The musician known as D4vd has been charged with first-degree murder in Los Angeles after a coroner’s report concluded that 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez was stabbed to death and her body subsequently dismembered.
David Anthony Burke, 20, entered a courtroom in Los Angeles on Monday for his first appearance, where his defence lawyer lodged not guilty pleas on his behalf to all counts. In addition to the murder charge, he faces allegations of lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14 and of mutilating a body.
What the autopsy found
The autopsy report, obtained by the Daily Mail, sets out the cause of death and the condition in which Celeste’s remains were discovered. According to the findings, the teenager had been stabbed in the liver and in the left side of her chest, close to her ribs. A ring finger and a pinky finger had been mutilated. Traces of benzodiazepines and methamphetamine were detected in her liver.
By the time investigators located her body in the boot of a Tesla registered to Burke, the head was partially skeletonised and an eye was missing. Prosecutors allege that the mutilation of her body took place roughly two weeks after she was killed with a sharp object, on or around 23 April 2025 — a day she is said to have been at Burke’s home in the Hollywood Hills.
Why prosecutors are invoking special circumstances
The charges filed against Burke include three “special circumstances” under California law: lying in wait, committing the crime for financial gain, and murdering a witness in an investigation. Any one of these can make a defendant eligible for the death penalty, although prosecutors have not yet indicated whether they intend to seek it.
The allegations of sexual abuse compound the severity of the case. According to the criminal complaint, Burke is accused of engaging in continuous sexual abuse of Celeste for at least a year, from September 2023 to September 2024, when she was 13. California law treats offences against a child under 14 with particular severity. Authorities have said Celeste was described as a “runaway” at the time of her death; her family had reported her missing in 2024.
A contested case ahead
Burke’s legal team has signalled an intention to challenge the prosecution’s account. Speaking in court on Monday, lead defence attorney Blair Berk told the hearing: “We believe the actual evidence will show David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez.” She added: “We would like to have the evidence come into the light of day.”
With pleas of not guilty now entered and the possibility of a capital case yet to be resolved, proceedings against the musician are expected to continue for some time. For the family of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the charges mark the start of a legal process set against what the autopsy report has now made clear were extraordinarily violent circumstances.
