In February 2024, Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies pulled up to a house in the Hollywood Hills looking for 13-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. She had been reported missing by her parents in Lake Elsinore. Outside, deputies spoke with 18-year-old rising musician David Anthony Burke, known professionally as D4vd.
Body camera footage played in court showed a jovial, friendly exchange. When asked about Celeste, Burke downplayed their relationship completely. He told the officers he had only met her once in person and didn't know she was underage at the time.
"She told me she was 18," Burke said on camera. "Everybody's telling me she was 13."
He smiled, let the deputies search his home, and chatted about his burgeoning music career. The officers found no trace of Celeste that day. One deputy even praised Burke's musical success before leaving.
Over two years later, prosecutors painted a horrifyingly different picture inside a Los Angeles courtroom. They allege Burke wasn't just casually acquainted with Celeste. They claim he had been engaged in an ongoing sexual relationship with her for months while she was a minor—and ultimately stabbed her to death to prevent her from exposing him.
A Star on the Rise Built on TikTok Hits
Burke's ascent to fame was fast. Born in Houston, Texas, he started out making gaming videos for Fortnite on YouTube. He wrote and produced his own songs to avoid copyright strikes, blending indie rock, R&B, and lo-fi pop.
In 2022, his single "Romantic Homicide" blew up on TikTok, eventually landing in the top five of Billboard's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. Soon, major record labels were signing him. By 2025, testimony indicated his music empire had generated millions of dollars.
According to testimony from law enforcement, Burke first connected with Celeste online through Discord and Instagram around 2020 or 2021. She was a young fan. Court filings indicate that by late 2023, when Burke was 18 and Celeste was 13, the two had started a physical relationship.
Celeste spent extended periods at Burke's rented Hollywood Hills home and even traveled with him to Las Vegas, London, and Texas. Her family repeatedly filed runaway reports in Riverside County, but she kept returning to Los Angeles.
The April 2025 Confrontation
By the spring of 2025, Burke's debut album Withered was set for release. His team had scheduled an extensive North American and international tour. Everything he had built was on the line.
Text messages retrieved by investigators tell a grim story about the night of April 22, 2025. According to prosecutors, Celeste became furious after learning details about Burke's personal life. She threatened to come forward publicly, reveal their relationship, and destroy his career.
Burke invited her to his Hollywood Hills residence the next day, April 23. That was the last day anyone heard from Celeste.
Prosecutors state that shortly after her arrival, Burke stabbed Celeste multiple times with a sharp weapon and left her to bleed to death on his garage floor.
Online Purchases and Disassembly
What followed was a horrific cover-up. Detectives presented online purchasing records showing that in the days after Celeste's death, Burke ordered a series of specific items:
- Two chainsaws
- An inflatable swimming pool
- A heavy-duty body bag
- A shovel
Homicide detectives allege Burke set up the inflatable pool inside his garage to catch fluids while dismembering Celeste's body. Forensic teams later matched blood stains on the garage floor directly to Celeste's DNA.
According to court filings, Burke severed her limbs and amputated her ring finger—which bore a small tattoo of his name. He packed her torso and head into one body bag and placed her arms and legs into a secondary trash bag underneath.
He then stashed the bags inside the front storage compartment of a 2023 Tesla Model Y registered in his name.
Four Months in a Tow Yard
For months, the Tesla sat parked on a residential street in the Hollywood Hills. Burke went about his life. He released his album, met fans, and hit the road for his headlining summer tour.
In July 2025, city parking enforcement tagged the abandoned vehicle after neighbors reported it had been parked for over 72 hours. It was eventually towed to an impound yard.
On September 8, 2025—one day before Celeste would have turned 15—tow yard employees noticed a unbearable stench and heavy insect activity around the Tesla. They called the Los Angeles Police Department.
When detectives partially opened the trunk, they discovered human remains so severely decomposed that medical examiners couldn't initially determine the victim's eye color or identity.
When news of the macabre discovery broke and the vehicle was linked directly to Burke, he abruptly canceled the remainder of his North American tour and pulled his upcoming European dates. His team initially claimed he was fully cooperating with law enforcement, but LAPD sources stated he refused to answer questions as the investigation deepened.
Grand Juries and Legal Strategy
Building a murder charge without an immediate cause of death took months. Because the remains had been sitting in heat for over four months, critical forensic evidence had degraded.
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman and LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell formed a task force to meticulously assemble digital trails, financial transactions, and DNA hits.
A secret grand jury was convened in early 2026. The investigation became public when Burke's parents and brother fought subpoenas in a Texas court to avoid testifying against him.
By April 2026, prosecutors felt confident enough to make their move. Burke was arrested at a Hollywood residence and formally charged with:
- First-degree murder
- Continuous sexual abuse of a minor under 14
- Unlawful mutilation of human remains
The district attorney added special circumstance allegations: lying in wait, murder for financial gain, and killing a witness to conceal a crime. These enhancements mean that if convicted, Burke faces life in prison without parole or the death penalty.
The Defense Arguments
Burke's legal team, led by high-profile defense attorney Blair Berk, maintains his absolute innocence. They insist Burke was not responsible for Celeste's death.
During preliminary hearings, the defense targeted the chain of custody and handling of the evidence. They grilled detectives on why the body bag itself wasn't independently tested for external touch DNA and questioned how medical examiners handled the decomposed remains.
Berk argued that public perception has been poisoned by sensationalized leaks and emphasized that prosecutors must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt rather than relying on circumstantial timelines.
Burke remains held without bail in Los Angeles County jail as preliminary proceedings continue.
Key Updates and What Happens Next
For those following this case, here are the core facts established during recent court proceedings:
- Preliminary Hearing Status: The court is evaluating whether the prosecution has presented sufficient evidence to send Burke to a full criminal trial.
- Death Penalty Decision: The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has not yet announced whether it will officially seek capital punishment.
- Evidence On Display: Text messages, body camera footage from 2024, online purchase receipts, and garage DNA samples form the core of the state's prosecution.
- Public Records: Trial dates and motion schedules will be finalized once the preliminary ruling is issued by the presiding judge.
Stay tuned to official Los Angeles County Court dockets for real-time updates as formal trial scheduling gets underway.
