New Music From Accused Murdered, D4vd, Briefly Appeared on Spotify
Music listeners who once enjoyed the R&B offerings of D4vd were in for a bit of a shock this week. Months after D4vd was charged with murder in the death of a 14-year-old girl prosecutors say he sexually abused, new music from the artist popped up on Spotify. The new music, which was pulled from Spotify hours later, adds a new mysterious element to an already incredibly complicated and tragic story.
The Song That Came and Went
D4vd has been in police custody, held without bail, since his April 2026 arrest. The arrest came after months of intense scrutiny on the TikTok star turned musician. Despite his current residence being located at a notorious lockup in Los Angeles, a song attributed to D4vd popped up on Spotify this week.
The track, titled “Marcescence,” remained visible on D4vd’s official Spotify page but became unplayable after roughly eight hours online, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. The artwork accompanying the song showed D4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, in what appeared to be a bathroom selfie. Neither Spotify nor D4vd’s lawyer has publicly explained how the track ended up on the platform or why it was removed.
The brief appearance is notable given how closely D4vd’s streaming presence has been scrutinized since his arrest. Several of his collaborations and licensed placements, including his contribution to the “Arcane” Season 2 soundtrack and a duet with Kali Uchis, have already been pulled from major platforms by other artists and rights holders, but his solo catalog has largely remained available. Nothing new had surfaced since the remains of Celeste Rivas Hernandez were discovered in the trunk of his Tesla, until this week. His brother, Caleb, has meanwhile been trying to launch his own music career, with some fans wondering if the younger Burke could be working with music already created by his accused brother.
Where the Criminal Case Stands
D4vd was formally charged on April 20 with first-degree murder, with special circumstances that make him eligible for the death penalty, in the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman alleges Burke engaged in a sexual relationship with Rivas Hernandez beginning in September 2023, when she was 13 and he was 18, and that he killed her in April 2025 after she threatened to expose the relationship and “destroy his life” and career. Rivas Hernandez was 14 at the time of her death; her remains were discovered inside D4vd’s abandoned Tesla on September 8, 2025, a day after she would have turned 15.
D4vd has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His attorneys have said “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.”
A preliminary hearing is scheduled to begin July 21. A trial date has not yet been set. In the meantime, his catalog remains active on streaming platforms, despite advocacy groups pushing for the removal of all of D4vd’s work. His existing catalog has seen a surge in streams since the case became public, and he was also the most searched person on Google in 2025.
