Singer D4vd pleads not guilty to ‘brutal’ murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez

Apr 24, 2026 Rights & Justice views: 106

Singer D4vd has pleaded not guilty to the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.

The 21-year-old,who has been under investigation for months, was arrested last week after Hernandez’s remains were found in a Tesla registered to him in September.

Los Angeles County prosecutors formally charged the singer,whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, with murder on Monday. Nathan Hochman,the LA district attorney,said during a press conference on Monday that Burke engaged in a sexual relationship with Celeste.

He has been charged with lewd and lascivious acts with an individual under 14 and mutilating a body in the killing of Hernandez.

The teenager’s cause of death remains unknown. She was last seen by her family in April 2024,when she went missing from her hometown of Lake Elsinore. The then-13-year-old had said she was going to watch a movie,but never returned home.

Court documents show authorities had given her age as 14 when she was killed,after she was identified through forensics.

The Los Angeles police have charged D4vd with first-degree murder (Picture: Reuters)

D4vd during his arraignment at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles (Picture: EPA)

The Los Angeles district attorney held a press conference on Monday,in which they laid out the charges and displayed the singer’s mugshot.

The district attorney,Nathan Hochman,described it as a ‘brutal and horrific murder’ when announcing the charges,for which they can seek the death penalty.

The district attorney said: ‘A parent’s nightmare is a situation where your daughter goes out one night and never comes back.’

The murder charges also include special circumstances: lying in wait,committing a crime for financial gain,and murdering a witness in an investigation.

During the press conference,the LA police chief Jim McDonnell also addressed the criticism for the lack of information since Hernandez was found seven months ago.

The district attorney described the death of Celeste Rivas as a ‘brutal and horrific murder’ (Picture: ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock)

Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found dead in a Tesla registered to D4vd (Picture: AP)

If found guilty,D4vd could face life without parole or the death penalty (Picture: MediaPunch/Backgrid)

McDonnell said the condition she was found in and the substantial time between her death and her discovery meant they had lost crucial evidence and were delayed in identifying a cause of death.

‘I want to be clear about something. My duty is not to fuel speculation. It’s to deliver justice,and that requires patience and discipline on everybody’s part,’ he said.

‘This investigation was driven by a single purpose to secure justice for Celeste Rivas and for those who loved her. We had to be certain that nothing we did or said would ever jeopardise this case.’

It comes after Hernandez’s family broke their silence on D4vd’s arrest. Her father,Jesus Rivas,said,‘Thank God … justice for Celeste,’ according to a statement family attorney Patrick Steinfeld provided to TMZ.