Prosecutors Unseal Photos of 14-Year-Old's Dismembered Body in D4vd Hearing
Updated
Updated · Los Angeles Times · Jul 21
Prosecutors Unseal Photos of 14-Year-Old's Dismembered Body in D4vd Hearing
3 articles · Updated · Los Angeles Times · Jul 21
Summary
Los Angeles prosecutors opened David Anthony Burke’s preliminary hearing by publishing crime-scene photos of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s dismembered remains, the first public visual evidence in the case.
Detective Josh Byers testified Hernandez’s body was found in September 2025 in the trunk of Burke’s Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard, with limbs severed, legs cut into four pieces and decomposition so advanced her face was unrecognizable.
Prosecutors say Burke, who performs as D4vd and has pleaded not guilty, stabbed Hernandez after she threatened to expose years of sexual abuse, then used a chainsaw and removed two fingers to destroy evidence.
The hearing is expected to last about 4 days and could determine whether the case proceeds to trial; Burke’s lawyers had pushed for a rapid test of the prosecution’s evidence only 3 months after his arrest.
The case has drawn intense attention because Burke, 21, was a rising singer, while prosecutors allege he met Hernandez online when she was 11 and began a sexual relationship after she turned 13.