED” which reached number 13 on the Billboard Charts, had amassed 31.3 million monthly listeners on Spotify and 1.8 million followers on Instagram before his arrest.
/wp:paragraph –> <!– wp:paragraph /> wp:paragraph >Investigators had identified Burke as a suspect as early as November 2025, and a grand jury formally named him as a target two months before his arrest, a fact that emerged when his parents and brother filed objections to subpoenas in a Texas court.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office stated the case would be presented to the Major Crimes Division on Monday for review, after which a decision on formal charges will be made.
/wp:paragraph –> <!– wp:paragraph /> wp:paragraph >Burke remains in custody without bail, and neither his legal representative nor his publicist has responded to requests for comment.
/wp:paragraph –> <!– wp:html >The case highlights a disturbing intersection of online fame and criminal investigation, as the artist’s rise through TikTok virality and streaming success now stands in stark contrast to the allegations against him.
/wp:paragraph –> <!– wp:paragraph >For fans and followers, the arrest marks a sudden and irreversible end to a career that had positioned him as a rising voice in Gen-Z music, with his album framed as a metaphorical journey through the life cycle of a rose.
/wp:paragraph –> <!– wp:heading >What happens next in the legal process?
/wp:heading –> <!– wp:paragraph >The case will be reviewed by the Major Crimes Division on Monday, where prosecutors will determine whether to file formal charges based on the evidence presented.
Why was there a delay between the discovery of the body and the arrest?
/wp:heading –> <!– wp:paragraph >Investigations were conducted in secret, with the grand jury proceeding underway for months before public acknowledgment, only becoming known when family members challenged subpoenas in Texas.
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