D4vd, born David Anthony Burke on March 28, 2005, in Queens, New York City, is an American singer-songwriter who emerged as one of the most commercially successful young artists of the early 2020s before his career was upended by criminal charges. Raised in Houston, Texas, Burke first began composing music in 2021 as background scores for his Fortnite gameplay montages, a hobby that unexpectedly evolved into a professional recording career.
His breakthrough arrived in 2022 with the singles "Romantic Homicide" and "Here with Me," both of which achieved multi-platinum certifications and established him as a rising force in alternative and bedroom-pop music. He followed this success in 2023 with two EPs, Petals to Thorns and The Lost Petals, the former of which charted in six countries and solidified his international audience. In 2025, he released his only studio album, Withered, which peaked at number 13 on the US Billboard 200, marking the commercial high point of his recording career.
In September 2025, authorities discovered the dismembered body of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez inside a vehicle registered to Burke. Following her identification, his ongoing concert tour and a planned deluxe reissue of Withered were both canceled. On April 16, 2026, Burke was arrested on suspicion of murdering Rivas and was subsequently held without bail. Four days later, on April 20, 2026, he was formally charged with first-degree murder with special circumstances, lewd and lascivious acts with an individual under 14, and mutilating a body. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and remains in custody as the case proceeds through the legal system.