D4vd arrest may not be last in Celeste Rivas murder case

Law enforcement sources say the murder case against pop singer D4vd may not end with his arrest, as investigators believe others were involved in the death and disposal of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez — whose remains were found in the trunk of the singer’s abandoned Tesla last year.

According to sources cited by ABC News, Ms. Rivas Hernandez’s body was dismembered, and the process of dismembering and disposing of her remains is believed to have likely involved more than one person. Yet when detectives left the scene of the singer’s arrest Thursday evening carrying evidence boxes, the LAPD said no one else was taken into custody.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is expected to receive the case Monday for filing consideration, leaving open whether additional suspects could face charges.

D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, was arrested Thursday by the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division and is being held without bail. The singer rose to fame after his song “Romantic Homicide” went viral on TikTok.

The case stretches back to April 2024, when Ms. Rivas Hernandez, a 14-year-old from Lake Elsinore born to parents who immigrated from El Salvador, was reported missing from her home, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. She last contacted her family in May 2024. Surveillance footage and digital evidence later showed she was alive as recently as January 2025, with investigators believing her death occurred in the spring of 2025.

Her remains were discovered months later when workers at Hollywood Tow reported a foul odor coming from an impounded Tesla registered to Mr. Burke. Officers opened the front trunk and found the remains in two cadaver bags, according to Los Angeles County grand jury documents made public following a hearing in a Texas court.

The investigation that followed drew in a widening cast of figures. In December, Robert Morgenroth, general manager of Mr. Burke’s record label Mogul Vision, testified before the grand jury and was questioned by Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman about why he had not called police upon learning of the discovery of Ms. Rivas Hernandez’s remains. Mr. Morgenroth, who also served as president of Mr. Burke’s touring company, Zara Brothers Travel, said he did not feel it was his responsibility to do so.

The grand jury probe was officially secret, but its existence — and Mr. Burke’s designation as a target — became public in February when his mother, father and brother filed an objection in a Texas court to subpoenas demanding they testify. According to court transcripts reported by LBC, Mr. Burke’s father, Dawud Burke, argued the summons violated his due process rights because the California court documents he received contained redacted information. LAPD detectives had traveled to Texas in an effort to bring the family to California to appear before the grand jury.

Attorneys for Mr. Burke denied any wrongdoing. “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,” attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter said in a statement Thursday. “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.”

For those who knew Ms. Rivas Hernandez, Thursday’s arrest brought a measure of relief.

“She deserves justice,” said Rubi Alonso, a Lake Elsinore resident who knew the family. “She was studious, a hard worker and intelligent.”