D.A. Nathan Hochman (00:10):
Good morning. My name is Nathan Hochman. I'm the District Attorney of Los Angeles County. With me up here is Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell. Also at this podium on the DA side are the Assistant District Attorney Maria Ramirez, who oversees our special operations. We have John McKinney, who is our Director of Specialized Prosecutions. The Assistant Head Deputy District Attorney is Habib Balian of the Major Crimes Division. Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman of the Major Crimes Division will be the lead prosecutor on this case. From the Los Angeles Police Department, we also have Captain Scott Williams, who's the commanding officer of LAPD's Robbery Homicide Division, the Chief of Detectives, Alan Hamilton, the Director of Specialized Prosecutions, Mike Rimkunas, and the LAPD detectives on this case, Josh Byers and Corey Farrell.
(01:11)
Today, I am announcing the charges against David Anthony Burke, the musician known as D4vd, spelled D-4-V-D, in connection with the brutal and horrific murder of Celeste, a 14-year-old at that time. These charges include the most serious charges that a DA's office can bring, that is first-degree murder with special circumstances, the special circumstances being lying in weight, committing this crime for financial gain, or murdering a witness in an investigation. These special circumstances carry with it along with the first-degree murder charge a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. The determination on whether or not the District Attorney's Office will seek the death penalty will be made at a later time.
(02:09)
Before I get into the actual charges, and there are additional charges against Mr. Burke, including continuous sexual acts, lewd and lascivious sexual acts with an individual under 14 years old and mutilating a human remains of a body, before I get into the description of these charges and their seriousness, I want to look at this as a parent. I am a parent of three children, and a parent's nightmare is a situation where your daughter goes out one night and never comes back. As we will show in a court of law, and what I also want to make sure about that the understanding of these charges is clear, is my description of these charges is not evidence that we are going to present in court. These charges in fact will not be evidence in the court. Evidence will be the witness testimony, the documents, and different types of admissible testimony that we will admit into court in the prosecution and, if it leads to the eventual trial of Mr. Burke, to convince a jury of 12 people beyond a reasonable doubt that each and every one of these charges is true, as well as the special allegations and circumstances that have been alleged.
(03:35)
Now, back to this being a parent's nightmare. On April 23rd, 2025, as been alleged by the complaint, Celeste, a 14-year-old at that time, went to Mr. Burke's house in the Hollywood Hills. She was never heard from again. On September 8th, 2025, as alleged in the complaint, Mr. Burke, excuse me, Ms. Celeste's remains, her dismembered and decomposed remains were found in two bags inside of a front trunk of a car registered to Mr. Burke. Thereafter began an investigation. The investigation was to determine who killed, who murdered Celeste months and months before. That investigation was carried out in unison and in partnership between the LAPD's Robbery Homicide Division and the District Attorney's Office. At every point in the investigation, through the arrest and the filing of charges, the LAPD and the District Attorney's Office have worked in lockstep. There's been no disagreements amongst these entities in deciding how to proceed with this case, ultimately leading to these charges today.
(05:03)
So what you have as well with these charges is that, again, there are three sets of charges that have been brought. The first-degree murder with special circumstances, and again, those special circumstances are lying in wait, that Celeste went to Mr. Burke's home on the night of April 23rd, 2025, as alleged in the complaint at his invitation, and again, was not heard from again. The second is a special circumstance being that this murder was committed for financial gain. As the evidence will show in court, the financial gain was for Mr. Burke to maintain his very lucrative musical career that Celeste was threatening on that particular night. The third charge, in addition to lying in wait and for financial gain, is murdering a witness to an investigation. In this particular case, as the evidence will come out in court, the witness to the investigation was Celeste, and the investigation was into the lewd and lascivious sexual acts committed by Mr. Burke that is the subject of count two of this complaint with Celeste while she was under 14 years old.
(06:31)
I had the chance to meet with some of the family members of Celeste, and their grief is uncalculable as to what happened to their daughter. What they have demanded, what we have assured them that the District Attorney's Office working with LAPD would give them is the proof beyond a reasonable doubt on who killed their daughter, on how their daughter was killed, when their daughter was killed, and bring that killer to justice. That killer that we have now charged is David Anthony Burke. We will have questions after I speak and Chief McDonnell speaks. At this point, I invite Chief McDonnell to speak.
Chief Jim McDonnell (07:24):
Thank you very much. Good morning and thank you all for being here. I want to begin by expressing my deepest condolences to the parents of Celeste Rivas. No parent or any human being should have to endure what you've gone through. Today, alongside DA Hochman and our partners at the LA County District Attorney's Office, and thanks to the tireless and hard work of our investigators at the LAPD, we're announcing the arrest and prosecution of David Burke for the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas.
(07:56)
Throughout the seven-month investigation, this department has faced criticism for how we handled the case and for our decision not to provide details. I want to be clear about something. My duty is not to fuel speculation. It's to deliver justice, and that requires patience and discipline on everybody's part. This investigation was driven by a single purpose: to secure justice for Celeste Rivas and for those who loved her. We had to be certain that nothing we did or said would ever jeopardize this case.
(08:32)
Ms. Rivas was a reported runaway from Riverside County. During the course of our investigation, detectives learned that she had been involved in a sexual relationship with Mr. Burke when she was a minor and he was an adult. On April 23rd, 2025, Ms. Rivas arrived at Mr. Burke's home in the Hollywood Hills. That's the last time she was known to be alive. On September 8th, 2025, Ms. Rivas's dismembered and badly decomposed body was discovered in the front trunk of Mr. Burke's impounded Tesla. From that moment forward, our investigators faced an extraordinary, difficult and complex case. The condition of her remains delayed the medical examiner's ability to be able to determine cause of death. The substantial amount of time that passed between her death and the discovery meant that crucial evidence had degraded or disappeared.
(09:30)
As detectives worked to uncover the truth, they also had to sift through and debunk a great deal of false information circulating publicly. These challenges were real, and they required patience, precision and an unwavering commitment to the facts. Despite these obstacles and despite intense public pressure, our Robbery Homicide Division detectives remained steadfast in their duties. They recovered and analyzed a substantial amount of digital and forensic evidence. They stayed focused, disciplined and committed to uncovering the truth. Their work in close collaboration with the District Attorney's Office has brought us to this moment today.
(10:14)
I want to thank the District Attorney and his team as always for their partnership. This case demanded coordination, persistence and a shared commitment to justice. Also, thank you to our media partners for showing up today and for sharing this important message with the public. Finally, to Ms. Rivas's family, we cannot undo the pain you are feeling. Our hope is that today brings some measure of accountability and a step in the journey toward healing. Please know that the Los Angeles Police Department remains fully committed to seeking justice on behalf of your daughter. Thank you.
D.A. Nathan Hochman (10:54):
At this point, we'll take questions.
Media (10:56):
Anything more you can tell us about the fact that she was a witness in a pending investigation, that she reported the abuse? Who was doing an investigation on [inaudible 00:11:04]?
D.A. Nathan Hochman (11:03):
The details of the allegations that have made, particularly with that special circumstance, will be produced in court.
Media (11:11):
Did you determine cause of death and the difficulty it was to determine both the manner and cause and date?
D.A. Nathan Hochman (11:16):
With respect to the coroner's report, we will be seeking quite quickly to provide an order to the court that now allows the coroner to release that report to the public.
Media (11:27):
Do you believe that he act-
(11:28)
Mr. Hochman, [inaudible 00:11:29] from the BBC. Between the finding of the body of Celeste's body or her remains, why has it taken so long for an arrest to be made?
D.A. Nathan Hochman (11:39):
I think the Police Chief got it right, that in a situation where you don't have an eyewitness account, or we can't point to a video that shows the killer killing someone, you have to go through the very rigorous and thorough investigation to look at all the digital and forensic evidence, you have to speak with witnesses often who are cooperative, and some who are not cooperative, in order to obtain all the information necessary to decide who did what, when, how, and what their mental state was at the time. That is what we've been doing over the last, between September 8th, roughly, and today when we bring these charges on April 20th.
(12:19)
Again, it's a type of case that you want to make sure you get maximum information. By the way, if there's anyone out there that has material information about this particular murder or any other actions taken by Mr. Burke, please, come forward to the Los Angeles Police Department, come forward to the LA County DA's Office and report that information.
Media (12:44):
Mr. Hochman, there are other people who were aware of this relationship. Is it possible that you will be arresting other people within his circle, and did he act alone in this death?
D.A. Nathan Hochman (12:55):
Again, with respect to whether or not there's any other individuals or are going to take any other actions, you will know about them if we do, but at this point I'm not commenting.
Media (13:03):
Do you believe that you know how she was killed beyond it being homicide? The actual cause of death.
D.A. Nathan Hochman (13:09):
The coroner's report will be released shortly. Because it is not currently released, I'm not going to be commenting.
Media (13:16):
But was it determined, not that... if you won't say what it was, but has it been determined how she was killed beyond it being homicide?
D.A. Nathan Hochman (13:22):
The coroner has made a determination on how Celeste died, and at the point that the coroner's report becomes public, we'll be able to comment on.
Media (13:33):
Was there a specific breakthrough last week? Is there physical evidence that ties D4vd to this murder?
D.A. Nathan Hochman (13:38):
There is physical evidence and there is forensic and digital evidence that we intend to present in court to prove these charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
Media (13:49):
Within your investigation, and just to his question, are you able to tell us exactly what the smoking gun is? Also, if you can address the issue of this visit to Santa Barbara, and how does it connect with the murder?
D.A. Nathan Hochman (14:04):
With respect to the actual details of the evidence we're going to be presenting in court, I'm not going to do that today. As far as the concept of a smoking gun, the smoking gun is the totality of the evidence that we're going to bring to prove any case, whether it's this case or any case, beyond a reasonable doubt.
Media (14:23):
Is there any evidence that he abused other underage girls as part of the investigation?
D.A. Nathan Hochman (14:27):
An investigation is ongoing. If information comes forward with respect to any additional crimes, we will certainly investigate it.
Moderator (14:38):
One more question. One more.
Media (14:39):
There's been so much discussion about the difficulties in this case. The Chief talked about it as well. What makes you confident you can prove these allegations?
D.A. Nathan Hochman (14:46):
What makes us confident is the totality of the evidence that has been obtained by the LAPD Robbery Homicide, by the work that the District Attorney's Office has done that has led us to the point where we believe we can prove each and every one of these three charges and the special circumstances and the special allegation beyond a reasonable doubt.