Prosecutors release detailed description of how D4vd allegedly killed teen girl | US crime
Prosecutors described in a new court document how D4vd, accused of murdering and sexually abusing 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, allegedly fatally stabbed her to prevent the teen from speaking about the abuse.
Prosecutors briefly said the singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, killed Celeste to protect his music career. According to the document, he met Celeste when she was 11 and began “sexual intercourse” when she was 13 and he was 18.
“Knowing that he had to silence the victim before he could destroy her music career as he had threatened, immediately after arriving at his home, the defendant stabbed the victim multiple times to death and watched the victim bleed to death,” the document states.
Burke’s legal team said he was innocent and did not kill the teenager. His lawyers had asked the judge presiding over the case to block the publication of the prosecution’s brief, but this request was rejected.
Prosecutors said investigators obtained messages between the pair starting in April 2025 that showed the teenager was jealous of Burke’s relationships with women, that “the defendant misled him into believing they had a future together” and that Burke threatened to reveal “damaging information” about their relationship and end his career.
Authorities believe Burke killed her the next day and purchased two chainsaws, which he used to dismember her body in an inflatable pool. His DNA was found in Burke’s garage, according to the court document.
Celeste’s decomposed remains were found in September 2025 in the trunk of a Tesla registered to the musician and abandoned in the Hollywood Hills. According to prosecutors, Burke was the last person to drive the vehicle.
The Los Angeles area medical examiner determined that Celeste died from penetrating injuries and had severe wounds to her torso. The condition of her body delayed the medical examiner’s ability to determine the cause of her death, police said. Two of her fingers were missing, and prosecutors say Celeste had Burke’s name tattooed on them.
According to the prosecution, Burke also had images of child sexual abuse of Celeste.
Celeste’s remains were found the day after Celeste turned 15. His family reported him missing in 2024 in his hometown of Lake Elsinore, about 70 miles (110 km) from Los Angeles. Police said the seventh-grader ran away in February and later returned home before leaving again.
According to the prosecution, police contacted Burke after Celeste was first reported missing, and Burke said he was unaware Celeste was a minor and had only met her once. After returning home for the first time, his parents allegedly took his phone away, but Burke paid a friend of the teenager $1,000 to give him a cell phone so they could stay in touch.
She ran away again and stayed at Burke’s Hollywood Hills home for a long time, traveling with him to Las Vegas, London and Texas, where she met his family, the document says.
The hearing of the case, scheduled for Friday, was postponed until the end of May to give the defense time to review the evidence.
Associated Press contributed
