What to know about singer D4vd's arrest in 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez's killing

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Seven months after a 14-year-old girl’s body was found in D4vd’s towed SUV, the alt-pop singer has been arrested on suspicion of killing her, authorities said.

Detectives arrested the 21-year-old, whose legal name is David Burke, on Thursday on suspicion of murder in the investigation of the killing of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, Los Angeles police said. Authorities had not publicly named Burke as a suspect until his arrest. Investigators are expected to present a case to prosecutors on Monday, police said. Burke’s lawyers have declared his innocence.

Here are a few things to know about the case:

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that it is aware of the arrest and its Major Crimes Division will review the case to determine whether there is enough evidence to file charges.

Defense attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter stressed that Burke has only been detained under suspicion, no indictment had been returned and no criminal complaint has been 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,” the defense lawyers said. “We will vigorously defend David’s innocence.”

The seventh grader’s family reported her missing in 2024 from her hometown of Lake Elsinore, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles. Her long-dead body was found in an apparently abandoned Tesla Model Y towed from an upscale Hollywood Hills neighborhood on Sept. 8, a day after she would have turned 15. Authorities give her age as 14 when she was killed in court documents.

Police investigators searching the Tesla in a tow yard found a cadaver bag “covered with insects and a strong odor of decay,” court documents said, and “detectives partially unzipped the bag and observed a decomposed head and torso.” Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office investigators “discovered the arms and legs had been severed from the body,” according to court documents. Dismembered body parts were found inside a second black bag beneath the first. No cause of death has been publicly revealed.

Police in November had blocked the coroner’s office from publicly releasing the autopsy’s findings.

D4vd, pronounced “David,” went viral on TikTok in 2022 with the hit “Romantic Homicide,” which peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. After signing with Darkroom and Interscope Records D4vd released his debut EP “Petals to Thorns” and a follow-up, “The Lost Petals,” in 2023.

D4vd said in an interview last year that he was homeschooled after moving from New York to Texas at age 8 and while he appreciates art from Houston and New York, his artistry was shaped more by the internet.

“I was such an internet kid. The internet is really what I claim as my home,” he said, explaining that he was online everyday, doing schoolwork, making songs and videos and posting on social media. “My neighborhood was Instagram and the society was the internet.”

When Rivas Hernandez’s body was found, D4vd was on tour supporting his first full-length album, “Withered,” and “Locked & Loaded,” Fortnite’s first official anthem, which he partnered with Epic Games on, had just been released. The last two North American shows of the tour, in San Francisco and Los Angeles, along with a scheduled performance at LA’s Grammy Museum, were canceled, as was the European tour that was to have begun in Norway.

The singer had been under investigation by an Los Angeles County grand jury looking into the death of Rivas Hernandez. The probe's existence — and the designation of D4vd as its target — was revealed when his mother, father and brother filed an objection in a Texas court to subpoenas demanding they testify. The Associated Press obtained documents in the case in February that had been sealed in California, where the grand jury investigation had been kept secret. The 2023 Tesla Model Y was registered in the singer’s name at the Texas address of his subpoenaed family members, according to court filings from prosecutors.

The status of the grand jury investigation wasn’t immediately clear but Burke’s attorneys noted no indictment has been returned.

FILE - American singer-songwriter, David Anthony Burke, aka D4vd, performs on the Casino stage during the 58th Montreux Jazz Festival (MJF), in Montreux, Switzerland, July 19, 2024. (Cyril Zingaro/Keystone via AP, File)

Patients and colleagues are remembering Dr. Cerina Fairfax as a devoted mother, a caring dentist and the rock at the center of her family, after police say she was killed by her estranged husband, former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax.

Police found both dead in their home in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Annandale, Virginia, early Thursday. They believe Justin Fairfax fatally shot his wife and then killed himself. They were going through a divorce and Justin Fairfax had been ordered by a judge to move out of the house by the end of the month.

Cerina Fairfax, 49, ran a thriving family dentistry practice in the nearby city of Fairfax. A profile page on its website described her as an avid reader who liked to travel, practice yoga, go on trail runs with her Vizsla-breed dogs and “spend time with her wonderful family.”

EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org

Virginia Rep. Jennifer McClellan, who knew Fairfax through her husband's campaign and the time he spent in office, said their two teenaged children were “the people she cherished most.”

“Cerina Fairfax was a loving and dedicated mother and the rock at the center of her large family," McClellan wrote in a statement.

Terron Sims II, a friend and patient, remembered her as a quiet and caring friend, whose dentistry was more than a profession.

“It was an expression of love and compassion,” Sims told WUSA-TV. “It was her way of service to others.”

Fairfax was recognized in 2015 as the Outstanding Graduate of the Last Decade by the Virginia Commonwealth School of Dentistry. Dr. Jeffrey Johnson, the interim dean of the dental school, wrote that her loss is deeply felt by many who knew her.

“As a clinician and alumna, Dr. Fairfax embodied the ideals of our profession — dedication to her patients, commitment to growth, and a deep sense of purpose in her work each day," Johnson wrote. "I know she was a mentor, role model, and friend to many in our school.”

Leaders in the state’s dental community also praised her accomplishments and commitment to patients.

“In addition to being a beloved practitioner in her community, Dr. Fairfax loved giving back through volunteer work and contributions to local charities focused on helping those in need,” said Ryan Dunn, CEO of the Virginia Dental Association, in a statement. “As we remember Dr. Fairfax, we honor the impact she made and the connections she helped build within the VDA and her community.”

Cerina and Justin Fairfax met as undergraduates at Duke University and married in 2006.

Justin Fairfax unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for attorney general in 2013, then won the race for lieutenant governor in 2017. He was considered a rising star in the Democratic Party until two women came forward accusing him of sexually assaulting them years earlier, before he and Cerina were married. He left office at the end of his term in 2022, following an unsuccessful run for governor.

Cerina Fairfax said in court filings that they separated nearly two years ago. But they were still living in the same house with their children, who police said were both home at the time of their deaths.

The judge overseeing the divorce had told Justin Fairfax to move out by the end of April, writing “it is clear tensions in the Fairfax home have been extremely high for an extended period of time.”

Amy Spain, Cerina Fairfax’s attorney, said her client’s death “leaves an immeasurable void in the lives of all who knew and loved her.”

“Above all else, Cerina was a devoted mother to her beautiful children, who were the very center of her world,” Spain said. “She embodied the true meaning of motherhood through her unconditional and unwavering devotion to her children, providing a constant source of love, protection, and guidance.”

Associated Press writer John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia, contributed to this report.

FILE - Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, right, and his wife, Cerina, at the inauguration of Gov. Ralph Northam at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Saturday, Sept. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Kevin Morley, File)