Singer D4vd has been arrested for the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas, the Los Angeles Police Department has confirmed on Thursday.
D4vd’s arrest comes months after Rivas’s decomposing 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, who was officially named as a suspect in the killing in February, per unsealed court documents.
In petitions demanding his parents testify in front of a Los Angeles County 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.
D4vd’s legal team released a statement saying that he did not murder Rivas and that he was not the cause of her death.
‘There has been no indictment returned by any grand jury in this case and no criminal complaint filed. David has only been detained under suspicion. We will vigorously defend David’s innocence,’ his lawyers said.
After D4vd’s arrest, the LAPD said: ‘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 case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office on Monday.
The grand jury investigation into D4vd began in mid-November. Jurors were presented evidence by prosecutors and relevant individuals were called testify, including D4vd’s managers and a friend of D4vd, Neo Langston.
Rivas’s family said she was last seen in the spring of 2024, when she left her Lake Elsinore home. She was 13 at the time.
Rivas’s remains were discovered last September because the Tesla that allegedly belonged to D4vd was left on a public street for more than 72 hours, according to the LAPD.
Neighbors said the Tesla was moved several times over the preceding three months before it was left on Bluebird Avenue in the Hollywood Hills.
It was then impounded and taken to Hollywood Tow. Employees at the tow yard began to notice a stench coming from the vehicle and called police on September 8, 2025.
Rivas’s decomposing body was found in the Tesla by investigators, who said she had been dismembered.
She was found days after what would have been her 15th birthday, but police believe she likely died much earlier, possibly in the spring of 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 her friends and 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.
Friends of D4vd have told TMZ that the two were ‘frequently’ seen together. They also believed he and Rivas were romantically involved.
After Rivas’s death, the lyrics of D4vd’s songs were the subject of much scrutiny due to their violent nature.
In one of his most popular singles, ‘Romantic Homicide’, he sings about a love interest of his no longer being around.
‘In the back of my mind, I killed you… And I didn’t even regret it… I can’t believe I said it… But it’s true… I hate you,’ were the final words of the 2022 song.
