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David Burke, professionally known as D4vd, has been named as the primary suspect in the tragic death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, a teenager from California.
This information comes to light from court documents that were recently unsealed and accessed by The Associated Press on Wednesday. The documents indicate that Burke is being investigated for potentially committing several criminal acts, including one count of murder, under California law.
The documents, dated January 15, specifically highlight Burke as the focal point of the ongoing investigation by a Los Angeles grand jury into Celeste’s untimely death.
Although California authorities had initially kept the grand jury proceedings confidential, details surfaced after members of Burke’s family in Texas challenged subpoenas requiring their testimony, as previously reported by CrimeOnline.
A Texas judge has dismissed the attempts by Burke’s mother, father, and brother to quash the subpoenas. The judge ruled that the family members must comply and travel to California to provide testimony in the case.
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Los Angeles police found Celeste’s remains a day shy of her 15th birthday, on September 8, inside the trunk of Burke’s vehicle. The Tesla had initially been parked near his rental home, in the Hollywood Hills Bird Streets neighborhood.
Police later found the vehicle at a tow yard in Hollywood after residents in Hollywood Hills contacted police about an abandoned car with a Texas license plate on September 6.
The unsealed documents detailed the victim’s horrific state, with two bags containing body parts found in the vehicle.
The Tesla trunk and a cadaver bag were “covered with insects and a strong odor of decay.”
“Upon removing the cadaver bag from the front storage compartment, it was discovered the arms and legs had been severed from the body,” the document stated.
“A second black bag was discovered underneath the cadaver bag. Upon opening the second bag, the dismembered body parts were discovered.”
In November, Los Angeles police got a judge to prevent Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Odey Ukpo from releasing the findings of the autopsy.
No cause of death has been revealed but the case is being treated as a homicide.
D4vd’s representatives have not responded to any requests for comment made by the Associated Press. The District Attorney’s Office formally declined to comment on the ongoing grand jury proceedings.
With Burke’s inner circle now legally bound to testify, the investigation moves into a critical phase that could determine whether a formal indictment is handed down against the Houston-born star.
Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo: Celeste Rivas/GoFundMe and D4vd in 2024/Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP]