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D4vd’s Texas parents are rallying behind their son after the platinum singer was arrested Thursday on suspicion of murdering Celeste Rivas Hernandez – the 14-year-old girl who was dismembered seven months ago and was found decomposing in the trunk of his Tesla.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, the attorney for Dawud Burke and Colleen Burke said the parents are united behind their son, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, and who is currently in a Los Angeles prison awaiting a decision from prosecutors.
“The parents are saddened and disappointed that David was arrested, but are completely behind him and believe in his innocence,” family attorney Kent A. Schaffer told Rolling Stone. “They support him in every way.”
Parents learned of arrest
The attorney says the parents learned of the arrest while they were still awaiting a court decision in Texas in their fight against grand jury subpoenas that would have them appear before a panel in Los Angeles. “The appeal process is still pending,” he says.
David was not charged before his arrest. Instead, the police announced on Thursday evening that they would present the case to the public prosecutor’s office on Monday for a decision on whether to file charges. If prosecutors file a complaint, the case would move to a public preliminary inquiry, where a judge would hear testimony in open court and decide whether there is enough evidence for a trial.
David, 21, was arrested shortly after 4:30 p.m. at the Hollywood Hills home where he lived, police sources confirmed. A local source told Rolling Stone that the singer was “completely cooperative.” A video published by the California Post showed heavily armed LAPD officers leading him away with his hands tied behind his back.
Defense denies murder charge
“To be clear, the actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and was not the cause of her death,” said David’s legal team, led by renowned criminal defense attorney Blair Burke. “No grand jury indictment has been returned in this case nor has any criminal charges been filed. David is being held solely on suspicion. We will vigorously defend David’s innocence.”
David was on a tour of the United States when his dented 2023 Tesla Model Y was towed from the Bird Streets area of the Hollywood Hills on September 5, 2025. The towing company alerted police to a report that the vehicle was “emitting a foul odor and attracting flies,” according to a search warrant.
Investigators who opened the trunk found Rivas’ decomposed head and torso in a black body bag, “covered in insects and a strong odor of decomposition,” court records show. A second bag contained her severed arms and legs.
Investigations kept secret for months
Authorities kept the investigation largely under wraps for months and obtained a court order blocking the Los Angeles County coroner from releasing the autopsy results. The office objected to this restriction, saying it prevented it from “serving our community with complete transparency.”
Several witnesses were called before a secret grand jury in Los Angeles. Only after Burke’s parents and brother challenged their subpoenas in Texas were documents unsealed confirming that David was the “target” of a murder investigation and “may have been involved in the commission” of a murder.
After Rivas’ body was found, friends and family identified her as a missing girl from Lake Elsinore, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles. Her family reported her missing in February 2024 and again in April, online flyers show.
Identification and tattoo marks
The body was so “decomposed” that investigators could no longer determine the color of its eyes and reported its weight as 32 kilograms. “She appears to have been lying dead in the vehicle for an extended period of time before she was found,” the coroner said. The cause of death was initially listed as “pending.”
Pictures circulating online appeared to show David with a girl who resembled Celeste. In another eerie twist, Celeste had a tattoo on her right index finger that read “Shhh…”, the coroner said. A Getty Images photo showed Burke with a similar tattoo.
Residents reported the Tesla had been parked in various locations for months before it was found on Bluebird Avenue, where it sat for at least three weeks before it was towed. “He kept getting moved,” a source told Rolling Stone. “That’s scary.”
Tour and career
For a short time after the teenager’s remains were recovered, David continued to perform on his Withered tour. His scheduled concert in Seattle on September 17 was canceled after Rivas’ identity was officially confirmed.
David, born in New York and raised in Texas, rose to prominence in 2022 with the singles “Romantic Homicide” and “Here With Me,” which together racked up more than one billion streams on Spotify. In April 2025 he released his debut album “Withered”.
