New Court Documents List D4vd as the ‘Target’ of a Murder Investigation; List Disturbing Details of the Crime
The LAPD has not arrested D4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, in connection with the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez just yet. That appears to be coming soon, though. While online sleuths have assumed he is a suspect in the case for months, new court documents list him as the “target” of the investigation for the very first time. The same documents provide chilling details on the teen’s death and how her body was discovered.
D4vd was named the “target” of a grand jury investigation in new court documents
D4vd’s parents and brother were attempting to avoid appearing as witnesses in a grand jury investigating the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Court documents from their legal attempts to avoid appearing have made it clear that the LAPD is officially eying the R&B artist in the murder investigation.
According to documents obtained by several media outlets, D4vd is listed as the “target” in a grand jury investigation into the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. While it was assumed that was the case, considering recent activity, the documents are the first time his name appears in connection with the alleged crime.
The grand jury began meeting in late 2025. An indictment has not yet been handed down. Still, sources claim the grand jury is close to wrapping things up. There are still a few people they’d like to speak to. Neo Langston, who was arrested after he failed to appear, has spoken with the grand jury. Several other people associated with D4vd have also appeared as witnesses. It looks like his parents and brother will end up heading into the courtroom, too.
The teen’s body had been dismembered
The court document didn’t just identify D4vd as a suspect in the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The same documents shared troubling details about the way the teen’s remains were found. According to NBC Los Angeles, the files revealed that investigators were called to an impound lot after a vehicle began emitting a foul odor.
Upon opening the trunk, police found a cadaver bag that contained the victim’s head and torso. A second bag, which was under the first bag, contained additional body parts. The car, registered to D4vd, was observed parked in the same spot in the neighborhood where D4vd had been renting the house for several days before it was impounded. He was several states away, on tour, when the discovery was made.
Rivas Hernandez died prior to her 15th birthday, though an exact time of death has not been shared publicly. The teen, who was last seen in her hometown of Lake Elsinore, California, in April 2024, would have turned 15 on September 7. Her body was discovered on September 8.
Onlookers have long suspected the LAPD locked onto D4vd early on in the investigation
While onlookers have considered D4vd the prime suspect in the teen’s death since her remains were located, the LAPD has largely shied away from naming him a person of interest. Reports that the R&B artist had been officially named a suspect began circulating in November, around the time the grand jury was being assembled.
Despite the LAPD’s tight-lipped approach to the case, there were signs that they honed in on the singer early on in the investigation. A raid of the home where D4vd lived was carried out weeks after the body was found and identified. The artist and his manager, who rented the property, vacated the rental home almost immediately following the raid. The artist’s decision to cancel his planned international tour without a word also led to further speculation that the LAPD had asked him not to leave the country.
What investigators did not do led many spectators to assume they had a lead into the teen’s death, too. At no time did investigators request information from the public, surveillance videos, or tips. The lack of public pleas suggests that investigators never needed help or information because they knew what they were looking at.
