D4vd Case Timeline: Tesla discovery to murder charge
The case of D4vd, the rising alt-pop singer born David Anthony Burke, reached its most visible stage when authorities recovered a teenager’s remains inside his abandoned Tesla, then arrested him nearly a year later on murder charges. Readers now want the verified sequence of events that link the September 2025 tow-yard discovery to the April 2026 charges, rather than rumor or speculation.
Early relationship and missing reports
Prosecutors claim the relationship began on Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s thirteenth birthday, September 7, 2023, with continuous sexual abuse that lasted until her death. Court documents show she had been reported missing several times in early 2024, yet no sustained intervention occurred.
By spring 2025 Celeste was living with Burke in a Hollywood Hills house tied to his rising Interscope career. Text messages presented at the preliminary hearing show her threatening to expose the relationship the day before her disappearance, stating she would “end ur career and ur life.”
Investigators say the threat aligned with the release schedule for Burke’s debut album Withered, which dropped April 25, 2025, and peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 200. Prosecutors argue the timing created motive.
The alleged killing
Authorities place the death on April 23, 2025, the day after Celeste sent her threatening text. They allege Burke purchased chainsaws online and used them to dismember the body, placing remains in two black bags.
Prosecutors add that Celeste had been pregnant earlier and had an abortion, evidence they say supports their claim of long-term sexual abuse. The defense maintains Burke did not cause her death and will present contrary evidence at trial.
Special circumstances cited in the charging documents include financial gain and the allegation that the victim witnessed a crime—the abuse itself—making the case eligible for the death penalty under California law.
Tesla left on the street
After the alleged killing, the 2023 Tesla Model Y registered to Burke sat on a Hollywood Hills street for weeks. Parking tickets began appearing in late August 2025, yet the car remained untouched.
By early July Burke had left Los Angeles for tour dates promoting Withered. The vehicle, still containing the remains, stayed behind, drawing no immediate attention from neighbors or authorities.
Texas plates and an address linked to Burke’s family were on file, but the car’s prolonged presence in an upscale neighborhood did not trigger an investigation until the odor became noticeable.
Discovery at the tow yard
On September 8, 2025, LAPD officers responded to a foul-odor complaint at a Hollywood tow yard. Inside the Tesla’s front trunk they found two black bags, one containing a head and torso, the other holding limbs.
The remains were severely decomposed. Medical examiners later ruled the death a homicide caused by multiple penetrating injuries. Dental records confirmed the identity of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who would have turned fifteen the previous day.
Burke was on tour when the discovery made national headlines. The image of a luxury car holding human remains quickly became the dominant visual in coverage of the case.
Investigation moves forward
Once the body was identified, detectives traced the Tesla’s ownership and reviewed Burke’s travel and financial records. Subpoenas for phone data and online purchase histories followed.
Investigators obtained surveillance footage placing Celeste entering Burke’s residence on April 22, 2025. They also located receipts for chainsaws and cadaver bags bought in the weeks before the killing.
By late 2025 the case had moved from missing-person status to homicide investigation, though Burke remained free while prosecutors built their file.
Arrest and initial charges
On April 16, 2026, a team of LAPD officers and U.S. Marshals arrested Burke at the same Hollywood Hills home. He was taken into custody without incident and held without bail.
Four days later, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced first-degree murder with special circumstances, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and mutilation of a body. Prosecutors said the motive was to protect a “very lucrative musical career” that Celeste threatened to expose.
Burke pleaded not guilty. His attorneys, Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski, and Regina Peter, stated that evidence would show he “did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death.”
Preliminary hearing evidence
At the July 2026 preliminary hearing, prosecutors presented text messages, surveillance video, purchase records, and forensic reports. The judge found sufficient evidence to bind the case over for trial.
Defense counsel challenged the chain of custody for the remains and questioned the timeline linking Burke to the disposal of the body. They argued the evidence did not prove he caused Celeste’s death.
The hearing drew renewed media attention, with outlets replaying the April 2026 arrest footage and revisiting the September 2025 tow-yard discovery that first brought the case into public view.
Attorney change and next steps
In late August 2026 Burke’s original legal team withdrew. A public defender was appointed, a development Reuters and court watchers noted as routine in high-profile cases that stretch on.
The switch raised questions about funding and strategy. Burke’s four-album Interscope deal, reportedly valued at up to $19 million, remains frozen while the case proceeds, affecting both his finances and any future release plans.
As of early September 2026, no trial date has been set. Both sides continue to review discovery, and the case remains under a limited gag order.
Case trajectory
The timeline that began with a foul odor at a tow yard now sits inside a Los Angeles courtroom. Prosecutors have laid out a sequence linking an alleged relationship that started when Celeste was thirteen to a killing they say was designed to protect a rising music career.
Defense attorneys reject that narrative and insist the evidence will show Burke neither killed nor caused the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The next phase will test those competing accounts in open court.
