Los Angeles prosecutors officially charged Houston native and TikTok-famous singer David Anthony Burke, known better as D4vd, with the murder of a 14-year-old girl that authorities say was found dismembered in his Tesla.
At a Monday press conference, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced that Burke was being charged with murder in the first degree, a charge that would possibly make Burke eligible for the death penalty. Burke will also face charges for lewd acts with a child and for dismembering the body of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
Hernandez was first reported missing by her family in 2024, when she was 13. Police said she was 14 when she died. Hochman called Hernandez’s murder “brutal and horrific.”
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“I want to look at this as a parent,” Hochman said. “I’m a parent of three children, and a parent’s nightmare is a situation where your daughter goes out one night and never comes back.”
LOS ANGELES CALIF APRIL 20, 2026 Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell, center, and Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman, held a news conference, to update the media on singer David Anthony Burke, or D4vd, who was arrested last week in connection with the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who was found dismembered in the trunk of his Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard on Monday, April 20, 2026. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag
Hochman said that he was charging Burke with “the most serious” charges a district attorney’s office can bring, and that the first-degree murder charge included what he called “special circumstances,” which include lying in wait, committing a crime for financial gain, and murdering the witness in an investigation. While that charge brings up the possibility of the death penalty, Hochman said that prosecutors would determine whether to seek it at a later date.
The charges are a stunning development for the 21-year-old Burke, a Houston-native alt-pop singer whose work has soundtracked countless TikToks and has appeared in the uber-popular video game Fortnite. But he became a prime suspect when Rivas Hernandez’s body was found in a Tesla Model Y on Sept. 8, 2025, that had been abandoned in the Hollywood Hills and taken to a Los Angeles tow yard. Rivas Hernandez’s family reported her missing in the summer of 2024 from her home in Lake Elsinore, about 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
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Rivas Hernandez’s body was found in the Tesla trunk in a bag “covered with insects and a strong odor of decay,” per numerous reports and court documents. Detectives found a head and a torso in an unzipped bag. The Tesla was registered to a house in Hempstead that belonged to his family. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said that Rivas Hernandez was long dead when she was found, and the advanced state of her body’s decay made identifying her difficult.
“The substantial amount of time that passed between her death and the discovery meant that crucial evidence had degraded or disappeared,” McDonnell said Monday.
LOS ANGELES CALIF APRIL 20, 2026 Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman, right, held a news conference, to update the media on singer David Anthony Burke, or D4vd, who was arrested last week in connection with the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez (pictured), who was found dismembered in the trunk of his Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard on Monday, April 20, 2026. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag
Rivas Hernandez’s family has remained quiet throughout the process and made no public statements, though her mother spoke to TMZ last fall and said her daughter had had a boyfriend named David. Rivas’ father, Jesus, had only a short statement for the New York Times on Monday: “Thank God … justice for Celeste.”
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The gruesome circumstances around Rivas Hernandez’s death and Burke’s involvement immediately became tabloid fodder and the subject of intense public scrutiny. McDonnell said that investigators had to “sift through and debunk a great deal of false information.” To many commentators, Burke seemed like an obvious suspect, though he was just one of many investigated in the case’s early going. A Cypress, Texas, home connected to Burke was searched last year.
However, in February, the Los Angeles Times revealed that Burke was the subject of a secret grand jury investigation, which was only revealed when Rivas Hernandez’s parents objected to testifying in the probe in Texas court. Burke was arrested last week. In a statement after his arrest on April 16, Burke’s lawyers vowed to “vigorously defend David’s innocence.”
Taking questions from the media, Hochman addressed the lengthy delay in bringing charges against Burke. Hochman said McDonnell and the LAPD “got it right,” and said that prosecutors and investigators wanted to ensure their case against Burke would be airtight and that they looked at all avenues before bringing charges.
LOS ANGELES CALIF APRIL 20, 2026 Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman held a news conference, to update the media on singer David Anthony Burke, or D4vd, who was arrested last week in connection with the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who was found dismembered in the trunk of his Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard on Monday, April 20, 2026. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag
“In a situation where you don’t have an eyewitness account, or you can’t point to a video that shows the killer killing someone, you have to go through a very rigorous and thorough investigation to look at all the digital and forensic evidence,” Hochman said. “It’s a type of case where you want to make sure you get maximum information right away.”
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Under the moniker D4vd, pronounced “David,” Burke began making music for Fortnite videos in his bedroom in suburban Houston. His music became popular on TikTok for its mash of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. His 2022 song “Romantic Homicide” went viral on the app, and he has put out two EPs, “Petals to Thorns” and “The Lost Petals.” He performed at Austin City Limits in 2023 and has opened for artists such as SZA.
When Burke became a person of interest in Rivas Hernandez’s death, his tour was quickly cancelled, and brands including Crocs and Hollister severed ties with him. As of Monday, Burke has not been arraigned or entered any pleas.