Teen whom singer D4vd is charged with killing died from penetrating wounds | Los Angeles
Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the 14-year-old singer D4vd is accused of killing, died of penetrating injuries, according to an autopsy report released Wednesday after a months-long delay.
The Los Angeles County coroner’s office determined in December that her death was a homicide caused by multiple penetrating wounds. The office was unable to release the report because it was sealed by a judge at the request of law enforcement until prosecutors moved to lift the order this week.
“I am grateful that after several months, this information can now be made available not only to the public but also to the suffering family,” medical examiner Dr Odey C Ukpo said in a statement. “It’s incomprehensible that they had to wait this long to find out what happened to their daughter.”
In September, police found the girl’s dismembered and decomposed remains in a pair of bags in the trunk of a Tesla registered to the artist and abandoned in the Hollywood Hills. The condition of the body delayed the medical examiner’s ability to determine the cause of her death, Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said earlier this week.
D4vd, a 21-year-old alternative pop singer whose legal name is David Burke, was charged with murder on Monday. He pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, committing lewd and lascivious acts on a person under the age of 14, and dismembering a corpse. LA district attorney Nathan Hochman said this week that Burke had sexual intercourse with Celeste. The murder charge also includes special circumstances such as lying in wait, killing the teenager for financial gain to pursue his “lucrative” career, and murdering an investigation witness.
Burke did not admit guilt. His lawyers said he did not cause Celeste’s death and that they would vigorously defend his innocence.
Hochman said Celeste went to Burke’s home on April 23, 2025, and was never heard from again. Prosecutors allege he killed the girl because she threatened to report a sexual relationship that began when she was 13 and feared it would ruin her rising career.
The criminal complaint alleges that the attacker killed her with a sharp object and dismembered her body about two weeks later.
According to the autopsy, there were serious wounds on his torso, most likely caused by a sharp object. A wound penetrated his liver.
His body was so disfigured that researchers could not determine his eye color. When he died, he had braces and a tattoo that read “Shh…” According to the report, it is on the inside of the finger. His other two fingers were missing, as were parts of his arms and legs.
Since taking over three years ago, Ukpo has sought to emphasize his agency’s independence from law enforcement and make its work as public as possible.
He said he did not believe sealing reports on his office’s work helped investigations, and said he would only delay the release of the reports if mandated by a court order.
