David Anthony Burke, twenty-one, professionally known as D4VD, has been charged by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office with first-degree murder with special circumstances, continuous sexual abuse of a child under fourteen years of age, and mutilation of human remains in the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Burke has entered a plea of not guilty. The special circumstances attached to the murder charge — lying in wait, commission of a crime for financial gain, and killing a witness to a crime — render Burke eligible for life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. Prosecutors have not yet announced whether they will seek the death penalty.

Celeste Rivas Hernandez was fourteen years old. She had been reported missing from Lake Elsinore, California, three separate times. She was last known alive arriving at Burke's Hollywood Hills residence in April 2025. Her remains were discovered in September 2025 inside the front trunk of an impounded Tesla registered to Burke at a Hollywood tow yard, after a worker reported a foul odor emanating from the vehicle.

Burke was initially arrested on April 16 by LAPD Robbery-Homicide on a probable cause warrant — known as a Ramey warrant — secured directly from a judge prior to the filing of formal charges. A grand jury investigation had been underway for months, its existence publicly revealed only when Burke's family members challenged subpoenas in a Texas court. Formal charges were filed by the DA's office, and Burke was arraigned and entered his not guilty plea.

Retired FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer provides procedural and investigative analysis of the case. She examines the reported tracking data allegedly placing Burke in a remote area of Santa Barbara County during the relevant window, the age-concealment patterns described in reports, the electronics seizures, the burn cage incinerator found at Burke's rental property, the continued evidence retrieval on the night of the arrest, and the public dispute between the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's office and LAPD over the sealed autopsy results.

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This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

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