D4vd, the platinum-selling musician born David Anthony Burke, showed no emotion Tuesday as he stared at gruesome photos of the decomposed remains of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez found in the front trunk of his Tesla last year.
The photos, shared on a large screen in a Los Angeles courtroom during the singer's preliminary hearing in his murder case, showed Rivas' limbless torso in one black plastic bag and her dismembered arms and legs in another. One image of her right knee showed flecks of blue plastic that prosecutors said came from an inflatable pool Burke used to collect blood while dismembering her body. A close-up of her left hand showed that her ring and pinky fingers had been cut off.
Rivas' mother, Mercedes MartÃnez, silently bowed her head, averted her eyes, and started crying as she sat in the front row of the gallery. The teen's father, Jesus Rivas, looked at the screen with a mournful expression and repeatedly checked on MartÃnez as their lawyer, Patrick Steinfeld, sat next to them.
Burke, 21, is accused of murdering Celeste on April 23, 2025, to cover up his sexual abuse of the girl. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Tuesday's hearing was the first in a multi-day proceeding, during which prosecutors will lay out the evidence they've accumulated against Burke before a judge decides whether there's enough to warrant a jury trial. Burke's lawyers sought to expose weaknesses in the prosecution's case, questioning why investigators had not conducted more extensive testing, including DNA analysis, on certain items found in Burke's home or on the exterior of his Tesla.
According to prosecutors, Burke lured Rivas to his house in an Uber, stabbed her to death on April 23, 2025, traveled to several states for a promotional tour, then returned to Los Angeles, where he purportedly dismembered her body and concealed it in his vehicle. Police found Rivas' remains after the Tesla was tagged as abandoned and impounded.
When Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman called LAPD Det. Joshua Byers to the witness stand on Tuesday, she asked if investigators were able to make out facial features on the victim's face. “There was quite a bit of decomposition. The skin slippage made it unrecognizable,†he said.
Before showing Rivas' right index finger marked with a “Shhh…†tattoo, Silverman turned to Celeste's parents and motioned for them to look away. It was the only photograph in which their daughter was recognizable.
During his testimony, Byers revealed that Burke “had a tattoo of the name Celeste on his left ring finger.†A photograph displayed beside Burke's arrest photo showed the name written in cursive red ink. Byers also confirmed that Burke had a “Shhh…†tattoo on his index finger as well.
Prosecutors claim Burke first met Rivas online in January 2022 when she was 11 years old. They allege he started a sexual relationship with her in November 2023, when he was a 13-year-old student in the seventh grade and he was an 18-year-old musician with a record deal and a breakout song, “Romantic Homicide,†that had cracked the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Burke was arrested April 16 and has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains. Prosecutors added special circumstance allegations of murder of a witness, murder for financial gain, and lying in wait.
Earlier in the hearing Tuesday, Silverman played 10 minutes of bodycam footage showing Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies visiting Burke at a West Hollywood residence on Feb 17, 2024, a few days after Rivas' parents first reported her missing from their home in Lake Elsinore, a city in Riverside County about 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Riverside County Sheriff's investigators had found Burke's number in Rivas' phone records, informed him of her age, and warned him he would get a visit, prosecutors claim.
“Just to let you know, there's alcohol in the fridge,†Burke said in the video after he welcomed the L.A. County Sheriff's deputies into the house, which he called an “artist compound†for Interscope artists. “It's all good. I'm not here for none of that,†Deputy Juan Gonzalez responded.
Burke told the deputies he'd met Rivas on Discord and Instagram, saw her once in person at a house in Lake Elsinore on Nov. 12, 2023, and last communicated with her a few days earlier, on Feb. 13. The address he gave for the Lake Elsinore house was around the corner and a few blocks south of Rivas' family's house.
“She told me she was 18,†he told the investigators on the video. “Everybody is saying she's 13.†Burke showed the deputies the missing person's flyer that Rivas' family has posted online. He had it on his phone and held it up for Gonzalez to take his own photo. He also showed the deputies Rivas' sixth grade yearbook photo from her middle school in Lake Elsinore. In the photo, she's wearing a black sweatshirt with the Batman insignia.
“Does she look 13?†Deputy Gonzalez asked.
“No,†Burke replied as he showed the deputies the yearbook photo. “This is when she was 13. This is sixth grade, but they're saying this was taken last year.â€
In a disturbing evidence brief filed in April, prosecutors alleged that after Rivas returned home in February 2024 and her parents confiscated her phone, Burke bought her a burner phone and paid a classmate $1,000 to deliver it. Byers testified Tuesday that investigators later found evidence that Burke traveled with Rivas to Texas and London, buying both of their tickets directly from United Airlines.
Byers also testified about evidence that prosecutors say shows Burke was the last person to drive the Tesla before it was towed. He said data from the car showed Burke's iPhone 16, which was never recovered, disconnecting from the vehicle at 2:18 p.m. on July 29, 2025, shortly after neighborhood surveillance video captured the black Tesla leaving the area of Burke's nearby rental home at 1368 Vireo Place. Two minutes later, a neighbor's security camera recorded Burke walking back toward the house, Byers said, as screenshots from the video were shown on the courtroom screen.
Byers said automated license-plate readers on passing LAPD vehicles repeatedly recorded the Tesla in the same parking spot between July 29 and Sept. 8, suggesting that it remained there after Burke allegedly parked it and left on tour. He said Rivas' father called LAPD on Sept. 10 to say he was concerned the unidentified female found in the trunk was his daughter.
Prosecutors claim that after the murder, Burke bought chainsaws and a blue, 8'x8′ inflatable pool on Amazon and dismembered Rivas inside the pool in the garage of his rented home in the Hollywood Hills. They claim he later stowed her remains in the front trunk of his Tesla and went on tour to support his first major-label album, Withered, which was released two days after the alleged murder.
In his testimony Tuesday, Byers said Burke bought two chainsaws on Amazon on May 1, 2025, using his Amazon account and the alias Trayvion Davis. He said the account was linked to an email used by Burke, identified as Trayviond0012@gmail.com. The detective also disclosed for the first time that investigators believe Burke purchased a third chainsaw — a 10-inch Makita — from Home Depot on May 4, 2025, and had it delivered to his home through Uber Postmates. He said the Makita chainsaw was never recovered.
Byers said records showed that Burke also bought a mop-and-bucket system on May 4. Weeks later, on July 7, Burke allegedly purchased a “burn cage†on Amazon using the alias Victoria Mendez, he said. On July 12, he also bought a “fireproof mat†through Amazon using the Davis alias, Byers testified.
“For several weeks, or possibly months, defendants left the victim's body to decompose inside his Tesla. He lied to friends, business associates, and others who noticed the strong smell of decay in and around his home and vehicle,†prosecutors' evidence brief alleged.
Recovered text messages between Burke and Rivas allegedly refer to sex, pregnancy, and abortion. “All we do is have sex and just hang out man I want more than that for myself,†Rivas allegedly wrote in one message. Prosecutors say Rivas expressed jealousy over Burke's relationships with other women, and the two argued about it over text on April 22, 2025. The following night, Burke allegedly paid an Uber driver to bring her to his home. Prosecutors claim he killed Rivas soon after she arrived because she had indicated she planned to expose him.
“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 read.
Benjamin Greger, the former financial manager at Burke's management company, Mogul Vision, was the final witness to testify on Tuesday. Prosecutors called him to support their contention that Burke killed Rivas to protect a lucrative music career.
Greger, who said he still works for Burke's family on a $7,500 monthly retainer, confirmed he had testified before an investigative grand jury in the case. He estimated that Burke had earned roughly $10 million to $11.5 million in gross revenue from his recording, merchandising and music-publishing deals.
Greger also confirmed that he had discussed transferring Texas properties held in Burke's name to his mother, Colleen Burke. “Do you remember testifying that the reason you told her to do that was to protect the estate from any civil suit, so the victim's family wouldn't be able to obtain those?†Silverman asked.
“I do recall, yes,†Greger replied. He added that he spoke to Colleen last week about finding a new entertainment lawyer for her son while he's in custody.
If convicted as charged, Burke faces either life in prison without parole or the death penalty. Prosecutors have not said yet whether or not they will seek a death sentence.
At an April 22 hearing, Burke's attorney, Blair Berk said, “We believe the actual evidence will show David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez, nor was he the cause of her death.†She initially asked for an immediate preliminary hearing, in a matter of days, so he would “be able to have the evidence come into the light of day at the earliest opportunity.â€
Before the hearing started Tuesday, the judge partially granted Burke's request to have his shackles removed in court. At his five prior court appearances, Burke was in restraints the whole time, with the bailiff cuffing him to his chair. His defense argued that Burke has no prior criminal record and that he's been fully compliant while in custody since his April 16 arrest.
Judge Olmedo ruled Tuesday that Burke could be uncuffed, but his waist shackle had to be attached to his chair.
“It's just to ensure that Mr. Burke stays in his seat. He will not be able to get up from his chair or have any free access to roam around the courtroom,†the judge ruled. “Other than that, his hands are free. He will have full use of his hands.â€
