Singer David Burke, known professionally as D4vd, has been identified as the primary target in the death of California teen, Celeste Rivas Hernandez, 14.
The revelation comes from unsealed court documents obtained by The Associated Press Wednesday, which stated Bruke “may be involved in having committed the following criminal offenses against the laws of the State of California, to wit: One count of Murder.”
Documents issued on January 15 explicitly named Burke as the focus of the investigation, amid a Los Angeles grand jury investigation into Celeste’s death.
While California authorities kept the grand jury proceedings under strict seal, the details were unsealed after Burke’s Texas family members’ fought subpoenas to testify, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
The Texas judge rejected Burke’s mother, father, and brother’s plea to block the subpoenas, ruling that the family cannot ignore the subpoenas, and ordered them to travel to California to testify.
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Los Angeles police found Celeste’s remains a day shy of her 15th birthday, on September 8, inside the trunk of Burke’s vehicle. The Tesla had initially been parked near his rental home, in the Hollywood Hills Bird Streets neighborhood.
Police later found the vehicle at a tow yard in Hollywood after residents in Hollywood Hills contacted police about an abandoned car with a Texas license plate on September 6.
The unsealed documents detailed the victim’s horrific state, with two bags containing body parts found in the vehicle.
The Tesla trunk and a cadaver bag were “covered with insects and a strong odor of decay.”
“Upon removing the cadaver bag from the front storage compartment, it was discovered the arms and legs had been severed from the body,” the document stated.
“A second black bag was discovered underneath the cadaver bag. Upon opening the second bag, the dismembered body parts were discovered.”
In November, Los Angeles police got a judge to prevent Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Odey Ukpo from releasing the findings of the autopsy.
No cause of death has been revealed but the case is being treated as a homicide.
D4vd’s representatives have not responded to any requests for comment made by the Associated Press. The District Attorney’s Office formally declined to comment on the ongoing grand jury proceedings.
With Burke’s inner circle now legally bound to testify, the investigation moves into a critical phase that could determine whether a formal indictment is handed down against the Houston-born star.
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Celeste Rivas/GoFundMe and D4vd in 2024/Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP]
