Singer D4vd named as ‘target’ of probe into murder of teen girl

A California grand jury is investigating US singer D4vd after newly unsealed court filings revealed he has been identified as a target in the probe into the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.

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The filings show that prosecutors are investigating the apparent murder of Celeste, whose remains were discovered in September 2025 inside a Tesla registered to an address linked to the singer in Texas.

According to the documents, investigators found the decomposed head and torso of the teenager in a cadaver bag in the front boot of the vehicle at a Hollywood tow yard after reports of a foul odour.

Severed arms and legs were allegedly discovered in a separate black bag.

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Celeste, who was from Lake Elsinore, California, had been missing since April 2024. Authorities previously said the case was being handled by the Los Angeles police department’s robbery-homicide division.

The filings became public after D4vd’s family were summoned by a California court to testify before the grand jury.

Dawud Burke, his father, challenged the out-of-state subpoena in a Texas court, arguing that the summons violated his due process rights because parts of the supporting documents were redacted.

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“The court ordered Mr. Burke to travel across the country to appear before a California grand jury without ever allowing him to see the full documents that justified the extraordinary compulsion,” his lawyer said in the filing.

Court records indicate that detectives from the Los Angeles police department travelled to Texas to escort members of the 20-year-old singer’s family to California for the secret grand jury proceedings.

Though D4vd, born David Anthony Burke, has been named a “target” in the investigation, he has not been charged or officially declared a suspect. No indictment has been announced, amid the ongoing grand jury proceedings.

In November, the Los Angeles county medical examiner’s office confirmed it received a court order placing a security hold on the case, preventing the release of details surrounding the teenager’s death.

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