Prosecutors released chilling new details on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, alleging that musician D4vd murdered and dismembered 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez to protect his rising music career. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed a nine-page brief outlining the evidence it intends to present in the case against David Anthony Burke, known professionally as D4vd.
According to the filing, investigators obtained text messages between Burke and Hernandez from April 22, 2025. “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 states. The AP notes, prosecutors allege that when the teenager threatened to disclose their illegal relationship to end his career, Burke lured her to his Hollywood Hills home.
“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 alleges. Prosecutors further claim Burke purchased two chainsaws and a blue inflatable pool online to dismember her body in his garage, where her DNA was later discovered.
Hernandez’s remains were found in September 2025 inside a Tesla registered to Burke. The singer has pleaded not guilty to charges including first-degree murder and mutilation of human remains. His defense team maintains his innocence, calling the prosecution’s brief a one-sided view of the evidence. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 26.