In a fast-moving turn in a case that has drawn intense attention since September, d4vd has been arrested in connection with the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The Los Angeles Police Department said the 21-year-old, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, was taken into custody by the Robbery-Homicide Division and is being held without bail. The case is scheduled to go to the District Attorney’s office on Monday for filing consideration.
Arrest tied to September discovery in Hollywood
Police said Hernandez was found dead in Hollywood in the trunk of Burke’s Tesla after officers were called to a tow yard on Sept. 8 following reports of a foul odor coming from the car. The vehicle had been on the property for several days, and investigators found a dismembered body placed inside a bag in the front trunk. The car had been registered in Hempstead, Texas, to Burke and was impounded after being abandoned in the Hollywood Hills, where neighbors had complained about a rotting smell.
The LAPD said it was also investigating a trip Burke took to the Santa Barbara area sometime during the spring of 2025, following Hernandez’s death. The department’s statement said detectives from the Robbery-Homicide Division arrested David Burke, described as a 21-year-old resident of Los Angeles, and confirmed that he is being held without bail.
Officials move the case forward
A spokesman for the musician said in September that he was “fully cooperating with authorities, ” though that position later changed. As of Nov. 18, Burke was no longer cooperating with law enforcement, NBC Los Angeles reported. That shift adds another layer of pressure as investigators prepare to present the matter to prosecutors.
The Los Angeles Police Department has not publicly detailed the evidence leading to the arrest, and the case remains in the early stages of the charging process. For now, the key next step is whether the District Attorney’s office will file charges after reviewing the file.
What happened before the arrest
Hernandez was reported missing from her home in Lake Elsinore, California, last year, and she was last seen in April 2024, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. After her body was found, police said the manner of death had not yet been determined. That uncertainty has remained a major part of the case as the investigation moved from a death inquiry into a murder arrest.
Shortly after the discovery, Burke quietly canceled his U. S. tour and postponed promotion of his deluxe album. The arrest now places d4vd at the center of a case that has shifted from search and identification to direct criminal prosecution, with the next update likely coming after the Monday review by prosecutors. For now, d4vd remains in custody without bail as the legal process advances.
