(NewsNation) — Singer D4vd has hired one of Hollywood’s most prominent defense attorneys as authorities probe how the body of a teen ended up in a vehicle registered to him.
D4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, has retained Blair Berk, who is known for handling complex criminal matters and high-profile media cases. Berk has previously represented Harvey Weinstein, Lindsay Lohan, Kanye West, Mel Gibson and Britney Spears, Los Angeles Magazine reports.
Most recently, Berk represented Monica Sementilli, who was sentenced to life in prison in June for the 2017 murder of her husband, celebrity hairstylist Fabio Sementilli.
LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 18: The attorney for actor Paul Reubens, Blair Berk (C) speaks to the media after an arraignment hearing for the actor at Los Angeles Arraignment Courts on December 18, 2002 in Los Angeles California. The actor is charged with a misdemeanor count of possession of child pornography. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) 
LAS VEGAS, NV – FEBRUARY 04: Recording artist Bruno Mars (R) confers with his attorney Blair Berk as he appears at the Clark County Regional Justice Center to waive his preliminary hearing on felony drug possession charges February 4, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mars, whose legal name is Peter Hernandez, was arrested last September at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino for possession of cocaine. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) 
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 28: Cee Lo Green (L), singer and coach on the television show ‘The Voice’, appears in court with his attorney Thomas O’Brien on March 28, 2014, in Los Angeles, California. Green has been accused of slipping ecstasy to a woman through her drink at dinner in a downtown L.A. restaurant. (Photo by Damian Dovarganes-Pool/Getty Images) 
LOS ANGELES, CA FEBRUARY 20: Former NFL safety Darren Sharper, with his attorney Blair Berk, pleads not guilty to charges of allegedly drugging and raping a pair of women he met at a West Hollywood nightclub, in a Los Angeles Superior courtroom February 20, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Sharper’s bail has been increased from $200,000 to $1 million. (Photo by Bob Chamberlin-Pool/Getty Images)
Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s remains found in D4vd’s Tesla
Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s remains were discovered inside a Tesla registered to Burke at a Hollywood tow yard on Sept. 8. She was reported missing in April 2024 when she was only 13 years old, authorities said.
It is still unclear how the teen died after the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner listed Rivas Hernandez’s cause of death as “deferred” and requested additional testing.
Without a confirmed manner of death, police are unable to make arrests, attorneys say. Once it’s deemed a homicide, police can dig deeper into potential suspects.
LAPD Captain and Commanding Officer Scot M. Williams has said there are still questions related to the teen’s death.
“We know for sure that Celeste Rivas Hernandez died and someone placed her body in the front trunk area of David Burke’s (d4vd’s legal name) Tesla,” he told People Magazine.
Celeste’s body was “likely” in Burke’s Tesla weeks before she was found, he told the outlet.
D4vd is not a suspect in Celeste Rivas Hernandez case
Burke’s home was thoroughly searched by the LAPD shortly after the body was found.
Questions have swirled about D4vd’s relationship with Rivas Hernandez, with some pointing to alleged matching tattoos, song titles and comments from friends.
Friends of the singer “frequently” saw the pair together and believed they “were romantically involved,” TMZ senior news reporter Charlie Neff told NewsNation in September.
D4vd was on tour when he was contacted by police, who told him a decomposing body was found in his car.
While police haven’t officially linked D4vd and the victim, a leaked D4vd song mentions Celeste multiple times, Latibeaudiere said.
The track, which leaked on Soundcloud in December 2023, was titled “Celeste_Demo unfin.”
The singer canceled the rest of his tour amid an investigation into Celeste’s death.
NewsNation’s Safia Samee Ali, Teddy Grant and Rob Taub contributed to this report.