LOS ANGELES, CA — The singer D4vd was charged Monday with the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the girl whose remains were found in the trunk of his Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard a day before what would have been her 15th birthday, according to prosecutors.
The 21-year-old singer, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, was arraigned Monday afternoon in downtown Los Angeles. Following his arrest last week, authorities revealed new detail about the case at a Monday morning news conference.
Burke faces the following charges, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman:
Burke pled not guilty to the charges on Monday through one of his attorneys. He remains jailed without bail. He's due back in court on Thursday.
Here are five things to know about the case:
The murder charge against Burke includes special circumstance allegations of lying in wait, murder for financial gain and killing a witness in a criminal investigation.
The allegations open Burke, if convicted as charged, to a possible maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility or parole or the death penalty, Hochman said.
Prosecutors will determine at a future date whether to pursue the death penalty, he said.
Celeste's family reported her missing from Lake Elsinore in April 2024. They said she had run away from home, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. She was 13 at the time.
Celeste was on her way to see a movie with Burke when she disappeared, her brother told NBC Los Angeles.
Celeste's mother said Celeste had a tattoo of the word "Shhh..." on her finger and her daughter's boyfriend was named "David," TMZ reported. That tattoo is similar to one that Burke has.
Authorities on Monday confirmed their belief that Burke had been engaged in illegal sexual activity with Celeste.
"During the course of our investigation, detectives learned that she had been involved in a sexual relationship with Mr. Burke when she was a minor and he was an adult," Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell said.
The abuse transpired between at least Sept. 7, 2023 and Sept. 7, 2024, which corresponds to the year she was 13, according to the criminal complaint obtained by Patch.
Burke was 18 at the start of that timeframe and turned 19 in March 2024.
Hochman said in a statement that when Celeste "threatened to expose" his sexual abuse, Burke murdered her. The special circumstances allegation of financial gain speaks to Burke's effort to maintain his lucrative music career, which was threatened by his relationship with Celeste, prosecutors claim.
And the allegation of murdering a witness stems from the fact that Celeste was considered the key witness in that investigation, Hochman said.
Authorities have not indicated whether Burke was being investigated for his connection to Celeste prior to the discovery of her body.
Authorities honed in on two dates during Monday's news conference: The date Celeste was last heard from and the date her body was found.
On April 23, 2025 — a year after she was reported missing — Celeste went to Burke's home in the Hollywood Hills at his invitation, prosecutors said. "She was never heard from again," Hochman said.
The allegation that Burke was lying in wait as part of his planning of Celeste's murder stems from that invitation, Hochman said.
Burke performed at Coachella that year on April 11 and April 18. His second performance was just five days before prosecutors say Celeste came to his home.
The charges against Burke include a special allegation that he used a deadly and dangerous weapon, described only as "a sharp instrument," to kill her.
Hochman claims that after Burke killed Celeste, he "cut up her body and stuffed her body in two bags that were placed in the front trunk of his car." Burke also faces a charge that he mutilated her body.
The LAPD last year said authorities were investigating a trip Burke took to Santa Barbara County in the spring, responding to media reports that he traveled to a remote part of the county in the spring to dismember Celeste's body with at least one other person.
Authorities on Monday said they were investigating the trip but offered no other details about it.
On Sept. 8, 2025 — a day after her 15th birthday — Celeste's remains were found inside the front trunk of Burke's Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard, according to prosecutors.
Her "severely decomposed, dismembered body" was found inside two bags, according to court documents.
The car had been towed from Bluebird Street in the Hollywood Hills' Bird Streets area after a resident reported it had not moved for some days, according to court documents.
The investigation into Celeste's killing has included numerous tensions and controversies.
"Throughout the seven-month investigation, this department has faced criticism for how we handled the case and for our decision not to provide details," McDonnell, the LAPD chief, said Monday. "We had to be certain that nothing we did or said would ever jeopardize this case."
The LAPD in November successfully limited the release of medical examiner's records connected to the case despite the protests of the Medical Examiner's Office. Such documents are public by default.
Hochman on Monday said that prosecutors will "quite quickly" be seeking a court order to make public the medical examiner's report. That document will presumably reveal more details about the nature of Celeste's death; her cause of death has not been publicly revealed.
"The condition of her remains delayed the medical examiner's ability to be able to determine the cause of death," McDonnell said. "The substantial amount of time that passed between her death and the discovery meant that crucial evidence had degraded or disappeared."
Additionally, Burke had been the target of a grand jury investigation for Celeste's killing.
The investigation was secret, but its existence was revealed in February after court documents in Texas showed Burke's mother, father and brother were fighting subpoenas demanding they testify.
According to Burke's lawyers, that investigation did not lead to Burke's indictment.
"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 Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski, and Regina Peter said in a statement last week, after Burke was arrested and before he was formally charged in court on Monday.
The statement continued: "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."
More California News:
City News Service contributed to this report.
Sign up for free local newsletters and alerts for the
Los Angeles, CA Patch
Patch.com is the nationwide leader in hyperlocal news.
Visit Patch.com to find your town today.