New information is emerging regarding the arrest of singer D4vd for the murder of a girl

Information is emerging about the arrest of the singer known as D4vd in the murder of teenager Celeste Rivas Hernandez in Hollywood in 2025.

David Anthony Burke, 21, was taken into custody just after 4:30 pm Thursday in Hollywood and booked into the LAPD's 77th Street jail a few hours later.

Photos, posted on social media, show members of the Robbery Homicide and Gang and Narcotics unit approaching a house on a tree-lined street wearing tactical gear and carrying guns. The road leads from Sunset Boulevard on the celebrity-studded route where the likes of Kendall Jenner and Emily Blunt have stayed and where Jimmy Kimmel once described himself as a sightseeing captain.

On Thursday afternoon, a procession of LAPD vehicles continued on a narrow road blocking the road on both sides of the building. Sometime after 4:30 pm detectives with the Robbery Homicide Division and heavily armed members of the Gang and Narcotics Division, who work on mass arrests, entered and knocked on the main door, announcing that they were the LAPD and when they were doing it for David Burke, better known as D4vd, they ordered him to leave.

The singer surrendered and was officially arrested at 5 pm

In one photo from the arrest, an officer can be seen using a stun gun to force entry to the front gate of the home.

Burke is being held without bail and the case will be presented to the LA County district attorney's office on Monday for review, according to the LAPD. Burke's attorneys, Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter, released a joint statement after his arrest, saying, “Let's be clear – the real evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not kill Celeste Rivas Hernandez and is not the cause of her death.”

Authorities have not released information about the evidence that led to the arrest.

Timeline of the case

August 27: LA parking officials are starting to ticket Teslas in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood that some residents are concerned about being dumped.

September 8: The girl's badly decomposed body was found in a Tesla registered to D4vd in Hollywood Tow after it was impounded. Someone noticed a foul smell coming from the car and detectives arrived at the towing area to investigate.

September 18: Detectives served a search warrant at D4vd's home on a high-rise on Doheny Drive, north of Sunset Boulevard. Law enforcement sources with knowledge of the case but who were not authorized to speak publicly said detectives found various items, including electronics and computers. The police say the singer is cooperating.

September 21: A memorial was held in Lake Elsinore for the victim, Celeste Rivas Hernandez.

Mid-November: The Los Angeles district attorney's office has called in an undercover investigative team to hear evidence, including witness testimony.

Nov. 21: The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office obtained a court order to suppress the autopsy results and any records of Celeste's death at the request of the Los Angeles Police Department coroner.

February 12: A key grand jury witness was brought back to LA from Montana to testify. A police team arrested a witness at his mother's residence in Helena, Mont., after she failed to appear in a Los Angeles County criminal case. The LA County Jail issued the warrant, officials said.

February 23: Documents show D4vd is a “target” of a Los Angeles County criminal grand jury investigation into Celeste's death. The records also reveal that “his arms and legs were removed from his body.”

April 16: D4vd singer was arrested for the murder of Celeste.

Photos, intimate notes and flowers, among other things, were left in memory of Celeste Rivas Hernandez

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Who is D4vd?

Burke grew up in Houston and has collaborated with artists Kali Uchis, Stray Kids' Hyunjin, Laufey and 21 Savage. He also did the soundtrack for the game “Fortnite.”

In August, he embarked on a nationwide tour promoting his debut album “Withered.” He played in Boston, Montreal and Toronto in late August and in early September he had stops in Detroit, Chicago and Indianapolis. The tour was canceled after his name was linked to Celeste's case.

Journey of the Withered World combines the themes of death and remembrance. Fans entering Burke's show were greeted by a box office and a guest book, where they could offer their condolences to the character Burke sometimes played and music videos. Part of that character's uniform includes a shirt covered in bloody handprints and a blindfold.

“Withered” was released on Darkroom and Interscope Records in April. The album charted at number 13 on the Billboard 200 and has over 521 million streams on Spotify.

In September, Celeste's body was found and was beginning to decompose.

According to the grand jury subpoena that was part of the legal challenge filed by the singer's family in Texas, when the police opened the trunk of the Tesla, they found “a black cadaver bag full of insects and a strong smell of decay” inside. Investigators were granted a search warrant for the vehicle on Sept. 8 after a struggling employee noticed a putrid smell coming from the vehicle.

According to the document, detectives unzipped part of the bag and found “a decomposed head and body.”

Who is Celeste Rivas Hernandez?

Celeste Rivas Hernandez lived in the suburbs of Lake Elsinore but was connected to Hollywood, the music scene and singer D4vd.

Last September, the Los Angeles Police Department announced that his decomposing body was found in the trunk of a Tesla owned by the singer. The car was found parked on the street where D4vd rented a house.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office said Celeste was pronounced dead on Sept. 8, one day after her 15th birthday. But authorities believe she had been dead for weeks before she was found.

How Celeste met Burke is unclear. Law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation say they met online. Burke gained an online following by posting “Fortnite” clips to YouTube and focused on making his own music. He was signed to a record label in 2022.

Celeste, the first-generation daughter of immigrant parents from El Salvador, attended Lakeland Village School.

People in Lake Elsinore say he was a normal kid.

He visited the corner store almost every day with his friends, wearing a backpack and his usual long curly hair. He got candy, soda and Takis. He was a familiar figure to neighbors and local business owners.

But he had run away from home several times, and that caused concern for friends and family.

There was an emotional memorial in his honor close to home in September.