Seven months after the decomposed body of a 14-year-old was found in the trunk of a car in the US metropolis of Los Angeles, police have arrested musician D4vd.
April 17, 2026, 07:22April 18, 2026, 10:09
According to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) on Thursday (local time), the 21-year-old is suspected of murder. He is being held without the possibility of bail, the police said on the X platform.
US singer D4vd was arrested.Image: keystone
According to consistent media reports, the car was registered to David Burke, the singer’s real name, and was parked in a public space for weeks. D4vd became internationally known with the songs “Romantic Homicide” and “Here with Me,” which went viral on Tiktok and were streamed billions of times. In 2025 he also provided the anthem for the video game “Fortnite”.
The police also said the case would be presented to the public prosecutor on Monday for consideration of charges. Further details about the investigation or evidence were initially not known, as the New York Times reported.
Body parts discovered at tow yard
The case had already caused a stir in September 2025: Employees at a tow yard in Hollywood alerted the police because of a noticeable putrid smell. In the seized vehicle, which had previously been reported abandoned, investigators found body parts in black bags in the trunk.
As NBC News reported, citing court documents, the body was in a severely decomposed state and had probably been in the vehicle for a long time. The girl from Lake Elsinore, around 110 kilometers southeast of Los Angeles, had been missing since April 2024.
The singer had already come into the focus of investigators, and a grand jury investigation followed. According to consistent media reports, his lawyers have now rejected the allegations. The actual evidence showed that Burke did not murder the girl and “was not the cause of her death,” it said. There have been no charges or formal complaints so far; Burke was merely arrested on suspicion. His innocence will be “strongly defended”. (dab/sda/dpa)