20-year-old musician David Anthony Burke, AKA D4vd, is to possibly be indicted for his suspected involvement in the murder of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas-Hernandez. When I originally covered this story back in September of this year, D4vd had just cancelled the rest of his U.S. and European tours after the body of Celeste was found in an impounded Tesla registered to the artist. In this article we will discuss new information that has come to light and what that might mean for D4vd in the coming months.
Original Article: https://www.uvmusicmag.com/post/d4vd-cancels-u-s-tour-after-a-dismembered-body-is-found-in-a-tesla-registered-to-him
First, let’s recap a little bit. On September 8th, 2025 Los Angeles Police Department was called to an impound lot to investigate a recently impounded Tesla around 12:30PM after someone complained about a foul odor. The mutilated body of Celeste was soon found in a bag located in the trunk of the vehicle wearing a tube top, black leggings, a distinct yellow bracelet, and stud earrings. The car had been towed from the Bird Streets neighborhood of Hollywood Hills, CA to the lot roughly 2 days prior to the body being found which just so happened to be located near a home where D4vd had reportedly been staying at the time. On September 17th that residence was then searched by LAPD who exited the home with several of D4vd’s personal items, including a laptop and other electronics according to TMZ reporters.
1 week after finding the body, medical examiners determined that Celeste was placed in the trunk at least 5 days prior to her being found but was still categorizing it as “Deferred”, meaning they were still determining the cause of death. Now 3 months later, it is still unclear. On November 21st, 2025 the Department of Medical Examiners received a court order, initiated by the LAPD, to place a “Security Hold” on the teenager’s case. Meaning, “no records or details associated with the case, including the manner of death, can be released to the public until the hold is lifted” according to ABC 7 News. The LA Medical Examiner, Dr. Odey Ukpo, then released an official statement giving push back on the court’s decision stating that their mission as medical examiners “is to have full transparency with the community by providing information about our cases to empower people to make changes that save lives”.
Celeste had a history of running away from home that started in early 2024 and made a final get away in April 2024. The victim’s family last heard from her via phone call at the end of May 2024 and had no idea of her whereabouts until the body was found in September 2025. While no official connections have been publicly made between Celeste and D4vd, plenty of things have surfaced over the last few months that made it hard to deny. For example, Rivas’ mother told TMZ that the runaway had a boyfriend named David and there have been connections made between Celeste and David on a platform called Discord for which he had a fan server. Screenshots have been provided from fans on the server showing conversations between D4vid and a user named Celeste. D4vd and Celeste were also seen streaming together online in January 2024 making it hard to deny that they knew each other.
Since late December 2025, the LA Grand Jury has been listening to witness testimony from people in D4vd’s inner circle and is predicted to decide whether or not to indict the artist on murder charges by late February 2026, after having heard all testimonies, but an official date has not been officially released as to when that vote will take place. One of the people who have given official testimony already is the head of D4vd’s record label and touring company, Robert Morgenroth. After his testimony he was overheard addressing his lawyer regarding the state Prosecutor, Beth Silverman, stating she was “very pushy on why he didn’t call the police”. During his statement, Morgenroth stated that he didn’t contact the police because “he didn’t have the responsibility to do that” and “just wanted to continue with the tour”. D4vd’s manager, Josh Marshall, also faced scrutiny for the same reason, especially since he is the one who had leased the Hollywood Hills home where evidence was found against D4vd in the first place.
While there is still a small potential for D4vd to walk away from this charge, it is likely that he will not have that option. All sources are pointing toward an indictment and the evidence against him keeps piling up.
Check back here for more updates as they are released.
Jade, signing off
XOXO
