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LOS ANGELES — The musician known as D4vd has been taken into custody following the discovery of a deceased teenage girl in the trunk of a Tesla linked to him, as reported by the Los Angeles Police Department to ABC News. The grim find occurred in September when the car was towed.
Authorities have identified D4vd as David Burke, a 21-year-old Los Angeles resident. Burke is currently held without bail on suspicions related to the alleged murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
Insiders shared with ABC News that the arrest was based on gathered evidence and probable cause, although no formal charges have yet been made.
The Los Angeles Police Department plans to submit the case to the L.A. District Attorney’s Office on Monday to consider filing charges.
Meanwhile, Burke’s legal team has issued a statement firmly asserting his innocence. They stated, “The evidence will reveal that David Burke did not cause the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. There has been neither a grand jury indictment nor a criminal complaint filed. David is being held solely on suspicion, and we are committed to proving his 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.
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