Authorities took D4vd out of a Hollywood Hills home in handcuffs Thursday after arresting the singer in the killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas, and video showed him walking with his hands behind his back down a residential street. The 21-year-old, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, emerged wearing gray sweatpants and a black hoodie and did not speak as officers led him away.
A neighbor said she saw “so many cops” on the street before Burke was taken into custody, and said one officer used a loudspeaker to shout “Surrender!” outside the home. LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division commanding officer Capt. Scot M. Williams said police came with a probable cause arrest warrant and had been watching him closely once investigators developed grounds to arrest him for murder.
Burke is being held without bail, and the case will be presented Monday to the District Attorney’s Office for filing consideration, with prosecutors expected to review it in the Major Crimes Division. That step comes after a grim investigation that began when Rivas’ family reported her missing in April 2025 and intensified in September, when employees at a tow yard smelled a foul odor coming from a Tesla belonging to D4vd and found her dismembered body in the vehicle’s back seat.
The arrest answers the immediate question hanging over the case: police now say they have enough to detain Burke on suspicion of murder, but prosecutors still have to decide whether the evidence is strong enough to bring formal charges. For a teenager who was reported missing months before her remains were found, the next decision will not be made by detectives anymore.
