New evidence against singer D4vd in brutal killing of teen set to come to light

LOS ANGELES — For nearly a year, the only thing clear about the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez was that she met a gruesome end.

The missing 14-year-old’s body rotted for weeks until it was found in the trunk of a Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard last September, severed at the limbs and stuffed into black plastic bags, according to medical examiner’s records and court filings.

Investigators soon determined that the Tesla was registered to David Anthony Burke, 21, a singer who performs under the stage name D4vd. But as months went by, authorities said almost nothing about how her remains ended up in the ascendant R&B singer’s vehicle or whether he was responsible for her death.

A preliminary hearing that begins Tuesday is expected to reveal much more about Hernandez’s slaying and the ghoulish steps prosecutors allege Burke took to cover it up. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

Earlier this year, prosecutors made their theory of the case public after arresting Burke on murder and sex assault charges. Fearing the collapse of his burgeoning music career, Burke invited Hernandez to his Hollywood Hills home and stabbed her twice after she threatened to expose him for sexually abusing her, prosecutors said in a nine-page court filing in April. Burke then dismembered his victim’s body with a chainsaw and amputated two of her fingers to erase evidence of a tattoo linking the pair, according to the filing.

Neither the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office or the Los Angeles Police Department have responded to questions about the case since.

At a preliminary hearing, a judge decides whether prosecutors have enough evidence to proceed to trial. The hearings often result in displays of key evidence, including crime scene photos and items recovered after the execution of search warrants. Investigating officers almost always take the witness stand. In Burke’s case, a number of witnesses have already testified before multiple grand juries, but the records from those hearings are sealed.

L.A. County Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman has said she will need approximately four days to present her case. A district attorney’s office spokesperson declined to say who would testify or offer further comment on the hearing. Burke’s lead attorneys, Blair Berk and Marilyn Bednarski, did not respond to a request for comment.

It is unusual for a preliminary hearing to happen so fast. Burke was only arrested three months ago, and murder cases often languish in L.A. County courts for years before reaching a point where meaningful evidence is made public. But Burke’s attorneys pushed for an immediate hearing, claiming the prosecution’s case couldn’t stand up to scrutiny.

Legal experts said it appeared Berk was trying to stress test the prosecution’s case, but may have misfired as Silverman responded with a nine-page memo in late April that described Burke’s alleged crimes in gruesome detail.

“The defense thought the D.A. wasn’t ready, but I think Silverman is ready,” said Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor.

Rahmani also noted celebrity clients often push their defense attorneys to fight a two-pronged battle: one in criminal court, the other in the media. Rushing into a preliminary hearing may have been part of a public relations strategy, rather than a wise legal move, Rahmani said.

“From a client control perspective, what D4vd may want is an aggressive attorney who will defend him in the press and push this to trial,” Rahmani said.

The New York-born singer gained fame by layering his own music over clips of the popular video game “Fortnite” and with the viral TikTok track “Romantic Homicide.” He first met Hernandez when she was only 11 years old, the prosecutor’s memo said.

Hernandez’s family in Lake Elsinore reported her missing multiple times after she became entangled with Burke. Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigators questioned Burke about Hernandez in February 2024, but he denied knowing anything about her, according to the district attorney’s office filing.

Two days after the investigators had their meeting with Burke, Hernandez returned home and her parents took away her phone. Burke, according to prosecutors, paid another teenager $1,000 to bring Hernandez a new device so they could stay in touch. Over the next year, Hernandez traveled with Burke to Las Vegas, Texas and London where she met “his family,” Silverman wrote in the filing.

The two began a sexual relationship when Hernandez turned 13 but “broke up” in late November 2024, according to Silverman’s court filing. Text messages between the two contained references to “sex, pregnancy, abortion and use of the Plan B emergency contraceptive,” she wrote. A search of Burke’s phone also turned up images of the teen performing sex acts, the prosecutor’s memo said.

Hernandez was last seen alive at Burke’s Hollywood residence on April 23, 2025, when she took an Uber from Riverside County to his rented Hollywood Hills home, prosecutors have said. The night before, Hernandez and Burke got into an argument where she expressed “jealousy” over his relationships with other women, according to the filing. The teen then “threatened to disclose damaging information about her relationship with defendant to end his career and destroy his life,” Silverman wrote.

While prosecutors have not said exactly what happened when Hernandez arrived at Burke’s Hollywood home, an autopsy report published in April showed the teen died of two stab wounds.

After the girl died, prosecutors allege Burke took extreme steps to cover up the crime.

Prosecutors say Burke had a shovel, chainsaws, a “burn cage,” body bags and an inflatable pool delivered to his Hollywood home so he could destroy his victim’s remains. Authorities said in court filings that they believe Burke placed his victim’s body in the inflatable pool so it would prevent her blood from spilling on his property when he cut apart her body.

In the April court filing, Silverman noted pieces of plastic from the pool were embedded in Hernandez’s remains when police finally found her body months later.