Everything to Know About D4vd — After the 'Romantic Homicide' Singer Is Arrested for the Murder of Teen Celeste Rivas Hernandez
Singer D4vd has been accused of killing the 14-year-old.
May 12 2026, Published 8:30 p.m. ET
D4vd, the musician at the center of the 2024 murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, was recently arrested, and RadarOnline.com can reveal everything you need to know about the singer.
D4vd Is From New York
D4vd was arrested on April 16.
Born on March 28, 2005, D4vd – who is from Queens, New York, and whose legal name is David Anthony Burke – grew up listening to gospel music while being homeschooled in Houston, Texas.
"I find my inspiration in life itself. Waking up in the morning is a reason for song, seeing trees wave to me as hands personified is a reason for song, being able to laugh, walk, see, and hear is a reason for song," he told Astrophe Magazine. "Books, movies, TV shows. Anything with complex themes I can attach myself to is inspiration."
D4vd also shared he gets his "personal power from God for sure. Heavy believer in the Christian faith."
D4vd Began Releasing Music in 2021
The Los Angeles Police Department said D4vd is 'being held without bail.'
D4vd got his start in the music industry by using his songs in his Fortnite gameplay videos in 2021.
"The first song I made was Run Away, a super slow song where I was just trying to figure out my sound," he revealed to VMAN. "And then I made You and I, which is the first song I ever put in a montage. It was just for the montage, I didn't expect much. But then, people started using it in their montages, and I was like, 'Okay, this could be something,' so I kept making songs."
He released hit singles in the years thereafter, including Run Away, Romantic Homicide, Here with Me, and My House Is Not a Home, among others.
In April 2025, he dropped his debut album, Withered.
"I feel like my music can be viewed as myself talking to somebody or myself talking to myself," he told Atwood in 2025. "It's a love-hate relationship between the mindsets that I have, like, how my brain switches or the evolution of my personality, and how I'm growing and maturing. It's like growing out of certain things and approaching situations differently."
D4vd Was Reportedly Romantically Involved With Celeste Rivas Hernandez
D4vd was cuffed months after Celeste Rivas Hernandez's severely decomposed and dismembered body was found inside his car.
D4vd was believed to have dated Hernandez, a teen from Lake Elsinore, California, who was reported missing in April 2024. Her mother told TMZ that Hernandez informed her she was dating a man named David, though she had never met him.
While the relationship was never directly confirmed, the pair had matching tattoos: the text "Shhh…" in red ink on their right index fingers.
On the other hand, friends of the Sleep Well singer believed they "were romantically involved." However, they reportedly thought Hernandez was not a minor since she attended age-restricted gatherings.
"No one really questioned much about her background … they just knew her as this college student who went to USC," TMZ senior news reporter Charlie Neff shared on Banfield.
Celeste Rivas Hernandez's Dead Body Was Found Inside D4vd's Impounded Tesla
Celeste Rivas Hernandez was 14 at the time of her death.
On September 8, 2025, Los Angeles police found human remains inside D4vd's impounded Tesla on the 1000 block of N. Mansfield Avenue. Authorities said they discovered the severely decomposed and dismembered body wrapped in a bag after receiving a call about a foul odor emanating from a vehicle.
The 2023 Tesla, which is registered in Hempstead, Texas, to D4vd, was initially abandoned in the Hollywood Hills before it was towed to the lot, according to investigators.
"D4vd has been informed about what's happened. And, although he is still out on tour, he is fully cooperating with the authorities," a representative for D4vd said.
He was in the middle of his Withered World Tour in North America at the time. He continued performing after the news broke, but later canceled multiple shows without an explanation.
One week after the body was discovered, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner identified the remains as those of 14-year-old Hernandez.
On September 17, 2025, detectives from the LAPD's Robbery-Homicide Division served a search warrant on the property where D4vd was staying. Meanwhile, the musician hired high-profile Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Blair Berk to represent him, Los Angeles Magazine reported.
D4vd was identified as a suspect in November 2025.
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D4vd Arrested on Suspicion of Celeste Rivas Hernandez's Murder
Celeste Rivas Hernandez's family spoke out after D4vd's arrest.
On April 16, D4vd was arrested on suspicion of murder amid the ongoing murder investigation into the death of Hernandez. The LAPD said he was being held without bail.
An insider told People that investigators believe D4vd "most likely had help dismembering and disposing of the body."
On the other hand, D4vd's legal team issued a statement, which read, "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. 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."
The case was presented to the District Attorney's office on April 20 for filing consideration, per LAPD.
