The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday that it filed criminal charges against David “D4vd” Burke in the murder of Celeste Rivas, seven months after a body was found decomposing in the trunk of a vehicle reportedly owned by the 21-year-old musician. In a press conference, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said authorities were pursuing three charges against Burke, including first-degree murder and murdering a witness to an investigation.
D4vd is a pop singer whose work was popularized by video game and anime fandom. He began his career by making music for video game montages, once claiming that he gave rise to the concept of a “Fortnite artist.” He depicted himself as a blindfolded anime character in music videos, where he built a cinematic universe he once compared to Marvel. These music videos made references to popular franchises like Kingdom Hearts, and these associations allowed him to become prolific enough to be contracted to make his own video game-related media. D4vd’s tracks appeared on properties like Netflix’s League of Legends show Arcane, and in 2025 one of his tracks was deemed the official Fortnite anthem by Epic Games. Between being a presenter at the 2025 Crunchyroll Awards, a performance at The Game Awards 2024, and the appearance of Twitch stars like JasonTheWeen and Pokimane in his music videos, D4vd’s work was deeply enmeshed in nerd culture.
Hochman accused Burke of committing murder “for financial gain,” and specified that the witness was Celeste Rivas, who was a minor and in an alleged sexual relationship with Burke. Los Angeles Police Department chief of police Jim McDonnell said that the condition of Rivas’ body made it difficult for medical examiners to gather evidence, explaining the long window between Rivas’ body being discovered and the arrest of Burke. The DA said that a “thorough” and “rigorous” investigation was done of digital and forensic evidence to determine the charges. A coroner’s report will be released to the public sometime soon, the DA said.
In late September 2025, the remains of a teenage girl, Celeste Rivas, were discovered in a Tesla registered to Burke; at the time, Rivas, 13, had been reported as missing for over a year. A medical examiner determined that Rivas’ body was inside the vehicle for an “extended period of time,” according to the New York Times. The car was towed into an impound lot in Los Angeles following a complaint of a foul odor emanating from the apparently abandoned car. Previously, the two were spotted together at D4vd’s concerts as well as in a Twitch live stream. A TMZ report claimed that Burke and Rivas were dating and had matching tattoos. The case and its gruesome nature have attracted much media attention, in part due to speculation that the singer’s work referenced his alleged crimes through somber lyrics and dark anime imagery.
As reported by CNN, Burke’s attorneys say that case evidence will prove that the singer was “not the cause of her death,” and that they are prepared to “vigorously defend David’s innocence.”
Burke is currently being held in custody without bail. Following Burke’s arrest on Thursday, Celeste’s father, Jesus Rivas, told the New York Times, “Thank God … justice for Celeste.”
In 2024, Epic Games released D4vd-themed emotes and jam tracks for Fortnite that are still present in the game, but have not been put back on sale since the discovery of Rivas’ body. Epic Games did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
