Los Angeles prosecutors indicated in a lawsuit that they plan to present a massive amount of evidence proving that singer-songwriter D4vd is guilty of first-degree murder, sexual assault and dismemberment in the horrific 2025 murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
Prosecutors with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office have been investigating the Inland Empire teen’s death for months. On April 16, the 21-year-old singer, whose real name is David Burke, was arrested. The dismembered and decomposed remains of the missing girl were discovered inside a suitcase stored in an abandoned Tesla at a Los Angeles detention facility. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts on a person under 14, and mutilation of a corpse.
Starting May 26, prosecutors will present their findings in a public hearing expected to last five days, and what will feel like an intense trial. Once the hearing is over, the judge will decide whether the case against the 21-year-old singer will proceed to trial.
Burke achieved early fame online as a teenager after sharing home-recorded music tracks that went viral on TikTok, indicating a promising future in the music business. But his status as a rising star vanished in an instant when Hernandez’s body was found months after she disappeared. The D4vd tour continued for a few dates after the discovery, but was canceled after it was widely reported that it may have been connected to her death.
The prosecutor’s office said evidence — including text messages from their phones, an autopsy report and other materials — shows Burke began sexually abusing Hernandez when she was 13 and he was 18. Their relationship continued until her murder on April 25, 2025; The filing states that Burke’s phone contained images of child sexual abuse.
The relationship quickly deteriorated when she expressed jealousy over Burke’s involvement with other girls and threatened to expose them, prosecutors said.
“Knowing that he had to silence the victim before she would destroy his music career as she threatened to do, very soon after she arrived at his home, the defendant stabbed the victim to death multiple times and stood by while she bled,” the lawsuit states.
Burke then took what prosecutors described as “horrific measures” to destroy and dispose of the victim’s body, purchasing two hacksaws and cutting her into an inflatable pool weeks later, on May 5, 2025, inside the garage of the Hollywood Hills home where she was killed. DNA evidence was later discovered in the garage, according to the filing. Burke headed to Santa Barbara County to dispose of evidence and returned on April 24, 2025; Hernandez’s passport was found there in January. After returning to Los Angeles, he participated in a radio interview to promote his album witheredwhich was about to be released.
Hernandez had been missing for nearly 18 months before her body was discovered at Hollywood Tow on September 8. Her mother identified her after the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner noticed a tattoo on her right index finger that read “Shhh…”. Her body was found cut into pieces in two suitcases in the trunk of a Tesla SUV registered to Burke at a Houston, Texas, address, which was his parents’ home.
The Los Angeles medical examiner’s report on Hernandez was kept secret for months at the request of the LAPD, but was unsealed this week by a judge in response to a request from prosecutors. The examination revealed “two penetrating wounds in the torso with smooth edges that may represent injuries resulting from blunt force.” The report stated that the blade penetrated the girl’s liver and ribs.
Hernandez’s parents, who lived with her in Lake Elsinore, California, about 70 miles from Los Angeles, spoke publicly for the first time since their daughter’s disappearance. Hernandez was first reported missing in 2024 and stopped contacting her parents as she spent her time with Burke, traveling with him throughout the United States and to London.
“Celeste was a beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance,” Jesus Rivas and Mercedes Martinez said. “Every Friday night was movie night, and we had great times together.” “We love her so much and she always told us she loved us. We miss her so much. All we want is justice for Celeste.”
The case increased in importance as it continued for several months without an arrest after the discovery of Hernandez’s remains. Detectives in Los Angeles also took the unusual step of securing court-ordered secrecy over the coroner’s report, heightening interest in the case and raising questions about transparency.
Burke canceled his tour because his name had become associated with the case, and it quickly became the focus of a sweeping investigation by prosecutors, including three major investigative agencies. Three members of his family were subpoenaed in the undercover investigation, and in February, his father, mother and brother successfully had those subpoenas unsealed through an appeal in Texas.
While Burke’s defense team, which did not return calls made by him hollywood Reporter, The website did not detail the version of events that they say indicate his innocence, but they indicate that he will be vigorously defended. If Burke is convicted, he would be eligible for the death penalty, although Los Angeles prosecutors have not yet decided whether to pursue the case as a capital case.
