The musician known as D4vd was arrested in connection with the death of a missing teenage girl whose severely decomposed body was found in the trunk of his Tesla, the authorities said on Thursday.
The police did not immediately offer details about the findings of their investigation or say what evidence led them to arrest D4vd, whose real name is David Burke. In a statement, they said that Mr. Burke was being held without bail and that the case would be presented to prosecutors on Monday.
The case, both tragic and lurid, has captivated the public since the authorities announced in September that they had discovered human remains in a car registered to Mr. Burke. Officials said the car had been left on a public street for weeks before it was towed to an impound lot in Los Angeles. It had not been reported stolen.
The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office identified the remains as those of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who was 13 in 2024 when she was reported missing from her home in Lake Elsinore, Calif., about 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Her body was found on Sept. 8, a day after what would have been her 15th birthday.
Repeated efforts to reach Ms. Rivas Hernandez’s family members have been unsuccessful.
Mr. Burke, 21, has millions of followers on social media and music platforms and created the anthem for Fortnite. His major-label debut, “Withered,” was released last year, and he got an opening slot on SZA’s SOS Tour.
He had begun a North American tour on Aug. 5 and had several performances in the Midwest the week his car was towed. After Ms. Rivas Hernandez’s body was found, several remaining concerts were canceled.
The police have said they have evidence showing that Mr. Burke traveled north to the Santa Barbara area sometime in the spring of 2025, but they have not provided additional details about the trip or said why it could be relevant to their investigation.
The Los Angeles Police Department initially said it was unclear “whether there is any criminal culpability” in the case “beyond the concealment of her body,” in part because the medical examiner’s office had not determined the cause or manner of Ms. Rivas Hernandez’s death. (The medical examiner’s office said she was 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighed 71 pounds, had wavy black hair and was wearing a tube top and small black leggings.)
But on Nov. 24 the medical examiner’s office said it had been barred from publicly releasing information about the case after the Los Angeles police got a court order to place a “security hold” on it. “No records or details associated with the case, including the cause and manner of death and medical examiner report, can be released” until further notice, the office said in a statement.
The move was criticized by the chief medical examiner, Dr. Odey C. Ukpo, who said in a statement that he had “worked on eradicating the practice of placing security holds on medical examiner cases simply by law enforcement request.” Police officials said they sought the hold to make sure investigators received details about the case before the public.
Michael Levenson and Rylee Kirk contributed reporting. Alain Delaquérière contributed research.
Matt Stevens is a Times reporter who writes about arts and culture from Los Angeles.
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