David Anthony Burke, aka d4vd, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose body was found dismembered and decomposing inside the trunk of his abandoned Tesla last September.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office also charged the 21-year-old musician with counts of lewd and lascivious acts with an individual under 14 and mutilating a body in the killing of Rivas Hernandez, who was first reported missing in 2024 at the age of 13.
The Associated Press reports that the murder charges included special circumstances, such as lying in wait, committing crime for financial gain and murdering the witness in an investigation.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the first-degree murder charge could carry either the maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
"These charges include the most serious charges that a DA's office can bring," Hochman told the media. "The determination on whether or not the district attorney's office will seek the death penalty will be made at a later time."
d4vd was arrested last Thursday night (April 16) by the LAPD on suspicion of murdering the 14-year-old girl, after he had been targeted in a grand jury investigation into the murder back in February.
On September 8, 2025, Celeste Rivas Hernandez's body was found inside the trunk of an impounded Tesla that was registered in d4vd's name and towed from the Hollywood Hills, one day after she was set to turn 15. At the time of the discovery, the Los Angeles Police Department say it was presumed that she had been dead for "several weeks."