D4vd, the 21-year-old pop singer made famous by his 2022 hit “Romantic Homicide,” is facing first-degree murder charges for allegedly killing and dismembering the body of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Prosecutors claim the musician, born David Anthony Burke, was having an illegal sexual relationship with the teenager and murdered her after she “threatened to expose his criminal conduct and devastate his musical career.”
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office alleges the murder occurred on April 23, 2025—just two days before the release of D4vd’s debut album, Withered, which opened at No. 13 on the Billboard 200. Months later, police discovered Rivas’ decomposed and dismembered body in an impounded Tesla registered to D4vd.
D4vd has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and his attorneys say they will “vigorously defend” him in court. “Let us be clear,” said the singer’s lawyers in a statement following his arrest. "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.”
The case has already had swift consequences for D4vd’s career. After Rivas’ body was discovered, his headlining Withered tour was cut short, and a deluxe version of the album got shelved. He was then dropped by Darkroom/Interscope Records, Sony Music Publishing, and The·Team (formerly Wasserman).
Billboard has put together a timeline of D4vd’s legal case, and we’ll keep you up to date with new developments as it moves forward. (For more details about D4vd’s music career, check out our separate story on his trajectory in the industry.)
Sept. 8, 2025: Rivas’ Body is Discovered in D4vd’s Tesla
On Sept. 8, 2025, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) responded to reports of a “foul odor” coming from a car registered to D4vd in a Hollywood tow lot. When they opened the Tesla’s front trunk, officers found two black bags containing a severed head, torso, and limbs.
A week later on Sept. 17, authorities said they’d identified the remains as belonging to Celeste Rivas Hernandez, a reported runaway who’d gone missing from her home in Lake Elsinore, Calif., at the age of 13 in 2024. At the time, police weren’t sure how old she’d been at the time of death.
Nov. 26, 2025: Reports Emerge of D4vd as Subject of Criminal Probe
Two months after Rivas’ body was found, reports began to trickle out that D4vd was a suspect in the LAPD’s investigation. On Nov. 26, 2025, the Los Angeles Times reported that the city’s district attorney had empaneled an investigative grand jury, a secret process in which laypeople hear evidence and decide whether to recommend criminal charges.
Feb. 25, 2026: D4vd Confirmed as Target of Murder Investigation
A series of public court documents filed in late February 2026 showed that D4vd was officially the target of an investigation for potential murder charges. D4vd’s parents and younger brother filed petitions in Texas, where they live, seeking to avoid testifying before the grand jury in Los Angeles.
In these documents, D4vd’s family members attached subpoenas from the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office that said prosecutors believed the singer “may be involved” in “foul play” tied to Rivas’ death.
April 16, 2026: D4vd Arrested on Suspicion of Murder
D4vd was arrested in Los Angeles on April 16, 2026. Charges had not yet been officially filed, but the LAPD said he was suspected of murdering Rivas. He was held in custody without bail while police presented the case to prosecutors for filing consideration.
April 20, 2026: D4vd Charged with Rivas’ Murder
Four days after D4vd’s arrest, on April 20, DA Nathan Hochman formally charged him with first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under age 14, and mutilating a body.
Hochman’s office alleged that D4vd, an adult, had an illegal underage sexual relationship with Rivas beginning when she was 13. Prosecutors claimed that on April 23, 2025, D4vd killed the then-14-year-old Rivas with a “sharp instrument” and disposed of the body because she had threatened to reveal his sexual crimes and derail his burgeoning music career.
The charges carry up to life in prison without parole, or death, if he’s convicted, though prosecutors have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty. D4vd pleaded not guilty to all counts at his arraignment the same day.
April 22, 2026: Medical Examiner Report Reveals Cause of Death
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner released its report on Rivas’ autopsy on April 22, 2026. The report concluded that Rivas died by homicide, from “two penetrating wounds of the torso with smooth edges that may represent sharp-force injuries.”
April 23, 2026: Evidence Discussed at First Court Hearing
D4vd appeared in Los Angeles court on April 23, 2026 for his first substantive hearing following the charges. There, prosecutors revealed that they collected more than 40 terabytes of digital data from D4vd’s devices during the monthslong investigation, including “a significant amount of child pornography” from his iPhone.
Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo scheduled a preliminary evidentiary hearing to begin on May 1, though this date could get pushed if the lawyers need more time to prepare. At this proceeding, prosecutors will present their evidence against D4vd for the judge to evaluate whether there’s a sufficient basis for criminal charges.
April 29, 2026: More Evidence Comes Out After Another Hearing
At another court hearing on April 29, 2026, a judge allowed prosecutors to publicly file a document revealing more grisly details of their investigation. According to the Associated Press, this document says D4vd purchased two chainsaws online and used them to dismember Rivas’ body in an inflatable pool.
Prosecutors claim the dismemberment occurred in D4vd’s garage, where they found Rivas’ DNA. The document also reveals that investigators obtained text messages between D4vd and Rivas from the night she was allegedly killed, in which she “became extremely upset and threatened to disclose damaging information about her relationship with the defendant to end his career and destroy his life.”
Also during this hearing, the judge delayed D4vd’s preliminary evidentiary hearing to May 26 from its original May 1 date, CBS News reports.
May 12, 2026: Preliminary Hearing Delayed a Month
During a court status conference on May 12, the judge pushed D4vd’s preliminary hearing to June 29 after the singer’s lawyers said they needed more time to review the voluminous evidence. According to KTLA, D4vd replied, “Yes, your honor” when asked whether he consented to the delay. A follow-up status conference is set for June 17.
June 17, 2026: Another Hearing Delay
On June 17, the judge once again pushed D4vd’s preliminary evidence hearing from June 29 to July 21. The reasoning was not immediately clear; according to Rolling Stone, Judge Olmedo granted the delay based on a sealed declaration submitted by D4vd’s lawyer. The singer is set to return to court for another status conference on July 7.
July 21, 2026: Preliminary Hearing Begins
D4vd’s preliminary hearing finally began on July 21 in Los Angeles. Prosecutors were set to present their evidence during a week-long hearing before a judge, who will then determine if there’s probable cause for the singer to go to trial for charges of first-degree murder, child sexual abuse, and mutilating a body.
According to Rolling Stone, prosecutors began the hearing Tuesday by showing photos of Rivas’ torso in one black plastic bag and her arms and legs in another. An LAPD detective who discovered the body parts in the front trunk of D4vd’s Tesla testified that he was not able to discern any of Rivas’ facial features. “There was quite a bit of decomposition,” explained Det. Joshua Byers, per Rolling Stone. “The skin slippage made it unrecognizable.” Rivas’ family members were in the courtroom, as was D4vd.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a press conference, “We believe we will more than accomplish the evidentiary burden of probable cause at this point.”
On Wednesday (July 22), an Interscope staffer testified that D4vd made more than $7 million from his record deal before being dropped by the label in the early days of the murder investigation. Prosecutors were trying to establish that D4vd had a motive for allegedly killing Rivas: he earned significant money from his music career, which Rivas threatened to derail by exposing their illegal sexual relationship.
Source: billboard.com, Rachel Scharf, July 22, 2026
"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde
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