Where is D4vd now? Inside his murder case and what happens next
The murder case against singer D4vd has moved past the preliminary stage and into the long wait for trial. The 21-year-old, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, sits in custody at Twin Towers Correctional Facility while prosecutors and his new public defenders sift through forty terabytes of digital evidence. Every status conference now draws crowds on social media, each one another marker on a timeline that began with a body found in the front trunk of his Tesla.
Discovery in the tow yard
On September 8, 2025, workers at a Los Angeles impound lot opened the frunk of a Tesla registered to Burke. Inside they found the dismembered remains of fourteen-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. An autopsy later determined that she had been stabbed multiple times in the torso, and that her arms, legs, and two fingers, one bearing a tattoo reading “David,” had been removed after death.
Rivas had been reported missing from Lake Elsinore the previous spring. Prosecutors allege she traveled by Uber to Burke’s Hollywood Hills home on April 23, 2025, and never left alive. The discovery set off a seven-month investigation that ended with his arrest on April 16, 2026.
Within days the Los Angeles District Attorney filed first-degree murder with special circumstances, continuous sexual abuse of a child under fourteen, and unlawful mutilation of human remains. The special circumstances—lying in wait, murder for financial gain, and murder of a potential witness—make the case eligible for the death penalty even under California’s current moratorium.
Text messages and motive
Court filings cite messages between the singer and the victim that began when she was thirteen. Prosecutors say the exchanges include discussions about a possible pregnancy and abortion. They argue that Rivas threatened to expose the relationship and damage his rising career, giving him motive to kill.
Investigators recovered chainsaw purchase records and digital evidence they say shows the body was dismembered in the garage weeks after death. They also point to CSAM found on devices belonging to Burke. None of these claims have been tested at trial.
Defense attorneys have countered that the evidence will show Burke “did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and was not the cause of her death.” They have not elaborated publicly on an alternative theory.
Defense team change
Shortly after the not-guilty plea on August 31, 2026, Burke’s original private counsel, including high-profile attorney Blair Berk, withdrew from the case. The court ruled him indigent, and the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office took over representation.
The switch coincided with mounting discovery obligations. Prosecutors have turned over terabytes of phone, social-media, and location data. The defense now has the task of reviewing that material with far fewer resources than a retained firm would command.
Burke’s family has remained silent in court. His mother is named in a separate wrongful-death civil suit filed by Rivas’s relatives, though that action is stayed pending the criminal outcome.
Missing pieces of evidence
Despite the volume of digital material, several physical items remain unaccounted for. The murder weapon, the victim’s missing fingers, her purse, phones, and several tools allegedly used in dismemberment have not been recovered. Home-security footage from a key window of time is also absent.
Prosecutors have not ruled out the involvement of a second person. Digital records place another device in the Hollywood Hills residence around the relevant dates, but no additional arrests have been made.
These gaps will likely become central at trial, where the defense can argue that the investigation is incomplete or that someone else had access to the property and the car.
Preliminary hearing outcome
Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo presided over a five-day preliminary hearing in July 2026. She found probable cause on every count and ordered Burke held without bail. The ruling moved the case into the trial track, with jury selection expected sometime in 2027.
The hearing featured testimony from medical examiners, digital-forensics experts, and law-enforcement officers who processed the Tesla and the Hollywood Hills home. Transcripts show the judge accepted the prosecution’s timeline and the forensic link between the body and Burke’s property.
Outside the courthouse, fans and true-crime observers traded theories on social platforms. The Los Angeles Police Department has repeatedly warned against spreading unverified claims, particularly those that misstate the condition or location of the remains.
Public silence from the artist
Since the charges were filed, Burke has issued no public statements. His social-media accounts have been quiet since April 2026, and planned tours and a deluxe album release were canceled. The contrast with his earlier, highly online persona is stark.
Old tweets and song lyrics have resurfaced and circulated widely, though none have been entered as evidence. Prosecutors have not argued that these posts constitute admissions, and the defense has not addressed them in court filings.
The absence of comment from Burke himself leaves the narrative space to attorneys, court documents, and online speculation, each advancing its own version of events.
Cultural footprint and fan reaction
Before the case, Burke’s rise was a textbook TikTok-to-streaming story. Tracks such as “Romantic Homicide” and “Here with Me” charted after Fortnite montage videos pushed them viral. He contributed music to games and animated series, and his 2025 debut album, Withered, debuted at number thirteen on the Billboard 200.
That trajectory has now frozen. Streaming numbers for his catalog dipped sharply after the arrest and have not recovered. Some fans continue to stream in a show of support; others have organized boycotts. Industry observers note that similar pauses have occurred with other young artists facing serious charges, though outcomes vary once legal proceedings conclude.
The case has also revived conversations about age-gap relationships in the music industry and the responsibilities platforms have when minors interact with adult creators. None of these discussions have produced new policy changes so far.
Next procedural steps
The next scheduled appearance is a status conference on October 19, 2026. At that hearing the court will likely set a trial date and address any outstanding discovery disputes. Both sides have signaled they need more time to review evidence.
If the prosecution decides to seek the death penalty, a separate hearing will determine whether special circumstances survive pretrial motions. California’s moratorium on executions remains in place, but the new district attorney has indicated a willingness to pursue capital charges in qualifying cases.
Until a trial date is locked, the case will continue to generate incremental headlines each time attorneys return to court. For now, the legal process itself is the only public activity tied to D4vd.
Case trajectory ahead
The evidence picture remains incomplete, and the defense has yet to present its full response. What happens next depends on how both sides handle the voluminous digital record and whether additional physical evidence surfaces. The outcome will determine not only Burke’s future but also how the music industry and its youngest listeners reckon with the collision of early fame and adult consequences.
