Los Angeles prosecutors say that singer D4vd murdered his minor girlfriend by stabbing her numerous times before dismembering her.
According to AP News, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed court documents Wednesday, in connection with charges against D4vd, 21, also known as David Anthony Burke.
He’s currently facing charges that include:
- First-degree murder
- Continued lewd and lascivious acts with an individual under 14 years old
- Mutilating a human body
The filing outlined what prosecutors believe happened to Celeste Rivas, who was found dead in September, a day shy of her 15th birthday.
Burke met Celeste in January 2022, when she was 11 years old, the court filing stated. By the time she turned 13, the then-18-year-old defendant began sexually abusing her.
In February 2024, Celeste’s family reported her missing and police linked her Burke after finding his contact in her phone records.
According to Court TV, Celeste returned home to Lake Elsinore a few days later. Burke allegedly claimed that he did not know her age at the time.
Celeste later fled home again after the defendant “paid a junior high school student in the victim’s class $1,000 to give the victim a cellphone.”
David Anthony Burke/Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office
Prosecutors stated that in November 2024, the relationship ended but the pair continued to engage in a sexual relationship. Later, Celeste became enraged when she discovered text messages between Burke and other women, which prompted her threats to expose their relationship.
“Knowing he had to silence the victim before she ruined his music career as she had threatened, very soon after her arrival at his home, defendant stabbed the victim to death multiple times and stood by while she bled out,” the filing said.
On April 23, 2025, Celeste’s cellphone went silent after she allegedly arrived at Burke’s Hollywood Hills home, after leaving Lake Elsinore.
Burke then allegedly sent a text to Celeste later that night, asking where she was.
The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner stated that Celeste had “two penetrating wounds” on her chest and abdomen. The injuries killed her and her cause of death has been officially listed as a homicide.
David Anthony Burke (d4vd) Complaint by Leigh Egan
Court documents stated that Burke bought two chain saws online and took measures to conceal the death by dismembering her in an inflatable pool, inside the garage of his rental home. Investigators found the victim’s DNA inside the garage, the filing stated.
Burke also purchased two tote bags, a body bag, the inflatable pool, and a laundry bag online, under the name “Victoria Mendez.”
“Defendant took horrifying measures to destroy and discard the victim’s body,” the filing stated.
“After placing her body into the blue inflatable pool to prevent her blood from spilling onto his garage floor, defendant used a chainsaw and perhaps other tools to cut off her limbs. Small blue plastic fragments were found embedded in the victim’s remains.”
He then drove to Santa Barbara County’s Lake Cachuma three times and left evidence behind, including his passport.
Five months later, Los Angeles officers arrived to a Hollywood tow yard after residents in Hollywood Hills West contacted police about Burke’s Tesla, left abandoned in the select Bird Streets neighborhood.
Inside the vehicle’s trunk, police found some of Celeste’s dismembered remains inside two separate black bags.
Meanwhile, according to TMZ, Celeste’s death certificate, which previously stated she was not pregnant, has been changed to unknown.
Burke remains behind bars without bond. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for May.
Check back for updates.
