LOS ANGELES (Azat TV) – Newly unsealed court filings have confirmed that US singer D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, is now the target of a Los Angeles grand jury investigation into the 2025 murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Her decomposed remains were discovered in the front trunk of a Tesla registered to D4vd’s address, marking a significant and public development in a case previously shrouded in secrecy.
The revelation emerged after D4vd’s father, Dawud Burke, challenged a California court summons in Texas, inadvertently including portions of the California case material that had not been publicly available. These documents explicitly identify D4vd as a “target” of the grand jury, meaning prosecutors believe he may be subject to proceedings for one count of murder, though he has not yet been charged or officially named as a suspect.
Unsealed Filings Detail Gruesome Discovery
The unsealed court documents provide the most extensive details to date regarding the horrifying discovery. On September 8, 2025, investigators found the decomposed head and torso of Celeste Rivas Hernandez in a cadaver bag in the front trunk of a Tesla. The vehicle was registered to D4vd’s Texas address and had been impounded after being reported abandoned in Los Angeles in August 2025. Upon removing the first bag, investigators found severed arms and legs in a second black bag within the same compartment, according to court records cited by BBC News and USA Today.
Police reportedly discovered the remains after responding to reports of a foul odor emanating from the vehicle at a Hollywood tow yard. The decomposition of the body indicated that Rivas Hernandez had been deceased for ‘several weeks’ before her discovery. She had been missing since April 2024, originating from Lake Elsinore in California.
Grand Jury Proceedings and Family Opposition
Grand jury proceedings, which are typically secret, are ongoing. Prosecutors have stated that the testimony of D4vd’s family, including his father Dawud Burke, mother Colleen Burke, and brother Caleb Burke, is ‘material and necessary’ to the investigation. However, Dawud Burke has challenged the California court’s out-of-state subpoena, arguing that the redacted information in the summons violated his family’s right to due process. His attorney stated that the court ordered Mr. Burke to travel across the country to testify without allowing him to see the full documents justifying the compulsion.
Los Angeles Police Department detectives reportedly traveled to Texas to compel the singer’s family to appear before the grand jury. Additionally, D4vd’s friend and social media influencer, Neo Langston, was reportedly arrested in January for failing to appear as a witness in the investigation, according to USA Today.
D4vd’s Status and Public Statements
Despite being named a ‘target,’ D4vd, 20, has not been arrested or formally charged with any crime. His representatives previously stated that he was ‘fully cooperating with authorities’ in September 2025, though it remains unclear if that is still the case, with an NBC Los Angeles police source claiming non-cooperation. D4vd, known for his breakout hit ‘Romantic Homicide,’ was on tour when the remains were discovered, and subsequently canceled the remainder of his U.S. tour.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office previously received a court order imposing a security hold on the case in November 2025, preventing the release of details about Rivas Hernandez’s death. Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Odey Ukpo criticized this practice, noting it is ‘virtually unheard of in other counties’ and has not been proven to improve legal outcomes. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office has declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.
The unsealing of these court documents marks a critical turning point, shifting the public understanding of the investigation from speculative internet discourse to an official acknowledgment of D4vd’s central position as a target in the murder inquiry.