During the preliminary hearing in Los Angeles, prosecutors revealed that Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the 14-year-old girl singer D4vd is accused of murdering and dismembering, had an abortion during their relationship in January 2024. The emerging evidence details graphic forensic findings, recovered text messages, and DNA matches.
The legal proceedings against musician David Anthony Burke, known professionally as D4vd, have uncovered harrowing details regarding his relationship with 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Prosecutors assert that Burke murdered and dismembered the teenager in his Hollywood home after she threatened to expose their sexual relationship and ruin his music career. As a Los Angeles judge weighs whether the singer should stand trial, recent court sessions have laid bare graphic forensic evidence, extensive text exchanges, and DNA testing results.
DNA Evidence and Forensic Findings From the Hollywood Garage
During the third day of the preliminary hearing, Los Angeles police criminalist Samantha Tosch testified that evidence recovered from apparent blood stains on a rubber floor mat, a rowing machine, and a Tesla charger in Burke’s garage was a strong DNA match for Rivas Hernandez. Tosch stated under questioning that the matches of several samples were one septillion times more likely to originate from Celeste than anyone else in the population, noting that the figure contained 24 zeros.
While Tosch conceded under cross-examination by defense attorney Blair Berk that she could not state with absolute certainty that the profiles originated strictly from blood rather than touch transfer, the prosecution’s evidentiary timeline paints a grim picture.
Text Messages Detail Relationship, Pregnancy, and Abortion
Court filings and police testimony introduced by LAPD Detective Corey Farrell revealed that recovery of data from Burke’s phone uncovered a vast archive of explicit messages and photographs. The communications traced a relationship beginning when Rivas Hernandez was 11 years old through April 2025. In late November and early December 2023, when Celeste was 13 and Burke was 18, message exchanges showed the teenager expressing pregnancy concerns.
In text exchanges presented by the prosecution, Celeste told Burke that neither of them was capable of watching or taking care of a baby. Burke subsequently asked her whether the child was his, to which she replied affirmatively.
Months later, messages from August 2024 reflected profound emotional distress from the teenager regarding the procedure.
Courtroom Tension as Gruesome Details Emerge
The preliminary hearing forced the victim’s parents, Mercedes and Jesus Rivas, to confront disturbing evidence directly. During testimony from LAPD Detective Joshua Byers concerning the discovery of the teenager’s remains inside the trunk of Burke’s Tesla, graphic images of the dismembered corpse were displayed in the courtroom. The devastated parents watched as details of the postmortem dismemberment involving power tools were entered into the record.
Before prosecutors presented particularly sensitive photographic evidence constituting child sexual abuse material, Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman urged the parents to leave the room. Attorney Patrick Steinfeld, representing the Rivas family, noted outside the courthouse that the family attended to show strength for Celeste despite the overwhelming toll.
Charges, Legal Defense, and Next Court Dates
He has pleaded not guilty across all counts.
Defense attorneys Blair Berk and legal counsel have questioned the extent of police forensic testing on items such as tools recovered from the singer’s residence, probing whether investigators missed potential touch DNA. As the preliminary hearing proceeds toward determining whether the case advances to a full trial, additional court appearances are scheduled to evaluate the mountain of electronic and physical evidence collected by investigators.
