Singer D4vd has been arrested for the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas, the Los Angeles Police Department has confirmed on Thursday.
‘Detectives from Los Angeles Police Department, Robbery-Homicide Division have arrested David Burke, a 21-year-old resident of Los Angeles, for the murder of Celeste Rivas. Burke is being held without bail,’ the LAPD said in a statement.
The case will be presented to the District Attorney’s office on Monday.
D4vd’s arrest comes months after Rivas’s remains were discovered in the front trunk of a Tesla that had been impounded at a Hollywood tow yard. Police say the vehicle was registered to D4vd.
D4vd was named as a suspect in the killing in February, per unsealed court documents. In petitions requesting his parents come and testify in front of a Los Angeles grand jury, D4vd was described as a ‘target’ in the death of Rivas.
‘Target may be involved in having committed the following criminal offenses…: One Count of Murder,’ the petition said.
Rivas’s family said she was last seen in the spring of 2024, when she left her Lake Elsinore home to see a movie with D4vd and never returned. She was 13 at the time.
On September 8, her decomposing body was found in the Tesla by investigators, who said she had been dismembered. Officers had been called to Hollywood Tow because the Tesla had a foul odor.
She was found days after what would have been her 15th birthday, but police believe she likely died much earlier, possibly in spring 2025.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said Rivas was wearing black leggings, a tube top, a yellow metal chain bracelet and stud earrings when she was found.
Based on testimony from friends and her family, it is believed Rivas was in a romantic relationship with D4vd.
Rivas’s mother, who reported her missing three different times throughout 2024, has said her daughter was dating a guy she never met named ‘David’.
It’s also been reported that the two shared matching ‘Sshhh’ tattoos on their right index fingers.
