You might assume that the cops discovering a decomposing teenage girl in the trunk of your car would lead to a rapid arrest and the beginning of a long time behind bars. But apparently, things work differently in Los Angeles.
On Sept. 8 2025, LAPD detectives investigating the stench of death emanating from an impounded car made that gruesome discovery, with the body later identified as 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. She’d been missing since 2024, was associated with singer D4vd (real name David Anthony Burke), and was found in his Tesla.
An open and shut case, right? Well, astonishingly, it’s taken until now for D4vd to be arrested on suspicion of killing Hernandez. The 21-year-old singer has been under investigation for months but, but last night, cops swarmed his home in the Hollywood Hills, yelling “surrender” through loudspeakers. D4vd was then escorted from his home in handcuffs and is currently being held without bail in Los Angeles.
🚨TMZ has obtained exclusive video showing singer D4vd being arrested for the murder of Celeste Rivas and the scene is intense. pic.twitter.com/3G1o66DDaA
— TMZ (@TMZ) April 17, 2026
I guess better late than never… LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division Commanding Officer Captain Scot M. Williams justified the delay, saying that while he wasn’t arrested, they were still keeping a close eye on him:
“We came to the home with a probable cause arrest warrant for him. … We did the best we can to keep tabs on him, but once we developed probable cause to arrest him for murder, then we were on him pretty diligently.”
Hernandez’s cause of death remains unknown, as her body’s state of decomposition was so advanced. In addition, it appears there was some kind of effort to dismember her body, as her head and torso were stuffed inside a cadaver bag, while “various other body parts” were in another bag. Investigators theorize she may have been dead for several weeks before she was found.
He’s defending his innocence
D4vd continues to insist he has absolutely no idea how Hernandez’s dismembered body ended up in the trunk of his car, with his attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski, and Regina Peter saying they will “vigorously defend” his innocence:
“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. 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.”
Who knows? Maybe he really is innocent, and this is just a really unfortunate set of coincidences that ended with a dismembered teenage girl stuffed into the trunk of his car. I suppose stranger things have happened…
All that said, I imagine investigators have now assembled a fairly airtight case justifying this arrest. Hopefully, we’ll soon get an idea of what evidence they have against him and the plea he’s going to enter at arraignment. Right now it sounds like he’s going to plead “not guilty”, but we’ll see how if that stands up if he’s offered a plea deal to avoid life without parole if found guilty.
One thing’s for sure, though, Netflix is currently drooling at the prospect of another hit celebrity-focused true crime documentary!
Published: Apr 17, 2026 04:26 am