Singer D4vd charged in murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, death penalty possible

Jami Ganz, New York Daily News on Apr 20, 2026

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Singer D4vd is facing the death penalty now that he’s officially been charged in the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the teenager whose dismembered remains were found decomposing in the trunk of his impounded Tesla this past September.

The Queens-born “Romantic Homicide” singer, 21, was charged Monday with first degree murder with special circumstances for “the brutal and horrific death” of Rivas, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said at a press conference.

D4vd, real name David Anthony Burke, now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. The D.A.’s office has not yet determined whether they will seek the death penalty.

Burke also faces charges for “continuous sexual acts, lewd and lascivious sexual acts with an individual under 14 years old, and mutilating a human remains of a body,” per Hochman.

The DA laid out three special circumstances: “lying in wait, committing this crime for financial gain, or murdering a witness in an investigation.” Burke also faces a special allegation of having personally used “a deadly and dangerous weapon, a sharp instrument,” to kill Rivas, according to a release from the D.A.’s Office.

Of “lying in wait,” Hochman said, “Celeste went to Mr. Burke’s home on the night of April 23, 2025, as alleged in the complaint … and was not heard from again.”

D4vd, per officials, wanted to maintain “his very lucrative musical career, which Celeste was threatening on that particular night.”

Officials say that, given Burke committed “lewd and lascivious acts” with Rivas “while she was under 14 years old,” she was a witness to a crime.

Hochman said, in the release, that Burke responded to Rivas’ threats by killing her and having “cut up her body and stuffed her body in two bags,” which he put in the car.

“This horrific and gruesome murder committed by the charged sexual predator is shocking and appalling,” said Hochman, who is viewing the case “as a parent … of three children.”

“A parent’s nightmare is a situation where your daughter goes out one night and never comes back,” said Hochman.

Officials allege that Rivas, a runaway whose family last saw her in April 2024, was just 14 when she went to Burke’s Hollywood Hills home on April 23, 2025, and “was never heard from again.”

Her “dismembered and decomposed remains were found in two bags inside of a front trunk of a car registered to Mr. Burke” on Sept. 8, prompting the investigation “to determine who killed, who murdered Celeste months and months before.”

D4vd was arrested last week, prior to charges being filed, which prompted speculation about who was handling the investigation. Hochman disputed that, saying all agencies taking part in the investigation have been “in lockstep.”

Hochman said authorities had pledged to Rivas’ family “proof beyond a reasonable doubt on who killed their daughter, on how their daughter was killed, when their daughter was killed and bring that killer to justice.”

TMZ reported later Monday that parts of the Los Angeles County Courthouse — where there was heightened security for Burke’s arraignment — were briefly evacuated due to a verbal bomb threat. The area was cleared by authorities, including bomb squad dogs, who determined there were no explosives after all.

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