Singer D4vd has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder after a 14-year-old girl's decomposing body was found in a car.
Singer D4vd has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder after a 14-year-old girl's decomposing body was found in a car.
Singer D4vd has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder in relation to the body of a teenage girl who was found decomposed inside a car registered in his name.
D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, 21, was taken into custody at a Hollywood Hills property onApril 16, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Burke’s defence team told a court the “actual evidence will show that David did not kill Celeste” and entered a not guilty plea for their client, according to the BBC. Burke did not speak.
The felony complaint alleged Burke committed the crime for financial gain and used a “sharp instrument” to murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez, according to the Daily Mail.
The complainant’s evidence suggested that Burke murdered Hernandez to protect his music career being damaged by his sexual relationship with a minor, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said, the Daily Mail reported.
Hochman said Hernandez then visited Burke’s house on April 23, 2025, and “she was never heard from again”.
Police found her severely decomposed body on September 8, 2025, at Hollywood Tow after the vehicle was impounded. A tow yard worker reported a foul smell coming from the car, prompting detectives to attend. Hernandez would have turned 15 the next day.
Law enforcement sources told the LA Times the car had been abandoned in the Hollywood Hills for five days before it was towed.
Hernandez may have been dead for several weeks, police said last September, per NBC Los Angeles.
Her name was initially recorded with the county medical examiner as Celeste Rivas before being updated to include her full surname, according to the Times.
D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, was taken into custody at a Hollywood Hills property on April 16. Photo / D4vd
No cause of death has been announced by authorities. The court blocked the medical examiner from releasing findings to ensure the police have access to the information before the public, according to the BBC.
Detectives later searched a property on Doheny Drive, north of Sunset Boulevard, seizing items including electronics and computers.
A grand jury began hearing evidence about the case in December, but Burke’s arrest marked a major development since then, according to the BBC.
