D4vd charged with murder: Timeline of investigation into 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez's death

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Singer D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, was arrested and booked without bail in connection with the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, after the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled the teen's death a homicide, authorities said. He was later formally charged with first-degree murder in the teen's death, among other charges, and pleaded not guilty.

The charges followed a monthslong investigation that began after Celeste was identified in Sept. 2025 as the decomposed and dismembered body found inside a Tesla registered to the singer.

Here's a look at the timeline of the case:

January 2022

• D4vd and Celeste first meet when Celeste is just 11 years old, according to a court filing.

November 2023

• Dv4d and Celeste allegedly begin a sexual relationship when she is 13 years old and D4vd is 18.

Feburary 2024

• Celeste, a then-13-year-old 7th grader, is reported missing by her family from her Lake Elsinore home.

Feb. 17, 2025

• The Riverside County Sheriff's Office reportedly calls D4vd after they identified his phone number in Celeste's phone records. He allegedly tells deputies he last talked to Celeste on Feb. 13 or 14, but he claims he didn't know she was a minor and didn't know she had been reported missing.


• Deputies then inform him that Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies would be visiting him at his home. At the time, he lived in West Hollywood. When deputies arrive at his home that same day, prosecutors say they again tell him that Celeste is 13 years old and a runaway. D4vd allegedly tells them he was unaware of that and says he had only met her in person once in November 2023.


• D4vd reportedly tells deputies he didn't know where she was, but Celeste returns to her Lake Elsinore home two days after the conversation.

Feburary 2024

• Celeste's family reportedly takes her cellphone away after she returns home from being reported missing.


• Prosecutors allege that D4vd paid a junior high school student in Celeste's class $1,000 to give her a cellphone that he had purchased so they could keep talking.


• The pair then spent a significant amount of time together in 2024, including weekends at his home in the Hollywood Hills and traveling to Las Vegas, London and even to Texas to meet D4vd's family, prosecutors say.

April 2024

• Celeste is reported missing again by her family.

September 7, 2024

• Celeste turns 14 years old

November 2024

• D4vd and Celeste reportedly break up but continue to communicate, and prosecutors say their texts suggest they also continued to have a sexual relationship.

March 2025

• Prosecutors say a text sent from Celeste to D4vd says, "All we do is have sex and just hang out man I want more than that for myself."

READ MORE: Who is D4vd? Singer arrested in 14-year-old's death started as video game streamer

Singer D4vd's rising career has now been overshadowed by his arrest in connection with the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.

April 22, 2025

• D4vd and Celeste reportedly get into a lengthy argument, in which Celeste threatens to disclose information about their relationship to "end [D4vd's] career and destroy his life."

April 23, 2025

• Celeste was last known to be alive when she arrived at D4vd's rented home in the Hollywood Hills on April 23, 2025.


• D4vd allegedly sends an Uber to pick Celeste up from her Lake Elsinore home and bring her to his house around 8:40 p.m.


• Celeste reportedly arrives around 10:10 p.m.


• D4vd reportedly texts her and asks where she is at 10:30 p.m., but prosecutors believe she was already dead by this time, and the texts were part of a "premeditated plan" to cover up her murder.


• Prosecutors allege that shortly after she arrived, D4vd stabbed Celeste multiple times and watched her bleed to death.


• D4vd then leaves his home around 11:30 p.m. and drives to an area near Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara County, all while still texting and calling Celeste's phone, prosecutors say.


• Tickets for D4vd's world tour go on presale.

April 24, 2025

• D4vd reportedly returns to his Hollywood Hills home after driving to Santa Barbara County. He allegedly sends two more texts to the teen's phone, but never attempts to contact her again after April 26.


• D4vd goes to a radio interview to promote his new album.


• D4vd orders a shovel from Home Depot that is delivered to his home via Postmates, according to court documents.

April 25, 2025

• Singer D4vd releases his debut studio album "Withered."


• The music video for the song "One More Dance" depicts D4vd placing a bloodied body into the trunk of a car.

May 1, 2025

• Prosecutors say D4vd orders two chainsaws on Amazon that are delivered to his Hollywood Hills home. He allegedly made the purchase using a fake name.

May 5, 2025

• D4vd orders a body bag, heavy-duty laundry bags and a blue inflatable pool on Amazon, according to court documents. He reportedly used the same fake name.


• Prosecutors believe Celeste's body was mutilated on May 5. Her remains were dismembered, and two of her fingers were never recovered, including one that prosecutors allege was tattooed with D4vd's name.

May 8, 2025

• D4vd allegedly returns to the same area in Santa Barbara County.

May 31, 2025

• D4vd allegedly returns to the same area in Santa Barbara County for a third time.

July 7, 2025

• D4vd allegedly orders a "burn cage" on Amazon under the same fake name in a plan to "incinerate evidence."

July 29, 2025

• D4vd allegedly parks his Tesla on the Hollywood Hills street where it was later towed from. Prosecutors allege he was the last person seen driving it, and surveillance video shows him driving the Tesla on this date.

September 7, 2025

• Celeste would have turned 15 years old

Sept. 8, 2025

• Prosecutors state a 2023 Tesla Model Y, registered to D4vd at a Texas address tied to his family, is towed from an upscale Hollywood Hills neighborhood where it appears abandoned.


• At a tow yard, LAPD investigators find a cadaver bag in the vehicle's front trunk, described in court documents as:


• Covered with insects


• Emitting a strong odor of decay


• Detectives partially unzip the bag and observe a decomposed head and torso.


• The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner later determines the arms and legs have been severed.


• A second black bag beneath the first contains additional dismembered body parts.


• D4vd is on tour at the time of the discovery.

Sept. 16, 2025

• The remains are identified as Celeste Rivas Hernandez from dental records belonging to the victim.


• Investigators say Celeste has an index-finger tattoo reading "shhh...", similar to a tattoo D4vd has.

Sept. 17, 2025

• Police execute a search warrant at a Hollywood Hills home where D4vd has been staying.


• Detectives are observed removing a computer and other items, according to law enforcement sources.


• LAPD reportedly finds evidence inside the garage consistent with the dismemberment of Celste's body. Samples tested positive for blood and matched the teen's DNA, according to the court document.

Sept. 19, 2025

• D4vd cancels the remaining dates of his U.S. tour amid the escalating investigation.


• His Los Angeles concert and a scheduled appearance at the L.A. Grammy Museum (Sept. 24) are removed from venue websites.

D4vd has been arrested in connection with the murder of a teenager whose decomposing body was found in the trunk of a Tesla registered to the singer, police said.

Sept. 23, 2025

• Eyewitness News learns D4vd transfers ownership of one of his Texas homes to his mother in the prior month.

Sept. 25, 2025

• Celeste's body is officially released to her family for memorial services.

Sept. 29, 2025

• Celeste's death certificate is released, listing the cause of death as undetermined.


• Sources tell ABC News this is due to the advanced decomposition and dismemberment of her remains.

Nov. 18, 2025

• Law enforcement sources tell Eyewitness News that D4vd is now considered a suspect.


• Sources say he is not cooperating with investigators, despite statements from his PR representatives.


• Investigators believe the death is a homicide that occurred earlier in the year, though the cause of death remains undetermined.

Dec. 9, 2025

• The Medical Examiner rules Celeste's death was a homicide caused by two penetrating injuries to the torso.


• The autopsy report is not immediately released to the public.

Jan. 15, 2026

• D4vd's parents, Colleen and Dawud Burke, are subpoenaed to testify before a Los Angeles grand jury regarding Celeste's death.

Jan 17, 2026

• Celeste's passport card is found by a Caltrans worker off SR-154 in Santa Barbara County, the same area where D4vd had previously visited, according to prosecutors.

Feb. 12, 2026

• The Burke family challenges the subpoenas in Texas, arguing they are denied due process.

Feb. 13, 2026

• A Texas appeals court denies the family's petition, requiring them to comply.

MORE COVERAGE: D4vd considered suspect in death investigation of Celeste Rivas-Hernandez, source says

Singer D4vd is considered a suspect in the death investigation of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas-Hernandez, a source told Eyewitness News.

Feb. 25, 2026

• Eyewitness News obtains Texas court documents stating D4vd is the main suspect.


• In the filings, David Burke is labeled the "Target", with allegations including: "One Count of Murder"


• Documents again detail the dismemberment, with body parts found in two bags in the vehicle's front trunk.


• The family's attorney says they are still fighting the grand jury appearance.

April 16, 2026

• D4vd is arrested in connection with the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez.


• He is arrested at 5 p.m. at a Hollywood Hills residence and booked at 11:12 p.m. PT at LAPD's 77th Street Station.


• He is held without bail.


• Booking records list him as 5'5", 125 lbs.

April 17, 2026

• ABC News learns through investigative sources that the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner rules Celeste's death a homicide.


• The manner of death remains unknown.


• Sources reiterate that the body is dismembered, and stored in two bags and placed in the Tesla's front trunk.


• Severe decomposition from summer heat hinders the determination of a specific cause.

READ MORE: D4vd pleads not guilty to first-degree murder in 'brutal and horrific' killing of 14-year-old girl

The singer D4vd was charged with murder and other counts in connection with the killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, prosecutors said.

April 20, 2026

• D4vd is formally charged with first-degree murder, continuous sexual acts, lewd and lascivious sexual acts with an individual under 14 years old and mutilating the human remains of a body.


• He makes his first court appearance and pleads not guilty to the charges.


• He remains in custody on no bail.


• Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman alleges D4vd had a long-term sexual relationship with the underage girl while he was an adult, and he killed her to protect his career -- dismembering her and leaving her body in his car.

April 21, 2026

• Celeste's family makes their first public statement through their attorney about the case involving D4vd.


• They describe her as a "beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance."


• "We miss her deeply. All we want is justice for Celeste," they write in a statement.

April 22, 2026

• The Medical Examiner's Office officially releases its report naming Celese's cause of death "multiple penetrating injuries caused by object(s)."


• The report also shows there were presumptive positives for benzodiazepines and methamphetamine/MDMA in her system.

READ MORE: D4vd's phone contained 'significant amount' of child pornography, prosecutors say

April 23, 2026

• D4vd returns to court for a hearing, where he appeared in handcuffs wearing an orange jumpsuit.


• Prosecutors claim a "significant amount" of child pornography was found in the singer's cellphone.


• Prosecutors say lengthy investigations by the LAPD and DA's office resulted in gathering more than 40 terabytes of data. It's unclear what type of evidence they hold.


• The next court date is scheduled for April 29, when the status of discovery will be discussed.


• A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for May 1. That's when evidence and testimony will be presented to show a judge that there is enough evidence to move to trial.

April 29, 2026

• D4vd returns to court, and a legal brief is released, painting a gruesome picture of the case prosecutors are building against the singer.


• The date of his preliminary hearing is moved to May 26. Evidence will be presented, and witnesses are expected to be called.

ABC News contributed to this report.