LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� has been arrested on suspicion of killing a 14-year-old girl whose decomposed seven months ago in his apparently abandoned Tesla, authorities said Thursday. D4vd’s lawyers declared his innocence.
Los Angeles police said in a brief statement that homicide detectives arrested the , whose legal name is David Burke, on suspicion of murder in the investigation of the killing of Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
Defense attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter responded in an email: 鈥淟et us be clear 鈥� the actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death.鈥�
Police said investigators would present a case to prosecutors at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on Monday. The office said in its own statement that it is aware of the arrest and its Major Crimes Division will review the case to determine whether there is enough evidence to file charges.
鈥淭here has been no indictment returned by any grand jury in this case and no criminal complaint filed. David has only been detained under suspicion. We will vigorously defend David鈥檚 innocence,鈥� the defense lawyers added.
It was their first public statement on the case. Authorities did not publicly name Burke as a suspect until his arrest. He was being held in jail without bail.
The singer had been under investigation by an LA County grand jury looking into the death of Rivas Hernandez. The probe was officially secret, but its existence 鈥� and the designation of D4vd as its target 鈥� was revealed on Feb. 25 when his mother, father and brother filed an objection in a Texas court to subpoenas demanding they testify.
The long-dead body of Rivas Hernandez was found in a Tesla towed from the Hollywood Hills on Sept. 8, a day after she would have turned 15. She was a 13-year-old seventh grader when her family reported her missing in 2024 from her hometown of Lake Elsinore, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles. Authorities give her age as 14 when she was killed in court documents.
The 2023 Tesla Model Y was registered in the singer’s name at the Texas address of his subpoenaed family members, according to court filings from prosecutors. It had been towed from an upscale neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills where it had been sitting, seemingly abandoned.
Police investigators searching the Tesla in a tow yard found a cadaver bag 鈥渃overed with insects and a strong odor of decay,鈥� court documents said, and 鈥渄etectives partially unzipped the bag and observed a decomposed head and torso.鈥�
Investigators from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner鈥檚 Office removed the bag and 鈥渄iscovered the arms and legs had been severed from the body,鈥� according to court documents. A second black bag was found under the first, and dismembered body parts were inside it. No cause of death has been publicly revealed.
D4vd, pronounced 鈥淒avid,鈥� gained popularity among Generation Z fans for his blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. He went viral on TikTok in 2022 with the hit 鈥淩omantic Homicide,鈥� which peaked at No. 4 on Billboard鈥檚 Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. He then signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records and released his debut EP 鈥淧etals to Thorns鈥� and a follow-up, 鈥淭he Lost Petals,鈥� in 2023.
When the body was discovered, D4vd had been on tour in support of his first full-length album, 鈥淲ithered.鈥� Later, the last two North American shows, in , along with a scheduled performance at LA鈥檚 Grammy Museum, were canceled, as was the European tour that was to have begun in Norway.
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This story has been corrected to show that D4vd is 21, not 20 years old.
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