Attorneys for musician D4vd have issued a strong denial of his involvement in the death of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, one day after his arrest by Los Angeles police.
"Let us be clear," stated lawyers Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski, and Regina Peter in an April 17 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."
The legal team emphasized that no formal charges have been filed against the 21-year-old artist, whose real name is David Anthony Burke. "There has been no indictment returned by any grand jury in this case and no criminal complaint filed," they continued. "David has only been detained under suspicion. We will vigorously defend David's innocence."
D4vd remains in custody without bail following his arrest, which comes less than two months after he was identified as a target in a grand jury investigation into Rivas Hernandez's death.
The case began when Rivas Hernandez's body was discovered on September 8 in the trunk of a Tesla registered to D4vd's Texas address. Police responded to reports of a foul odor coming from the vehicle, which had been towed to a Hollywood lot after being reported abandoned in the Hollywood Hills.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed the remains belonged to the teenager on September 16, though her official cause of death remains undetermined. Records indicate her body showed signs of severe decomposition, suggesting it had been in the vehicle for an extended period before discovery.
Rivas Hernandez had been reported missing from Lake Elsinore, California, in April 2024 when she was 13 years old.
Following the discovery, detectives served a search warrant at a Hollywood Hills home where the Tesla had been parked. Law enforcement sources indicate D4vd had been staying at the property before embarking on his Withered World Tour in August, which he canceled in September.
The teenager's family released a statement through a GoFundMe page, remembering her as a "beloved daughter, sister, cousin, and friend" and expressing their heartbreak over the "tragic loss."