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American singer D4vd has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of a teenage girl who disappeared last year, police said.
The TikTok star, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, was the target of a grand jury investigation into the apparent murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose remains were found in her Tesla in September.
The Los Angeles Police Department said Thursday that the 21-year-old was being held without bail and that the case would be presented to the district attorney’s office on Monday.
In a statement to US media, Burke’s lawyers said: “Let me be clear: the actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernández and was not the cause of her death.”
“No indictments have been returned by a grand jury in this case and no criminal complaints have been filed. David has only been held under suspicion.”
Police earlier said they arrested Burke “for the murder of Celeste Rivas.”
Questions have mounted since the discovery of the 14-year-old’s remains in a Hollywood tow yard on September 8, after authorities received reports of a foul odor coming from the vehicle.
Investigators found his decomposed head and torso in a body bag in the front trunk of a Tesla car registered to D4vd’s Texas address, according to court documents.
The county medical examiner said the girl’s body was “severely decomposed” and deferred a decision on the manner of her death pending an investigation into her death. She may have died “several weeks” before her body was found, authorities said.
No cause of death in the teen’s case has been announced, with authorities saying only for months that they were treating the case as a death investigation.
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Rivas Hernandez — who lived about 75 miles from where her body was discovered — was last reported by her family in April 2024, but that wasn’t the first time she had run away from their Lake Elsinore home. The first-generation daughter of immigrant parents from El Salvador, neighbors recognized her as a girl who went to the corner store almost daily to buy candy and soda, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The lack of information about the grisly death fueled intrigue and sparked popularity online, with many speculating about the girl’s connection to the Romantic Homicide singer.
A grand jury began hearing evidence in the case in December, but Burke’s arrest Thursday marks the first significant development in the case in months.
More details about the case emerged in court filings after the singer’s family was summoned from Texas by a California court to testify before the grand jury.
When Dawud Burke, D4vd’s father, objected to the summons in a Texas court, he included elements of the California case that were not previously publicly available.
The documents, obtained by the BBC, confirmed that D4vd had been identified as a “target” of a grand jury investigation in Los Angeles and could face prosecution for one count of murder.
The singer has remained mostly silent on the matter, but his representatives previously said he was cooperating with authorities. The BBC has contacted his representatives about Thursday’s arrest.
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The few details that have so far been shared with the public include that Rivas Hernandez was wearing a tube top, petite black leggings, and jewelry, including a yellow metal earring and a yellow metal chain bracelet, when her body was found.
She also had a tattoo that said “Shh…” on her index finger – a marking almost identical to the one on Burke’s own index finger.
Shortly after the body was discovered, the Here With Me singer canceled his world tour, marking the beginning of the end of his pop career and his notable retreat from the spotlight.
Los Angeles police previously said they searched the Hollywood Hills mansion where he lived, just blocks from where his Tesla was towed. He was also excluded from marketing campaigns for US retailer Hollister and shoe giant Crocs.
Telepatía singer Kali Uchis also announced that she was ending their collaboration, Crashing.
