Gruesome details of chainsaw and ‘burn cage’ revealed in D4vd trial as argument with Celeste Rivas, 14, allegedly led to slaying and dismemberment

Singer D4vd allegedly used a chainsaw to dismember 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez and used a ‘burn cage’ to destroy evidence, chilling new court documents reveal.

Gruesome details came to light after singer David Anthony Burke was charged with first-degree murder for killing the teenager whose body was found in the trunk of his Tesla last week.

The LA County District Attorney’s Office alleges that Burke knew Rivas Hernandez was underage when he continued sexual intercourse with her.

Prosecutors provided the shocking details in a nine-page preliminary hearing transcript filed Wednesday, in which the singer also attended the 40-minute hearing.

According to the report, after they broke up last April, Rivas Hernandez became jealous of Burke’s relationships with other women.

Rivas Hernandez “threatened to reveal damaging information regarding her relationship with the defendant in order to end his career and destroy his life,” the documents state.

Prosecutors say at the time, Burke was ready to release his first solo album and his multimillion-dollar career was in jeopardy.

With this in mind, Burke allegedly sent an Uber to pick up Rivas Hernandez from his home in Lake Elsinore, California, around 8:40 p.m. on April 23, 2025, and Rivas Hernandez was dropped off at the home he was renting in the Hollywood Hills around 10:10 p.m.

“Knowing that he had to silence the victim before ruining his music career as he threatened, the defendant killed the victim by stabbing him multiple times immediately after arriving at his house and stood next to the victim while he was bleeding,” the report said.

‘She never called law enforcement…to take him to the emergency room to save his life.’

Instead, Burke allegedly tried to cover his tracks by sending a text message to Rivas Hernandez asking where he was.

Prosecutors allege Burke knew Rivas Hernandez was underage when he pursued a sexual relationship with her

But after the murder, Burke allegedly drove to Santa Barbara, about an hour north of his Los Angeles home, trying to dispose of some evidence.

Burke then arrived home the next morning on April 24, 2025, and went to a show interview.

He allegedly ordered a shovel from Home Depot the same day and stopped texting the teen two days later.

Prosecutors say that by May 1, Burke also decided to order two chainsaws, and on May 5, Amazon ordered delivered A body bag, heavy laundry bags and a blue inflatable pool were placed in the house he rented.

It is alleged that Burke made these purchases under the name ‘Victoria Mendez’.

He then allegedly returned to Santa Barbara on May 8 and May 31; where Celeste’s ID was found in an isolated area off Highway 154 in January 2026, prosecutors said.

The final part of Burke’s efforts to destroy evidence occurred on July 7, when he ordered Amazon to deliver a “burn cage” to his rental home under the same fake name “as part of a plan to burn evidence,” prosecutors said.

They allege that Burke “took horrific measures to destroy and dispose of the victim’s body.”

In chilling court documents, prosecutors describe how Burke (pictured last year) ordered the chainsaw he allegedly used to dismember Rivas Hernandez’s body and ‘burn the cage’

Rivas Hernandez is said to have been jealous of Burke’s relationships with other women and threatened to expose his own flings

Prosecutors allege Burke ‘cut off his left ring and pinky fingers because he had a tattoo of his name on his ring finger.’ His own fingers with a ‘Shhh’ tattoo are pictured

“The defendant used a chainsaw and perhaps other tools to cut off his limbs after placing his body in a blue inflatable pool to prevent his blood from spilling on the garage floor,” prosecutors write.

‘Small pieces of blue plastic were found in the victim’s remains collected by the LAPD’s Forensic Science Division, Trace Analysis Unit.’

Prosecutors said forensic experts were able to match those plastic pieces to the inflatable pool Burke bought weeks ago.

He also cut off his left ring and pinky fingers in an attempt to ‘get away from the victim’ because he had a tattoo of his name on his ring finger.’

Those fingers were never found.

After Burke finished dismembering the body, prosecutors said Rivas Hernandez placed his head and torso in a cadaver bag and his limbs in a trash bag, placing both in the front trunk of his Tesla.

He later allegedly lied to friends and business associates when they began noticing a strong smell of decomposition around the house.

Before leaving for his tour in late July, he parked the Tesla on the street around the corner from the house he was renting.

Burke was arrested after Rivas Hernandez’s dismembered body was found in the Tesla he owned

The Tesla SUV in which police said Rivas Hernandez’s body was found on September 8

The court filing also details how Burke met Rivas Hernandez in January 2021, when she was just 11 years old.

The two allegedly had sexual intercourse in November 2023, when Rivas Hernandez was 13 and Burke was 18.

The young man’s mother, reported missing three different times That same year, she said, her daughter was dating a man named David, whom she had never met before.

However, Burke denied to Riverside County Sheriff’s Office deputies that he knew Rivas Hernandez was a minor, as he showed. Investigators found a picture from Rivas Hernandez’s yearbook on his cell phone, according to the court filing.

After Rivas Hernandez was found safe, it was claimed that the authorities also found a phone number belonging to the singer on Rivas Hernandez’s phone.

His family took the phone away from him, but prosecutors said Burke continued to follow him, even paying a middle school student in his class $1,000 so his classmate could buy Rivas Hernandez a phone.

‘Throughout 2024, the victim spent a significant amount of time with the defendant, including summer weekends at his home in the Hollywood Hills and traveling with him to Las Vegas, London and Texas to meet his family.’

‘The correspondence between the victim and the defendant included references to sex, pregnancy, abortion and the use of Plan B emergency contraception.’

Prosecutors also alleged that they broke up in November 2024 but remained in contact.

Burke pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, sustained indecent acts against a person under the age of 14, and dismembering human remains from a corpse due to special circumstances.

The singer was formally charged earlier this month with first-degree murder under special circumstances, sustained indecent acts against a person under the age of 14, and dismembering human remains from a corpse.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced D4vd’s specific circumstances surrounding the first-degree murder charge; these charges include ‘committing a hold-up, committing this crime for financial gain, or murdering a witness during an investigation’.

The charges filed in California carry a maximum penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole and the death penalty.

D4vd’s defense attorney pleaded not guilty to all charges at his first hearing on Monday.

D4vd, pronounced David, has gained popularity among Gen Z fans for its blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. In 2022, he went viral on TikTok and signed a record deal.

Its popularity has led to collaborations with stars like SZA and Kali Uchis.

Burke was on tour in support of his debut full-length album when the teenager’s body was found. The tour was later cancelled.

On Wednesday, defense attorney Blair Berk asked Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo to sign the preliminary hearing transcript.

“The prosecution presented an unusual briefing that appeared to be a rather one-sided view of what was expected in evidence in this case,” Berk said. ‘We have serious concerns about the reasonable possibility of the jury pool being tainted at a future trial.

He continued: ‘We are concerned that the credibility of witnesses, and certainly witnesses who have not yet given evidence, is being prejudiced, and that the preliminary hearing itself is being compromised, allowing witnesses to adapt their evidence.’

The judge rejected Berk’s request.

‘Here in LA County, the jury pool is extremely large, and there are a lot of high-profile cases in Los Angeles,’ Olmedo said. ‘This case is not unique in this possibility.’

D4vd, who remained mostly silent during Wednesday’s hearing, looked anxious and diminutive while wearing a bright orange county jail garb that hung loosely over his slender, 6-foot-2 frame.

His lawyers wanted the preliminary hearing to continue until May 26, but the singer will appear at another hearing on May 12.