David Burke, a 21-year-old singer who also goes by the name D4vd, has been arrested in connection with the murder of a teenager named Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement on Thursday.
“Burke is being held without bail,” the LAPD said, adding that the case will be presented to the district attorney’s office on Monday. Police did not immediately specify what evidence led them to conduct the arrest.
Burke’s attorneys put out a statement defending the singer on Thursday.
“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 told JS. “There has been no indictment returned by any grand jury in his case and no criminal complaint filed. David has only been detained under suspicion. We will vigorously defend David’s innocence.”
Rivas Hernandez was 13 years old when she was last seen in Lake Elsinore, Calif., in April 2024. In September 2025, Rivas Hernandez’s remains were found in a Tesla registered to the singer after the vehicle was impounded.
Lake Elsinore residents have expressed shock and heartbreak regarding Rivas Hernandez’s death.
“She deserves justice,” Rubi Alonso, a Lake Elsinore resident who knew Rivas Hernandez’s family, told The Los Angeles Times. “She was studious, a hard worker and intelligent.”
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for Coachella
Burke, who became famous for his TikTok-viral songs, including “Here With Me” and “Romantic Homicide,” was identified as a suspect in Rivas Hernandez’s death last November, an anonymous law enforcement source told NBC News at the time. He was also the target of a grand jury investigation concerning the teenager’s death.
“The case is expected to be presented to the Major Crimes Division, at which point prosecutors will review the facts and evidence to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to file charges,” the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement, according to KTLA.
