Who is d4vd and why has US singer been arrested?
US singer d4vd arrested after body of Celeste Rivas Hernandez found amid Los Angeles Police Department investigation.
US singer d4vd has been arrested on suspicion of murder in Los Angeles as police moved forward with their long-running investigation into a child's death.
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Los Angeles Police Department officers cuffed the 21-year-old on Thursday after the same force found the remains of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, a missing teenage girl, in his impounded Tesla car on September 8.
Celeste had been the subject of a long-term missing person appeal and was last seen alive in April 2024 when she was 13.
Read also: Dismembered body found in singer D4vd's Tesla identified as missing girl last seen a year ago
Read also: Decomposing body found in boot of singer D4vd's impounded Tesla after passer-by reports 'foul smell'
Police were contacted after passers-by noticed a “foul smell” coming from the electric car, and body parts were reportedly found in a plastic bag in the front boot.
The car has a Texas license plate and is registered to d4vd - but had not been reported stolen - while the parts of the body found were said to be a head and a torso.
A cause of death has not yet been determined, and it appears Celeste had been dead for an extended period of time.
Officers then raided d4vd’s Hollywood Hills home on September 17 and took several pieces of evidence, including a computer.
They arrested him on Thursday, April 16.
Here is the story so far.
Who is d4vd?
Born David Anthony Burke in New York in 2005, d4vd grew up in Houston, Texas, and found an unlikely exposure by recording music for his videos of the game Fortnite to avoid copyright.
His mainstream breakthrough came when his 2022 song Romantic Homicide went viral on TikTok and earned him a number 22 hit in the UK. On the back of this, he released the EP Petals to Thorns.
The 20-year-old, whose stage name is pronounced ‘David’, performs music of a blend of styles, taking in alternative pop, rock, indie and R&B.
His debut album Withered received positive reviews from critics when it was released in April and it charted at 39 in the UK.
The singer had been in the middle of his Withered World Tour last autumn when the news broke and had dates in Manchester, Glasgow, Bristol, and London in October, but these have been cancelled.
d4vd has also lost endorsement deals with Crocs and Hollister.
Has d4vd been charged?
Police have said the discovery of the body is being investigated as a homicide - which by a British definition could mean a murder or a manslaughter.
dv4d has not been charged and has been cooperating with law enforcement, police have said, and has not commented on the matter but did share on Instagram that he has started media training.
The investigation continues.
