The singer known as d4vd is charged with murder. A 14-year-old girl is dead. He sits in a Los Angeles jail. He has no bail.

His legal name is David Anthony Burke. He is 21.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office filed the case on April 20, 2026. Police had arrested him four days before that, on April 16.

He faces three counts. The first is murder. The second is continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14. The third is unlawful mutilation of human remains.

Burke pleaded not guilty. He denies all of it.

What the charges can mean

The murder count carries what the law calls special circumstances. The district attorney listed three. They are murder of a witness, murder for money, and lying in wait. There is also a claim that he used a sharp weapon.

Special circumstances change the punishment. If a jury finds him guilty, only two results are left. One is death. The other is life in prison with no chance of parole.

The child sex abuse count is a felony on its own. State law sets the term at 6, 12, or 16 years in state prison.

The last count is a felony too. State law makes it a crime to mutilate human remains.

The district attorney has not said if he will ask for the death penalty. He said that choice has not been made yet.

How the girl was found

The girl was reported missing in February 2024. Her family lived in Lake Elsinore. That report went to the Riverside County Sheriff's Office. She was reported missing again in April 2024.

She was not found for more than a year and a half.

On September 8, 2025, a Tesla was towed in Los Angeles. The car was registered to Burke. It had been left on a street in the Hollywood Hills. Her body was in the front trunk.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner named her on September 16, 2025. Dental records made the match.

The medical examiner ruled a cause of death. The wording is multiple penetrating injuries caused by objects. The manner of death is homicide. That means someone else killed her.

What the public record shows

Police searched Burke's home on September 17, 2025. Detectives said they found blood in the garage. Tests matched it to the girl.

Police also gathered about 40 terabytes of data. That is a huge pile of phone and computer records.

Prosecutors laid out more in court papers. They point to messages, to security video, and to things bought online under a fake name.

A judge held a hearing in July 2026. It ran five days. Prosecutors called 12 witnesses. On July 27, the judge ruled the case can go to trial.

The district attorney said Burke killed the girl to protect his music career. Burke's side denies the charges.

Why we are not naming her

El Tejano is not printing the girl's name. She was 14. Our rule is short. We do not name children. We do not name people in sex crime cases.

Her name is in the court file. It is in headlines across the country. We still will not print it. A dead child is not content.

Where the case stands

Burke has been in jail since the day of his arrest. He still has no bail.

He was back in court on August 31, 2026. His private lawyers stepped away. A public defender took over. He pleaded not guilty again.

The next court date is October 19, 2026. The lawyers will say if they are ready for trial. Trial would then start within 90 days.

Everyone is presumed innocent until proved otherwise.