{"id":19706,"date":"2026-04-21T01:03:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T00:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=19706"},"modified":"2026-04-21T01:03:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T00:03:03","slug":"d4vd-charged-with-murder-of-14-year-old-celeste-rivas-hernandez-crime-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=19706","title":{"rendered":"D4vd charged with murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez | Crime News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Singer faces first-degree murder and additional charges that could lead to life without parole or the death penalty.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"294\">Singer D4vd has been charged in the United States with murder in the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, a 14-year-old girl who was last seen alive nearly a year ago.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"294\">The 21-year-old musician, whose legal name is David Burke, \u2060faces first-degree murder and additional charges, including lewd acts with a minor and mutilation of a body. D4vd pleaded not guilty on Monday.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 2 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"294\">The prosecutor said Rivas Hernandez\u2019s dismembered and decomposed body was discovered in September inside an apparently abandoned Tesla linked to the singer.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"360\" data-end=\"511\">Authorities said the case includes special circumstances \u2013 lying in wait, committing crime for financial gain and the alleged killing of the witness in an investigation \u2013 making Burke eligible for life without parole or the death penalty.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"360\" data-end=\"511\">Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said prosecutors would decide later whether to seek the \u200cdeath penalty.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"360\" data-end=\"511\">Burke was arrested at a home in Hollywood on Thursday and was being held without bail.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"513\" data-end=\"767\">The witness he is alleged to have killed is Rivas Hernandez, who could have given testimony about the sex crime allegations.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"513\" data-end=\"767\">Rivas Hernandez had disappeared in 2024, when she was 13. That was her age when, according to an allegation in a criminal complaint, the singer engaged in continuous sexual abuse of her for at least a year from September 2023 to September 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Hochman said authorities believed the girl went to D4vd\u2019s Hollywood Hills home on April 23, 2025, and \u201cwas never heard from again\u201d.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"974\" data-end=\"1049\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Burke\u2019s lawyers said on Monday that the evidence would show he is innocent.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"974\" data-end=\"1049\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">\u201cThe 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,\u201d they said. \u201cWe will vigorously defend David\u2019s innocence.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"court-documents-outline-secret-probe\" data-start=\"601\" data-end=\"944\">Court documents outline secret probe<\/h2>\n<p>The singer had been under investigation by a Los Angeles County grand jury looking into the death.<\/p>\n<p>The probe was officially secret, but its existence, and his designation as its target, was revealed in February when his mother, father and brother objected in a Texas court to subpoenas demanding they testify.<\/p>\n<p>The 2023 Tesla Model Y was registered in the singer\u2019s name at their address, according to court filings. Authorities did not publicly acknowledge him as a suspect until his arrest.<\/p>\n<p>Police investigators searching the Tesla in a tow yard found a cadaver bag \u201ccovered with insects and a strong odor of decay\u201d, court documents said.<\/p>\n<p>Detectives partially unzipped a bag and found a head and torso.<\/p>\n<p>Investigators from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner\u2019s Office removed the bag and \u201cdiscovered the arms and legs had been severed from the body\u201d, according to court documents.<\/p>\n<p>A second black bag was found under the first, and dismembered body parts were inside it. No cause of death has been publicly revealed, and police got a judge to block the release of details of the autopsy.<\/p>\n<p>The court order was expected to be lifted after the charges.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4508679\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4508679\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-4508679\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP26110639169395-1776720125.jpg?w=770&amp;resize=770%2C513&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell walks past an image of Celeste Rivas Hernandez Monday\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4508679\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell walks past an image of Celeste Rivas Hernandez [Damian Dovarganes\/AP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"rising-to-fame\">Rising to fame<\/h2>\n<p>D4vd gained popularity among Gen Z for his blend of indie rock, R&amp;B and lo-fi pop. He went viral on TikTok in 2022 with the hit Romantic Homicide, which peaked at number 4 on Billboard\u2019s Hot Rock &amp; Alternative Songs chart.<\/p>\n<p>He then signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records, and released his debut EP, Petals to Thorns and a follow-up, The Lost Petals, in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>When the body was discovered, the singer continued his North American tour, but when reports of his possible involvement spread widely, he cancelled the final two shows and a European tour that was to follow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Singer faces first-degree murder and additional charges that could lead to life without parole or the death penalty. Singer D4vd has been charged in the United States with murder in the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, a 14-year-old girl who was last seen alive nearly a year ago. The 21-year-old musician, whose legal name is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-canada-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}