Singer D4vid faces first-degree murder charges. He is charged in connection with the death of a 14-year-old girl whose body was found in the trunk of his Tesla. (D4vid Instagram)
LOS ANGELES, CA– Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced that Musician and singer David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd, faced charges for murdering 14-year-old Celeste R. Authorities found Celeste R.’s body decomposed and dismembered in his car, which had been impounded in September 2025.
“Celeste was just a child, under 14 years old, when David Burke allegedly engaged in repeated lewd sexual relations with her,” District Attorney Hochman said. “But Burke’s actions did not allegedly stop there. When she threatened to expose his criminal conduct and devastate his musical career, Burke allegedly murdered her, cut up her body and stuffed it in two bags that were placed in the front trunk of his car. There the dismembered body sat for over four months, decomposing until was found at a tow yard on Sept. 8, 2025. This horrific murder committed by the charged sexual predator is shocking. To Celeste’s loved ones, we will get the justice you seek and deserve.”
Burke (dob 3/28/05) was charged in case 26CJCF02399 with one count each of murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains.
The criminal complaint also includes special circumstance allegations of murder of a witness, murder for financial gain, and lying in wait, as well as a special allegation that Burke personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon, a sharp instrument, to commit the crime.
D4vd appeared in court on April 20, 2026, where he formally entered a “not guilty” plea.in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
On April 23, 2025, Burke invited the victim to his home in Hollywood Hills. Celeste R. arrived at the defendant’s house, and then the victim was never seen again.
On Sept. 8, 2025, authorities found the victim’s decomposed and dismembered remains in the front trunk of a car registered to Burke, which police had impounded after someone reported the vehicle abandoned.
If convicted as charged, Burke faces death or life in state prison without the possibility of parole. A decision about seeking the death penalty will come later.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman of the Major Crimes Division and remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division.
The charges filed in this case are allegations. Unless a court of law finds the defendant guilty, the defendant is presumed innocent.