There’s been a lot of twists and turns when it comes to the sad death of Celeste Rivas, the Los Angeles teen whose body was found stuffed inside of a Tesla in September 2025. And now, things aren’t looking good for one man in particular—D4vd, a popular singer from Texas who was romantically linked to Rivas prior to her death. Here’s what we know.
Suggested Reading
As we previously told you, after months of probing, court documents filed in February finally revealed D4vd (legally David Burke) as the main “target” in the case. Prior to that, he had already been a central part of the official investigation ever since Rivas’ body was found inside his abandoned car. Since then, he faced a severe amount of public scrutiny which was only exacerbated after a grand jury moved to called D4vd’s friends and family to testify.
Keen-eyed fans also pointed out that in early 2023, Burke allegedly made references to Rivas in his music and even posted pictures with her. Per TMZ at the time, D4vd confessed his love for a person named Celeste—the first name of the victim—in a leaked song from December of that year. Although it’s unclear if D4vd’s Celeste is the same as the deceased, the song’s lyrics paint an interesting picture, no less.
Now, things have been taken to a whole other level after the New York Times revealed late Thursday that D4vd had been arrested on suspicion of murder. The news was first publicized via a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department.
“Detectives from Los Angeles Police Department, Robbery-Homicide Division have arrested David Burke, a 21-year-old resident of Los Angeles, for the murder of Celeste Rivas. Burke is being held without bail,” the department said. “The case will be presented to the District Attorney’s office on Monday for filing consideration.”
On Friday video footage of Burke’s arrest was made public and shared widely on social media thanks to TMZ.
The singer’s lawyers have since spoken out about his arrest, telling the Times in a a statement: “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…We will vigorously defend David’s innocence.”
Speaking to NBC4 Los Angeles, his team later added: “There has been no indictment returned by any grand jury in this case and no criminal complaint filed. David has only been detained under suspicion.”
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.