An abandoned car, a photo trail and a missing girl: What led up to the arrest of singer d4vd on suspicion of murder?
By Elizabeth Wolfe, Thomas Bordeaux, Allison Gordon, Kyung Lah, CNN
(CNN) — Months after a young girl’s body was found in the trunk of his abandoned car, singer d4vd was arrested not far from the Los Angeles tow yard where her remains were discovered.
Prosecutors say they will now weigh whether to bring criminal charges against the 21-year-old alt-pop artist, who was arrested Thursday on suspicion of killing 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
Why it has taken so long for investigators to make an arrest in the case is unclear.
Rivas and d4vd had been linked to each other in several ways before the girl’s family reported her missing in 2024. But authorities had not publicly named d4vd as a suspect until after a squad of local and federal officers battered down the door of a Hollywood Hills home Thursday and took him away.
The singer’s attorneys pointed out an indictment or criminal complaint have yet to be filed.
“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,” defense attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter said in a statement.
Here is a timeline of d4vd’s connection to Rivas, the circumstances surrounding her disappearance and death, and what we know about the investigation so far.
Early 2024: Rivas’ links to d4vd
Signs of Rivas’ connection to d4vd began to surface before she was reported missing.
In January 2024, Rivas appears side by side with the singer in a livestream video on the social media platform Twitch. In it, the pair joke and banter until about 3 a.m. before d4vd laughingly proclaims, “Delete everything.”
Sometime between January and March 2024, d4vd is photographed getting out of a black Tesla a few blocks from Rivas’ home. A local teen in Lake Elsinore later posts the photos on TikTok. CNN geolocated and chronolocated the photos to verify when and where they were taken.
Early 2024: Rivas reported missing
Rivas is reported missing three times in early 2024 as loved ones and friends worry over the seventh grader’s well-being and whereabouts.
Rivas is 13 years old when she is first reported missing in mid-February 2024, according to 911 call logs and missing posters. A poster from this time says she was last seen around February 14.
Around this time, a person concerned about her well-being sends an email to an address bearing d4vd’s name on his record company’s domain.
The writer references Rivas’ disappearance and says, “There’s been talk” that d4vd possibly had something to do with it. If there was any truth to that, the person writes, “please do the right thing and take her home. Her parents are very worried.”
CNN confirmed the authenticity of the email with the person who sent it. But that person asked not to be identified due to safety concerns.
Rivas returns home within days of that email being sent, an acquaintance of the family confirmed to CNN.
Rivas is reported missing a second time around March 19, according to 911 logs and missing posters.
For a third and final time, she is reported missing on April 5, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.
Mid 2024 – early 2025: Photos capture Rivas alive
It is unclear when Rivas is killed, but photos indicate she is still alive almost a year after she was first reported missing. Authorities said in court documents she was 14 when she died, according to The Associated Press.
In June 2024, Rivas is photographed backstage during a sold-out show d4vd performed at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles.
Another hint linking d4vd to Rivas is found in the singer’s rented home after Rivas’ body is identified in September 2025.
Steve Fischer, a private investigator hired by the owner of the property, said he uncovered a digital camera inside the house that contained photos of both Rivas and d4vd taken in late December 2024 and early January 2025.
During that time, the entertainer posts other photos from the camera’s memory card to his X account, captioned “took these pics” along with a selfie of him wearing a camera of the same model.
September 8, 2025: Rivas’ body is found
A day after she would have turned 15, Rivas’ dismembered and decomposing body is found in the trunk of a Tesla at a police impound yard.
The car, which was registered to d4vd, had been apparently abandoned on a street not far from where d4vd was living in the Hollywood Hills. The vehicle was eventually transferred to the tow yard, where an employee called police after noticing a foul smell coming from the vehicle.
No cause of death is announced publicly. The autopsy results were later sealed by a judge at the request of the Los Angeles Police Department, whose elite Robbery-Homicide Division is investigating the young girl’s death.
When her body is discovered, d4vd is on a world tour promoting his first full-length album, “Withered.”
September 19, 2025: d4vd cancels world tour
The singer cancels his final US tour stops in San Francisco and Los Angeles as news of Rivas’ death draws national headlines and fervent social media speculation. The entire European leg of the Withered World Tour is canceled.
February 2026: Grand jury investigation revealed
Though investigators have yet to publicly name d4vd as a suspect, court documents reveal the singer is being investigated by a grand jury in connection with Rivas’ death.
Prosecutors describe d4vd as a “target” of the investigation in court filings, submitted as part of a dispute over whether d4vd’s family members could be forced to appear before the grand jury.
The documents do not specify what role authorities suspect d4vd may have played in the girl’s death, only that he is a “target” of the probe who may have been “involved” in Rivas’ death.
It is unclear when exactly the grand jury investigation began and what came of it.
April 16: d4vd is arrested
The singer is arrested on suspicion of killing Rivas. He is taken from a home in the Hollywood Hills that is just over a mile from the tow yard where the young girl’s body was found in his car.
A team of Los Angeles police and US Marshals used a ramming device to breach an entryway door, photos posted by police show. As they prepared to enter, a squad of officers stood behind the breaching officer with guns drawn at the ready.
“There has been no indictment returned by any grand jury in this case and no criminal complaint filed,” the singer’s attorneys said. “David has only been detained under suspicion. We will vigorously defend David’s innocence.”
He is being held in jail without bail.
April 20: DA expected to provide update
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office is expected to share an update Monday on the case against d4vd.
The prosecutor’s office told CNN in a statement the case against d4vd will be reviewed by its Major Crimes Division, which will determine whether the available facts and evidence support criminal charges.
“At this time, additional information is not available,” the district attorney’s office said in the statement. “We will share an update on Monday once a filing decision has been made.”
Rivas’ family, who have largely remained private since the girl’s body was found, will be present at Monday’s news conference, their attorney said.
“The Rivas Hernandez family is committed to ensuring that Celeste’s voice is heard and her memory is honored throughout this process,” Patrick Steinfeld, the attorney for the family, said.
CNN’s Alaa Elassar, Matt Friedman and Scott Glover contributed to this report.
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