D4vd murder case: Celeste Rivas Hernandez's final hours

Prosecutors say singer d4vd stabbed and dismembered 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez in April 2025 after she threatened to expose their relationship and ruin his career. A Los Angeles judge is now hearing evidence to decide whether the case goes to trial. D4vd has pleaded not guilty.

Key Takeaways

• Prosecutors allege d4vd killed Celeste on April 23, 2025, after she threatened to destroy his music career.
• Her remains were found Sept. 8, 2025, in the front trunk of his Tesla near his Hollywood Hills home.
• He faces first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and mutilating human remains charges.
• A multi-day preliminary hearing will decide whether there is probable cause for a jury trial.

The case against bedroom-pop artist d4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, has drawn intense scrutiny across true crime and unsolved mysteries coverage. Prosecutors say the killing followed a turbulent relationship that began when Celeste was still a child.

What do prosecutors say happened in Celeste’s final hours?

According to a Los Angeles County District Attorney brief reported by CNN, Celeste and then-20-year-old d4vd had a lengthy argument on April 22, 2025. Text messages suggested she was jealous of his relationships with other women and that he had “led her to believe they had a future together.”

Extremely upset, she “threatened to disclose damaging information” that could end his career, the brief said. His album “Withered” was due days later. Prosecutors say he sent an Uber that took her from Lake Elsinore to his Hollywood Hills home around 10:10 p.m. on April 23, 2025.

“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 prosecution wrote.

In the days after, prosecutors say he bought two chainsaws, a body bag, heavy-duty laundry bags, and a blue inflatable pool online. They allege he dismembered her in the pool in his garage, cut off fingers that bore a tattoo of his name, and stored remains in his Tesla’s front trunk, where they were found in an advanced state of decomposition on Sept. 8, 2025—a day after she would have turned 15.

Why is a judge deciding the d4vd case this week?

AP News reports that Judge Charlaine Olmedo is holding a roughly four-day preliminary hearing in Los Angeles to decide whether prosecutors have shown probable cause to put 21-year-old d4vd on trial. There is no jury. It will be the first public presentation of evidence against him.

Prosecutors say they have purchase records, DNA on blood stains at the rental house, sexual texts and photos, and surveillance video showing he was the last person to drive the Tesla. NBC Los Angeles reports he asked to appear without handcuffs; as of mid-day Monday, the judge had not ruled on that request.

How has d4vd answered the murder allegations?

D4vd was arrested in April 2026 and has pleaded not guilty. Defense attorney Blair Berk has said evidence “will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death.” The defense has not publicly offered an alternate narrative of how she died.

Prosecutors say the pair met in 2022, when Celeste was 11, and began a sexual relationship in November 2023, when he was 18 and she was 13. He remains held without bail as the court weighs whether the case moves forward.