Why Did It Take So Long To Arrest d4vd?
Singer D4vd arrested for murder of 14-year-old girlfriend Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose body was found in his car in 2025.
Black News 
“Romantic Homicide” singer d4vd has been arrested in connection with the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, marking a major turning point in a case that began in September 2025.
dD4vd has been arrested and is being held without bail.
In a statement released April 16, the LAPD confirmed that d4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, was taken into custody by detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division. He is currently being held without bail as prosecutors review the case.
According to NBC News, the singer was arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with Hernandez’s death. Her decomposed body was discovered last year in the trunk of an abandoned Tesla linked to him.
Police said the case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on Monday. The DA’s office also confirmed Thursday that its major crimes division will conduct a full review.
Attorneys for the entertainer said they are prepared to “vigorously defend David’s innocence.”
“Let us be clear — the actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death,” attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter said in a statement Thursday night after his arrest. “There has been no indictment returned by any grand jury in this case and no criminal complaint filed. David has only been detained under suspicion.”
Why did it take this long to arrest d4vd?
The arrest represents a significant development in an investigation that began on Sept. 8, 2025, when authorities discovered human remains inside the front trunk of a Tesla registered to d4vd.
The victim was later identified as Celeste Rivas Hernandez, a 14-year-old who had been reported missing from Lake Elsinore, California, after she was last seen in April 2024. Officers responded to the scene after reports of a foul odor coming from the vehicle. Inside the trunk, they found a black cadaver bag containing a decomposed head and torso, according to court filings tied to a grand jury investigation. A second bag contained additional dismembered remains, NBC News reported.
It remains unclear how Celeste died. The medical examiner’s office said last year that it could not release details about her cause and manner of death due to a security hold requested by law enforcement.
Authorities have confirmed that d4vd and the victim were in a relationship prior to her disappearance, and the two reportedly had matching “Shhh…” tattoos on their fingers, according to BOSSIP.
In the months following the discovery, d4vd canceled his Withered World Tour and stepped away from public appearances. A spokesperson said at the time that he was aware of the situation and was “fully cooperating with the authorities.”
In January, new developments indicated prosecutors were moving closer to a formal indictment. According to NBC Los Angeles, Neo Langston, a 23-year-old associate of the singer, was arrested Jan. 22 in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, on an out-of-state warrant after failing to appear as a witness in Los Angeles proceedings. Authorities have not confirmed whether Langston’s arrest is directly connected to the grand jury investigation into Celeste’s killing, though the possibility is being examined. Jail records show he was held on an unspecified warrant.
Law enforcement sources said the arrest is tied to the ongoing grand jury probe connected to the investigation that began in November 2025. Notably, in December 2025, the president of d4vd’s touring company, Robert Morgenroth, testified before the grand jury about what was known internally and why authorities were not alerted sooner after the body was discovered in the singer’s vehicle. According to TMZ, after his grand jury testimony, Morgenroth was allegedly heard telling his lawyer outside the courtroom why he did not call police when the news of Celeste’s death broke:
“I said I feel like I didn’t have the responsibility to do that, and just wanted to continue with the tour,” he allegedly said, according to the outlet.
The investigation is still ongoing.
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