D4vd Arrested Months After Teen Found Dead in His Tesla Trunk

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Singer D4vd has been arrested on suspicion of murdering Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose decomposed body was discovered last year in the trunk of his Tesla in Hollywood, according to reports by Variety.

The 21-year-old Houston-born alt-pop singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, was taken into custody by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division. He is being held without bail.

Authorities said the case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on Monday for filing consideration, according to Variety.

Hernandez’s body was found on September 8, a day after what would have been her birthday. She had been reported missing from her home in Lake Elsinore, California, in 2024 when she was a seventh-grade student. She was 14 at the time of her death, although she had initially been reported missing at age 13, citing court filings and law enforcement records.

According to investigators, NPR reported, officers responded to a tow yard after reports of a foul odor coming from a Tesla that had been abandoned in the Hollywood Hills and later impounded. Inside the vehicle’s front trunk, authorities discovered a bag containing a severely decomposed human body.

The remains were later found to be dismembered and placed inside multiple bags, citing court documents.

The Tesla was registered in Texas under D4vd’s name and linked to his family address. Investigators also said the vehicle had been left in an upscale Hollywood Hills neighborhood before being towed.

NPR also reported that the investigation had been ongoing for months and had previously been reviewed by a Los Angeles County grand jury, though D4vd was not publicly identified as a suspect until his arrest. Police had earlier confirmed they were investigating a trip the singer took to the Santa Barbara area in spring 2025 following Hernandez’s death.

D4vd’s representatives had previously said he was cooperating with authorities, although later reports indicated that cooperation had ceased.

Following the discovery of the body, D4vd canceled tour dates and postponed promotional activities related to his music releases.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the case to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to file formal charges.

D4vd rose to prominence after going viral on TikTok in 2022 with his track “Romantic Homicide,” which charted on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs list.

Authorities said the investigation remains active, and no trial date has been set.

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