Singer D4vd, born David Anthony Burke, has been formally identified as the “target” of a grand jury investigation into the alleged homicide of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, according to recently unsealed court documents obtained by Rolling Stone.
Petitions included as exhibits in a 151-page filing by lawyers representing D4vd’s parents and brother state that the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office identified the singer as the target of its grand jury inquiry. The documents, filed in Texas without the sealing protections applied in California, sought grand jury testimony from D4vd’s father, Dawud Burke, his mother, Colleen Burke, and his brother, Caleb Burke, starting on Feb. 11. The documents described D4vd as someone who “may be involved in having committed” a crime listed as “one count of murder.”
The filings also disclosed new details about the condition of Rivas’s remains when investigators opened the trunk of D4vd’s towed Tesla at an impound yard on Sept. 8, 2025. “When the front storage compartment was opened, detectives observed a black cadaver bag covered with insects and a strong odor of decay,” the documents said. “Utilizing black latex gloves, detectives partially unzipped the bag and observed a decomposed head and torso.”
The filings said that once investigators removed the first cadaver bag from the trunk, “it was discovered the arms and legs had been severed from the body.” It said that “a second black bag was discovered underneath the cadaver bag. Upon opening the second bag, the dismembered body parts were discovered.”
The records were originally filed under seal in California before being made public through a Texas Appellate proceeding tied to the family’s efforts to avoid compelled testimony. The musician’s relatives were described as having “a close relationship” with D4vd. When the family members tried to fight the subpoenas with claims they were too secretive and vague, a Texas prosecutor urged a judge to honor the California petitions at a Feb. 2 hearing in Waller County, Texas, according to a transcript obtained by Rolling Stone.
“I would say if a car with a dismembered, decomposing body is registered to your home address, that
is something you should expect to be questioned by the authorities about. And that’s what this is, judge.
So I’m asking this court to find [that the family witnesses] are necessary and material. I’m asking you to find that it will not cause them undue hardship,” Waller County Assistant DA Bennett Dodson said.
The First District Court of Appeals in Texas denied habeas corpus petitions from all three family members that sought to overturn a lower court ruling requiring them to testify in California. One of the lawyers representing D4vd’s family tells Rolling Stone the battle over the subpoenas isn’t over.
“While the Court of Appeals denied our writ, later that day, we filed a subsequent writ in a higher court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals,” attorney Kent A. Schaffer said in an email. “They agreed with us and issued a stay of the lower court’s order, which commanded the Burkes’ appearance in California. That matter is still pending in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.”
After authorities reported that a “severely decomposed” body was found in the trunk of the musician’s Tesla in September, they said the victim’s body had deteriorated to such a degree that it took medical examiners a full week to identify the victim as Celeste Rivas. The 14-year-old was reported missing by her family in February and April 2024.
The following November, Los Angeles Police Det. Joshua Byers characterized the case as an “investigation into murder” and requested a court order preventing the release of Rivas’ autopsy findings. Byers argued public release of details surrounding Rivas’ death could jeopardize the homicide investigation and had to be protected, the Los Angeles Times reported. The request was granted by a judge, who ordered that the ME’s findings be sealed.
D4vd, a platinum-selling artist who gained international popularity on TikTok, broke through in 2022 with his singles “Romantic Homicide” and “Here With Me. The deluxe edition of his debut album, Withered, was shelved, and the remaining dates of his U.S. tour were cancelled amid the ongoing investigation.
This story was updated with a statement from the Burke family’s attorney.