Prosecutors have revealed singer D4vd’s sinister motives for allegedly murdering a 14-year-old girl with whom he was in a romantic relationship, as he was charged with murder on Monday.
D4vd, real name David Anthony Burke, was arrested on April 16 as a suspect in the killing of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, 14.
The felony complaint revealed fresh claims, including that Burke allegedly committed the crime for financial gain and used a ‘sharp instrument’ to murder the young girl, who was found dead inside his Tesla.
Digital and forensic evidence suggests he murdered her to protect his music career from being threatened by the exposure of his underage relationship, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J Hochman said.
Rivas, whose mutilated body was found seven months ago, was allegedly a witness to a crime and ‘was intentionally killed because of that fact,’ the document claims.
The severity of the first-degree murder charge makes the singer, 21, eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted. He is currently being held in prison with no bail.
D4vd appeared emotionless during his first court appearance on Monday, as he wore a black sweatshirt and gray sweatpants. His next hearing will be on April 23.
The suspect did not make eye contact with people in the room, which included the victim’s family, as his attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
His defense attorney, Blair Berk, asked for the preliminary hearings to begin this week.
She said: ‘We believe actual evident will show that Mr. Burke did not murder Celeste nor was the cause of her death. We would like to have the evidence see the light of day.’
Rivas’s remains were discovered in the front trunk of a Tesla that had been impounded at a Hollywood tow yard in September last year.
Police say the vehicle was registered to Burke’s address in Texas.
The singer was formally charged with first-degree murder with special circumstances, continuous lewd acts with an individual under 14 and mutilating human remains of a body.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office explained the special circumstances for D4vd’s first-degree murder charge, which includes ‘lying in wait, committing this crime for financial gain or murdering a witness in an investigation.’
The charges, filed in California, carry a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole and the death penalty.
District Attorney Hochman told a press conference on Monday that a determination on the death penalty will be made at a later date.
Prosecutors said that the teenager went to Burke’s home on April 23, 2025 ‘at his invitation’ and was never heard from again.
Hochman said the singer allegedly killed her to protect his lucrative music career, which she was threatening on that particular night, Hochman said.
Hochman said: ‘This murder was committed for financial gain. As the evidence will show in court, the financial gain was for Mr Burke to maintain his very lucrative music career, on that particular night.
‘In this particular case, as the evidence will come out in court, the witness to the investigation was Celeste, and the investigation was into the lewd and lascivious sexual acts committed by Mr Burke… with Celeste when she was under [sic] 14 years old.’
Her family’s grief is ‘incalculable,’ they said at the press conference.
Kent Schaffer, representing Burke’s family, said in a statement on Monday: ‘The Burkes are not surprised but are terribly disappointed that the District Attorney chose to charge David. Nevertheless, they support and stand by him 100 percent.’
As well as Burke’s dramatic arraignment, the court itself faced turmoil on Monday as it was hit with a bomb threat just before 11am, hours before the singer’s showdown.
Authorities inside the building were forced to flee the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center after an anonymous caller made the threat.
‘Let us be clear – the actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death,’ lawyers for Burke said after his arrest.
Based on testimony from her friends and family, it is believed Rivas was in a romantic relationship with the 21-year-old singer at the time of her death.
Her family said she was last seen in spring 2024, when she left her Lake Elsinore home aged 13. They said, however, that this was not the first time she had run away.
Rivas’s remains were discovered last September after the Tesla that allegedly belonged to Burke was left on a public street for more than 72 hours, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
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 last year.
Investigators said the girl had been dismembered and found her decomposed head and torso in a cadaver bag.
She was found days after what would have been her 15th birthday, but police believe she likely died much earlier, with the county medical examiner saying the remains were ‘severely decomposed.’
Rivas’s mother, who reported her missing three different times throughout 2024, has said her daughter was dating a guy she had never met named ‘David’. It has also been reported that the two shared matching ‘Sshhh’ tattoos on their right index fingers.
Friends of Burke told TMZ that the two were ‘frequently’ seen together.
The grand jury investigation into Burke began in mid-November. Jurors were presented evidence by prosecutors and relevant individuals were called to testify, including his managers and friend, Neo Langston.
And in September, police obtained a search warrant for a $4.1 million home in the Hollywood Hills where Burke had been staying. Officers seized a computer, according to ABC News.
Police have not disclosed details about what they may have found on the computer.
The residence’s owner, Mladen Trifunovic, hired private investigator Steve Fischer after the search to look into whether the teenager had ever stayed at the home.
Fischer said that a ‘burn cage’ with enough power to turn a dead person’s body to ashes had been found at the ritzy Los Angeles spot once occupied by Burke.
‘Given that Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s remains were ultimately found in the Tesla [trunk], the presence of an incinerator at the same residence associated with that vehicle necessarily raises questions about intent,’ he said on X.
After Rivas’s death, the lyrics of Burke’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.
Burke rose to fame that same year after a string of viral TikTok hits.
His popularity led to collaborations with stars such as SZA and Kali Uchis. When Rivas’s body was discovered, Burke was on a tour, which was later canceled.
