Background
Singer-Songwriter David Anthony Burke, more famously known as D4vd, is currently charged with first-degree murder of 14-year-old Celeste Hernandez. Back in September of 2025, Celeste was found dismembered in the front truck of a Tesla. Tesla was then found to be registered to Burke in Los Angeles, California.
Motives
On April 20th, 2026, David was formally charged with murder, sexual abuse, and unlawfully mutilating a body (Celestes’). The charges say he committed continuous lewd and sexual acts with the underage girl, leading prosecutors to believe the motive for the murder had to do with saving his music career. Burke was essentially in a long-term sexual relationship with the victim as a 21-year-old and feared for his reputation and image being ruined, despite his social media footprint on apps like Reddit and Discord, exposing his interest in gore and underage girls.
David’s Phone
The court, appearing on April 23rd, 2026, says that prosecutors found a significant amount of “child pornography” and “child sexual abuse” on the iCloud of Burke’s cellphone. The court says they found “8 terabytes” of data on his iCloud account, where one of them was already analyzed and found to be containing the material.
Special Circumstances
The case, as gruesome as it is, just gets worse as the investigation continues. Burke was charged with not just murder but 1st-degree murder with special circumstances. This court term refers to when there are excessive and aggravating factors that accompany a crime.` 21` In this case, Burkes’ “special circumstances” included lying in wait, killing for financial gain, and murdering a witness (this refers to Celeste coming forward about the illegal relationship with the singer).
