D4vd Stabbed 14-Year-Old to Death and Dismembered Body With Chainsaws, Prosecutors Say

Prosecutors said singer D4vd stabbed 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez to death in his Hollywood Hills home after she threatened to reveal their alleged sexual relationship. He then used chainsaws to dismember her body in his garage. Her remains were found months later in a Tesla registered to him.

The allegations appeared in a Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office court filing Wednesday. This filing outlined the evidence prosecutors plan to present at a preliminary hearing set to start on May 26.

D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, lewd acts with a child under 14, and mutilating human remains.

Burke’s lawyers have denied the allegations. “We believe the actual evidence will show David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez, nor was he the cause of her death,” defense attorney Blair Berk said at his arraignment on April 20, according to Reuters.

Prosecutors stated Burke met Rivas Hernandez when she was 11. He began sexually abusing her when he was 18 and she was 13.

The filing mentioned that investigators obtained text messages showing the alleged relationship and the teen’s threat to disclose harmful information about Burke as his music career grew.

The filing also noted Burke sent a rideshare car to pick up Rivas Hernandez on April 23, 2025, from Lake Elsinore, which is about 80 miles from Los Angeles.

Prosecutors said the two exchanged messages until she arrived at his Hollywood home, after which her phone went silent.

Prosecutors believe Burke killed Rivas Hernandez soon after her arrival. The filing revealed he later bought items online using a fake name and had them delivered to his home.

Investigators found the teen’s DNA in the garage and evidence connecting the purchases to his efforts to hide the crime.

Rivas Hernandez’s remains were discovered in September 2025 inside a Tesla registered to Burke after the vehicle was towed from the Hollywood Hills.

Workers at an impound lot alerted authorities after noticing a smell coming from the car, according to Reuters.

The filing stated that Burke kept her body in the vehicle and lied to friends and business associates who asked about the odor. Prosecutors also alleged he drove to Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara County multiple times to dispose of evidence.

The teen’s passport was found there in January, according to the filing.

Authorities had previously stated Rivas Hernandez died from penetrating wounds.

However, Wednesday’s filing provided prosecutors’ first detailed public account of how they believe she was killed and how Burke allegedly attempted to cover up the crime.

Rivas Hernandez’s parents reported her missing from Lake Elsinore in February 2024, prosecutors said. After she returned home, her parents took away her phone.

Prosecutors claim Burke later paid one of her friends $1,000 to get her another phone so they could continue communicating. She was reported missing again in April 2024.

The filing noted that Rivas Hernandez spent much of 2024 at Burke’s Hollywood Hills home and traveled with him to Las Vegas, London, and Texas.

Riverside County sheriff’s detectives contacted Burke after the first missing-person report. Prosecutors said he told them he had met her only once and did not know she was a minor.

Burke was arrested on April 16. Prosecutors said the case includes special circumstances, which could make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted, though they have not yet decided whether to pursue it.

Burke gained attention in 2022 after music he recorded on his phone went viral on TikTok. His breakout song, “Romantic Homicide,” helped him secure a record deal. He later opened for SZA and performed at Coachella in 2025.

Burke remains presumed innocent unless convicted.