Singer D4vd arrested on suspicion of murdering teenage girlShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleNardine SaadLos Angeles
Getty ImagesUS singer D4vd has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a teenage girl who went missing last year, police say.
The TikTok star, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, was the target of a grand jury investigation into the apparent murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose remains were found in his Tesla in September.
The Los Angeles Police Department said on Thursday that the 21-year-old was being held without bail and the case will be presented to the District Attorney's office on Monday.
In a statement to US media, Burke's lawyers said: "Let us be clear – 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.
"There has been no indictment returned by any grand jury in this case and no criminal complaint filed. David has only been detained under suspicion."
Police earlier said they had arrested Burke "for the murder of Celeste Rivas".
Questions had been mounting since the discovery on 8 September of the 14-year-old's remains in a Hollywood tow yard, after authorities received reports of a foul odour coming from the vehicle.
Investigators found her decomposed head and torso in a cadaver bag in the front boot of a Tesla car registered to D4vd's address in Texas, court documents said.
The county's medical examiner said the girl's body was "severely decomposed" and deferred on making a ruling on how she died pending the death investigation. She might have been dead "for several weeks" before the discovery of her body, officials said.
No cause of death in the teen's case has been announced, with authorities only saying for months that they were treating the case as a death investigation.
A judge ordered that the teen's death records be sealed in November to ensure officers received information from the medical examiner before the public.
Getty ImagesRivas Hernandez – who lived about 75 miles (120km) away from where her body was discovered – had last been reported missing by her family in April 2024, but it was not the first time she had run away from their Lake Elsinore home. A first-generation daughter of immigrant parents from El Salvador, neighbours recognised her as a girl who would visit the corner store almost daily to buy candy and soda, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The lack of information in the macabre death has fuelled intrigue and ignited an online following, with many hypothesising about the girl's connection to the Romantic Homicide singer.
A grand jury began hearing evidence in the case in December, but Burke's arrest on Thursday marks the first significant development in the case in months.
More details about the case emerged in court filings after the singer's family was summoned from Texas by a California court to testify before the grand jury.
When Dawud Burke, D4vd's father, fought against the summons in a Texas court he included material from the California case that had not been previously available to the public.
The filings, obtained by the BBC, confirmed that D4vd had been identified as a "target" of a grand jury investigation in Los Angeles and that he may be subject to proceedings for one count of murder.
The singer has been virtually silent on the case, but his representatives previously said he was cooperating with authorities. The BBC has contacted his representatives about Thursday's arrest.
Getty ImagesThe few details that have so far been shared with the public before include that Rivas Hernandez was wearing a tube top, size small black leggings and jewellery, including a yellow metal stud earring and a yellow metal chain bracelet, when her body was found.
She also had a tattoo that read "Shhh…" on her index finger – a marking nearly identical to that on Burke's own index finger.
Shortly after the body was found, the Here With Me singer cancelled his world tour, signalling the beginning of the end of his pop career and his noticeable retreat from the spotlight.
Los Angeles police previously said they had raided the Hollywood Hills mansion where he was living, just blocks from where his Tesla had been towed. He was also dropped from marketing campaigns with US retailer Hollister and footwear giant Crocs.
Telepatía singer Kali Uchis also announced she was taking down their collaboration, Crashing.
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