d4vd during a busking performance in Korea. Screenshot from the official YouTube channel of Universal Music Korea
American singer-songwriter David Burke (stage name d4vd, 21) has been abruptly arrested on suspicion of brutally killing a 15-year-old girl, sending shockwaves. It comes about seven months after a severely decomposed body was discovered in his Tesla, which had been left on a street of luxury homes in the Hollywood Hills.
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Robbery-Homicide Division announced on the 16th (local time) that David Burke had been arrested on suspicion of murdering Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Burke is currently being held without bail, and police plan to proceed through a grand jury review and then file formal charges with the Los Angeles County District Attorney.
Known for warm love songs, d4vd has many fans in Korea as well, having visited last year and given a busking performance along Cheonggyecheon. After news of his arrest broke, internet users posted comments under his live videos such as “It gives me chills that he came to Korea and sang not long after the incident” and “I am terrified that I watched a live performance by a dismemberment killer.”
d4vd, detained on a murder charge, during his 2025 busking performance in Korea. Screenshot from the official YouTube channel of Universal Music Korea
The horrific outline of the case emerged on September 8 last year, when an employee at a tow yard in Hollywood reported a foul odor. Responding officers recovered a severely damaged and decomposed body, packed in a bag, from the front trunk (frunk) of a Tesla registered under Burke's name. The vehicle had been left for more than a month near a mansion on Bluebird Avenue in the Hollywood Hills, where Burke had been renting and living since late July 2025, before it was towed to the yard. On September 16, the LA County coroner confirmed that the body was that of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez of Lake Elsinore, California.
According to the police investigation, the two first connected on an online community. The victim, Celeste, had been active on Burke's official Discord server since 2022 and was openly known among fans as his girlfriend. The victim's older brother stated in a media interview, “My sister disappeared after leaving in Burke's Tesla.” Evidence also indicated that the two had matching tattoos and lived together at Burke's rented house in Hollywood.
Celeste ran away from home in April 2024 and last contacted her family in May. However, based on digital evidence and closed-circuit (CC)TV analysis obtained by police, she was found to have been alive until January of this year.
Meanwhile, when the body was found last September, Burke was in the middle of his ‘Withered’ world tour, and he canceled all remaining dates as soon as the victim was identified. His label effectively suspended all of his musical activities, and brands that had used him as a model withdrew their advertising campaigns. The 21-year-old, once hailed as a prodigy, now stands before the law as a suspect in a horrific murder case.
