Singer D4vd Charged With Murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez

The singer known as D4vd was charged on Monday with the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, a missing teenage girl whose severely decomposed body was found in the trunk of his Tesla last fall.

Nathan J. Hochman, the Los Angeles County district attorney, said at a news conference that D4vd, whose real name is David Burke, had been charged with first-degree murder with the special circumstances of lying in wait, committing the crime for financial gain and murdering a witness to an investigation.

Mr. Burke pleaded not guilty at an arraignment on Monday afternoon. He was ordered held without bail, and a preliminary hearing was set for Thursday.

Because of the special circumstances, the charge carries a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole, or the death penalty. Mr. Hochman said his office had not decided whether to pursue the death penalty.

The criminal complaint filed by prosecutors includes the allegation that Mr. Burke “personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon, a sharp instrument” to commit the murder, Mr. Hochman’s office said in a statement on Monday afternoon.

Mr. Burke, 21, was also charged with the continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14 and with the unlawful mutilation of human remains.