Celeste Rivas Hernandez, 14, was reported missing from Lake Elsinore, CA in April 2024. On September 8, 2025, her dismembered remains were found inside the front trunk of d4vd's Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard. Officers found two cadaver bags. Her head and torso were in one, her arms and legs in another. She weighed just 71 pounds when found. The body had decomposed significantly.
A grand jury was convened in November 2025. Court documents unsealed in February 2026 formally identified d4vd as the target. Prosecutors subpoenaed his parents and brother in Texas; his friend Neo Langston was arrested in Montana for failing to comply with his subpoena.
🚨 APRIL 20, 2026 — CHARGES FILED: DA Nathan Hochman formally charged d4vd with first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and mutilation of human remains. The complaint alleges d4vd was in a sexual relationship with Rivas beginning when she was 13 (on or between Sept 7, 2023 and Sept 7, 2024) and murdered her on April 23, 2025 — two days before his debut album Withered dropped — because she "threatened to expose his criminal conduct and devastate his musical career." Prosecutors allege he used a "sharp instrument" and dismembered her body around May 5, 2025.
Three Special Circumstance Allegations: (1) lying in wait, (2) murder for financial gain, (3) killing a witness in a criminal investigation. Any one of these makes the case death-penalty eligible under California law. Hochman has NOT yet decided whether to seek the death penalty — that determination will be made at a later date. Even without death, d4vd faces life in prison without parole if convicted.
D4vd pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on April 20. He stood stone-faced behind a glass partition in a black hoodie. Defense attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski, and Regina Peter say: "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." He's been transferred to Twin Towers Correctional Facility — the same facility holding Nick Reiner.
April 22-23 Developments: The LA County Medical Examiner's report was released on April 22. Cause of death: "multiple penetrating injuries caused by object(s)." Manner: homicide. Two stab wounds — one to the right abdomen penetrating the liver, another to the left chest. On April 23 at a follow-up hearing, prosecutors revealed D4vd's iPhone contained a "significant amount of child sexual abuse material" that will be reviewed by forensic experts. Prosecutors disclosed over 40 terabytes of discovery to turn over — phones, computers, tablets, and about 3 TB from iCloud.
- 01First-degree murder — with three special circumstance allegations (lying in wait, murder for financial gain, killing a witness). Death penalty eligible.
- 02Continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 (Sept 7, 2023 – Sept 7, 2024) — alleged sexual relationship while Celeste was 13, beginning on her 13th birthday.
- 03Mutilation of human remains — allegedly dismembered the body around May 5, 2025.
- 04Special allegation: Use of a deadly and dangerous weapon (sharp instrument).
- 05Medical Examiner ruled homicide. Cause of death: "multiple penetrating injuries caused by object(s)" — two stab wounds (liver and left chest).
- 06D4vd's iPhone contained "significant amount of child sexual abuse material" per April 23 hearing disclosures.
One of the most disturbing celebrity criminal investigations in recent memory. The grand jury process means proceedings are secret, with the public seeing only fragments through subpoena disputes. If an indictment is issued, this will become one of the highest-profile murder cases in the music industry. The case also raises questions about how long a target can remain uncharged while a grand jury investigates.
Beth Silverman, nicknamed "The Sniper," is the LA County Deputy DA assigned to this case. She has never lost a murder case. Silverman has prosecuted some of the most notorious serial killers in California history — Lonnie Franklin Jr. (the Grim Sleeper), Michael Hughes (the Southside Slayer), Chester Turner, and Samuel Little. She has successfully obtained the death penalty in multiple capital cases. She is assigned to the Major Crimes Division, where she handles high-profile, complex homicides. See her full profile →