On Sept. 8, 2025, singer David Anthony Burke, known professionally as “d4vd”, was nearing the end of the North American leg of his “Withered” tour. He was scheduled to perform in Minneapolis the following day when police were called to an impounded lot in Hollywood after reports of a foul odor coming from a Tesla registered in Burke’s name. Inside, authorities discovered the remains of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
The teenager had been reported missing the previous year. Two days after the vehicle was towed, her body was discovered in the trunk of the Tesla. Authorities have not yet classified the case as a homicide, as the cause of death remains undetermined. The investigation is currently being led by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division. Burke has yet to become a suspect nor has publicly commented on the subject.
Burke first gained popularity on TikTok, where he has since gained a following of four million. Known for his pop-alternative, R&B, and indie sound, he rose to fame with hit songs such as “Romantic Homicide” and “Here With Me.” His “Withered” tour was originally scheduled to run through Nov. 4, 2025 but, following the discovery of Hernandez’s body, Burke has canceled the remaining dates and sources say he is cooperating with police; little information about exact details have yet to be released. His record label has also pulled promotion for his music and he was dropped from various sponsorships.
Fans have begun scrutinizing Burke’s lyrics, visuals and music videos in light of recent events. In the video for “One More Dance,” Burke is blindfolded and is shown standing beside a vehicle as two figures place a body into the trunk, while he appears covered in blood. In another track, “Romantic Homicide,” he sings, “In the back of my mind, you died, and I didn’t even regret it.”
In a resurfaced interview, Burke explained that he based some of his songs on a manga he created, about a detective with a murderous alter ego who commits the same crimes the detective has to solve.
Alongside his released work, Burke has an unreleased track titled “Celeste”—a deeply personal narrative about a failed friendship. In Sept. 2025, speculation intensified when rumors connected the song’s title to the ongoing investigation into Hernandez, raising questions about whether the music and real-life events were intertwined. The song was leaked in Dec. 2023, months before Celeste disappeared. The song expresses obsession with a girl named, you guessed it, Celeste.
According to reports, Celeste’s mother told TMZ that her daughter had been dating someone named “David.” On top of this, Hernandez was 15 and Burke is 20. Not only is this deeply disturbing on its own, but the teen had multiple fake ID’s to be able to attend age-restricted events with the singer. Friends of Burke claimed they believed Hernandez was an adult college student.
Burke and Hernandez were also discovered to have the same matching tattoos on their right index finger. The tattoo reads: “Shhh…”
With the investigation still underway, the overlap between Burke’s musical themes and the disturbing discovery has fueled both speculation and unease. Whether “Romantic Homicide” is merely an unsettling coincidence or a clue to something more remains unclear. For now, the unanswered questions surrounding Burke ensure that his story is far from over.
