Singer D4vd arrested in connection with murder of teen, LAPD says

LOS ANGELES -- The singer D4vd has been arrested in connection with the death of a teenage girl whose decomposing body was discovered in September in the trunk of a towed Tesla registered to the singer, the Los Angeles Police Department told ABC News.

Officials said D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke and is a 21-year-old resident of Los Angeles, is being held in connection with the alleged murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez without bail.

Sources told ABC News the arrest is based on evidence and probable cause that was developed. It was not an indictment.

The LAPD said the case will be presented to the L.A. District Attorney's Office on Monday for filing consideration.

In a statement, the singer's attorneys maintained his innocence, saying: "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. There has been no indictment returned by any grand jury in this case and no criminal complaint filed. David has only been detained under suspicion. We will vigorously defend David's innocence."

Rivas Hernandez, a 14-year-old from Lake Elsinore in Riverside County, was reported missing in 2024, investigators confirmed to ABC News in October.

According to sources at the time, the girl's body was dismembered, and the process of dismembering and disposing of her body is believed to have likely involved more than one person.

The teen may have been dead for several weeks before her body was discovered, police said.

Officers responded to an impound lot in Hollywood on Sept. 8 "for a foul odor coming from a vehicle," Los Angeles police said.

Authorities located a body in the front trunk of the Tesla that was in a state of decomposition, LAPD sources said.

The Tesla had been at the impound lot for two days after being found abandoned on a Hollywood street, investigators said. The towed vehicle was registered to Burke.

D4vd, who first went viral on TikTok, where he has nearly 4 million followers, had been on his "Withered" world tour when the body was discovered in his vehicle. The last few shows of the tour, including those in San Francisco and Los Angeles, were canceled.

Shows on the European leg of the tour were also canceled.

Promotion on the deluxe edition of the "Romantic Homicide" singer's debut album, which was set to be released on Sept. 19, was also paused, a source close to the situation previously told ABC News.