D4vd’s Apple Music artist page appears to have been compromised over the weekend after a bogus track called I DID IT… briefly appeared on his profile, accompanied by cover art showing the same tow yard where Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s body was found.
Complex reported that the image used an aerial view of the Tesla registered to the artist, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, parked in the Hollywood impound lot with the trunk open. That is the same vehicle in which Hernandez’s dismembered remains were discovered last September.
The song has since been removed, but reports said it was designed to sound like D4vd and included lyrics that mentioned Hernandez directly.
The upload circulated quickly on social media, and some listeners initially took it as a real confession, even though Burke entered a not-guilty plea in April.
Burke remains in custody without bail in Los Angeles as a judge weighs whether there is enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial. He is facing charges of murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains.
TMZ reported that the chorus of the fake track referred to a girl with the singer’s name tattooed on her chest and said her smell still clung to his clothes like cigarette smoke.
Another lyric reportedly said he could hear her when he breathes, and suggested he feared she would only love him once he was dead.
Because of the imagery and the subject matter, some people were convinced the release was authentic before it emerged that the recording had been fabricated and posted without permission.
At the time of writing, the audio is no longer available on D4vd’s Apple Music page.
Following his arrest on July 16, his legal team denied that he killed the teenager.
They said: “Let us be clear, the actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez, and he was not the cause of her death,” Berk and fellow defense attorneys Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter said. “We will vigorously defend David’s innocence.”
Celeste Rivas Hernandez, 13, was reported missing by her family from Lake Elsinore, California. It was the third time she had been reported missing that year, and her parents never saw her again.
Investigators believe she was killed in the months before her body was found in Burke’s Tesla, and prosecutors have said the preliminary hearing is intended to show enough evidence to send the case to trial.
Prosecutors allege that D4vd ordered a shovel from Home Depot.
D4vd released his debut album Withered, which opened at No. 13 on the Billboard chart after selling 30,000 units in its first week. He told The Hollywood Reporter that 80 percent of the record was made on his phone and that he recorded vocals in his sister’s closet.
Prosecutors also claim he accepted delivery of two chainsaws.
D4vd then launched a world tour, beginning with a show in Del Mar, California.
Celeste’s badly decomposed body was later found in the front trunk of a Tesla connected to D4vd. His representatives said he was cooperating with investigators.
He still went ahead with a scheduled performance at The Fillmore Minneapolis while the investigation into Rivas’ death was ongoing.
Police later searched a rental home on Doheny Drive in Los Angeles where D4vd had been staying. Prosecutors subsequently told the court that presumptive traces of blood were discovered there.
Celeste’s relatives set up a fundraiser and shared a public statement that said: “As many of you know, Celeste Rivas Hernandez has been identified as the body found last week. She was a beloved daughter, sister, cousin, and friend. Her family is heartbroken and devastated by this tragic loss. Any funds you are able to donate are greatly appreciated.”
More than $24,000 was raised for the family.
D4vd later scrapped the remaining dates on his world tour, and a planned deluxe edition of his debut album was not released.
The Los Angeles medical examiner’s office was then ordered by the court not to release details of Celeste’s death publicly.
D4vd was arrested and held without bail.
At arraignment, he pleaded not guilty to every charge.
The autopsy report stated that Celeste died from multiple ‘penetrating injuries’. She suffered major wounds to her torso, believed to have been caused by a sharp object, and one of those injuries pierced her liver.
This week’s preliminary hearing in Los Angeles heard testimony about alleged blood evidence, DNA, and online purchases prosecutors say were tied to the case, and the four-day hearing was expected to wrap up around Friday before the judge decides whether Burke should stand trial.