D4vd dismembered teen girl with chainsaw in his garage, prosecutors allege
Prosecutors said Wednesday that singer D4vd fatally stabbed 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez multiple times before dismembering her body in his garage with chainsaws.
In a court filing, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office outlined what it said the evidence would show, offering the first detailed account of the alleged killing and efforts to cut apart the victim’s body and conceal evidence.
According to the filing, D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, met Rivas Hernandez when she was 11 and began sexually abusing her when she was 13 and he was 18. Prosecutors claim he killed her after she threatened to expose the relationship.
“Knowing he had to silence the victim before she ruined his music career as she had threatened, very soon after her arrival at his home, defendant stabbed the victim to death multiple times and stood by while she bled out,” the filing said.
Burke has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other counts. His lawyers have said he is innocent and did not cause Rivas Hernandez’s death.
Her body was found decomposing in a Tesla towed from the Hollywood Hills in September of last year.
Prosecutors obtained text messages between the two from April 22, 2025, the night before all her phone activity went quiet and they believe she was killed. They also obtained text messages that showed their sexual relationship, including child sexual abuse images of her on his phone.
“The messages reveal the victim’s jealousy over defendant’s relationships with other women, as defendant led her to believe they had a future together,” the document says. “She became extremely upset and threatened to disclose damaging information about her relationship with defendant to end his career and destroy his life.”
The court filing is intended to outline the evidence that prosecutors plan to present at a preliminary evidentiary hearing beginning May 26, when a judge will determine whether there is probable cause to go to trial. The defense has not publicly provided its version of events.
The document says Burke bought two chainsaws online that he used to cut apart her body in an inflatable pool in his garage, where the girl’s DNA was later found.
“Defendant took horrifying measures to destroy and discard the victim’s body,” prosecutors said in the brief.
Burke then drove to Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara County about 110 miles (177 kilometers) northwest of his home to get rid of evidence, the document alleges. Her passport was found there in January. Burke returned home by April 24, when he gave a radio interview promoting his debut full-length album, “Withered,” which was released the following day, prosecutors said in the filing.
The body of Rivas Hernandez had so degraded that examiners couldn’t even determine her eye color. She had braces at the time of her death, and a tattoo that read “Shhh….” on the inside of a finger as well as his name, according to the report. Two fingers were missing — as were parts of her arms and legs.
Prosecutors had not previously described how they believed Rivas Hernandez was killed or given details on their relationship. An autopsy report said she was killed by penetrating wounds.
