Handwritten jailhouse letters allegedly sent by D4vd to a fellow inmate have surfaced, showing the singer backing out of a promised bail payment.
David Anthony Burke, 20, who records as D4vd, is being held without bail in Los Angeles ahead of trial in the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Her body was found last September in the trunk of a Tesla registered to Burke. The singer had been on his debut tour when the discovery was made.
The letters, addressed to an inmate identified as “Tony,” were shared. Tony reportedly served as a trustee in the jail facility, handling food service, and had befriended Burke during their time inside.
Burke had initially agreed to help Tony post $1,000 bail for a family emergency, according to the report. His lawyers later intervened.
“Tony, My boy!!! Ugh I feel terrible about leaving you hanging like that, bro,” Burke allegedly wrote in one letter. “My lawyers pushed my meeting back from Friday to that following monday that just passed, and told me that im unable to help you in the way that I want to at this time.”
He continued: “I’m so sorry bro I was so excited about it and I know you’re going through an intense time right now too I apologize x10000 for not being able to follow through.”
The note carried a religious tone throughout. “I am continually praying for you and your family. God will make a way, I know He will,” Burke added. “I pray that if Im not the one to fulfill the blessing for you that He opens another door metaphorically AND physically for you to get out of here.”
A second letter focused entirely on gratitude and prayer, with no mention of the bail situation. “I just wanted to say thank you for looking out for me in here. God has worked through you in ways you may not even be aware of,” Burke wrote. “When you get back out there continue to be a light to all those around you.”
He cited scripture — Isaiah 41:10 and Philippians 4:13 — and offered prayers for Tony’s mother and brother. “When I say im praying for you I dont just say it but I actually do pray,” the letter stated.
Burke urged Tony to encourage his brother, who had apparently survived a difficult situation. “Let your brother know how much of a miracle it is that he’s still here and let him know how much he’s loved. Gods not done with him yet, his story did not end on that hill,” he wrote.
The singer closed with a casual sign-off: “God bless you always Anthony. Thank you for your kindness! Aye Aye-eyo – David.”
The correspondence offers a glimpse into Burke’s daily reality behind bars, where he has reportedly leaned heavily on faith and the small network of inmates around him.
Celeste Rivas Hernandez first went missing from Lake Elsinore, California, in April 2024, five months before her body was discovered. She was 14 years old. Her mother told investigators that her daughter had a boyfriend named David around the time she vanished, though no formal connection to Burke was established in the source material. The case took on an additional layer of public fascination when fans unearthed an old unreleased SoundCloud track titled “Celeste_Demo unfin,” which had surfaced years earlier. The now-deleted song included lyrics referencing a girl named Celeste with the singer’s name tattooed on her chest, smelling her on his clothes like cigarettes, and being obsessed with her voice.
Burke’s trial date has not been set.