U.S. artist D4vd has been taken into custody on suspicion of being involved in the death of a 14-year-old girl whose decomposed remains were discovered last year in an apparently abandoned Tesla that was registered under his name and later towed from the Hollywood Hills, as per the authorities on Thursday. The Los Angeles police department mentioned in a concise statement that the 20-year-old alt-pop singer, born in Houston and legally known as David Anthony Burke, was held without bail. Law enforcement officials stated that a case would be presented to the District Attorney’s Office for potential charges on Monday.
The singer had been a subject of investigation by an L.A. County grand jury regarding the passing of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The investigative proceedings had been confidential, but the involvement of D4vd as the prime target was disclosed on February 25 when his mother, father, and brother filed a legal objection in a Texas court against subpoenas requiring their testimonies.
A Texas judge ruled that the three individuals could not disregard the subpoenas and ordered them to travel to California and provide their testimonies. The singer’s representatives have not yet responded to multiple inquiries from The Associated Press concerning the case.
Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s remains were found on September 8, 2025, a day following what would have been her 15th birthday. She was reported missing in 2024 by her family from her residence in Lake Elsinore, approximately 112 kilometers southeast of Los Angeles, when she was a 13-year-old seventh-grade student. Official documents state her age as 14 at the time of her demise.
During a search of the 2023 Tesla Model Y at a tow yard, investigators discovered a cadaver bag containing a decomposed head and torso, emitting a strong odor of decay and infested with insects. Subsequent examination revealed that the arms and legs had been severed from the body. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the severely decomposed state of the body, indicating that Rivas Hernandez had likely been deceased for an extended period before being found.
Following the discovery, in November 2025, Los Angeles police obtained a court order preventing the chief medical examiner from disclosing the autopsy results, leaving the cause of death undisclosed. The singer, amidst a U.S. tour, proceeded with several performances after the incident came to light. However, he eventually called off the remaining concerts and a European tour as his connection to the case became widely publicized.