Horrific accidents that killed Celeste Rivas, 14, revealed by health worker after rapper D4vd was charged together with her homicide
Celeste Rivas Hernandez was stabbed to death before her body was dismembered, the Los Angeles coroner has revealed.
The 14-year-old was stabbed in the liver and left side of her chest, adjacent to her ribs, according to an autopsy report obtained by The Daily Mail. A ring and pinky finger had also been mutilated.
Benzodiazepines and Methamphetamine were detected in her liver, the coroner said.
By the time investigators discovered her remains in the trunk of a Tesla registered to musician D4vd, her head was partially skeletonized and missing an eye.
D4vd, real name David Anthony Burke, has been charged with first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14 and mutilating a body.
A defense lawyer entered not guilty pleas to all counts on behalf of Burke, who made his first court appearance Monday.
Rivas Hernandez was reported missing by her family in 2024, when she was 13.
That was her age when, according to allegations in a criminal complaint, Burke engaged in continuous sexual abuse of her for at least a year from September 2023 to September 2024.
Rivas’s body was found in a Tesla towed from the Hollywood Hills on September 8 last year, a day after she would have turned 15
D4vd, real name David Anthony Burke, performs onstage at Made on YouTube on September 18, 2024 in New York. Burke has been charged with murdering the teen
The Tesla SUV where police say Rivas’ body was discovered on September 8, 2025
California law penalizes abuse of a child under 14 especially harshly.
Authorities described her as a ‘runaway’ when she was killed with a sharp object on or around April 23, 2025, a day she was at Burke’s house in the Hollywood Hills.
Prosecutors allege Burke mutilated her body about two weeks later.
The murder charges include special circumstances – lying in wait, committing crime for financial gain and murdering the witness in an investigation – that could carry the death penalty. Prosecutors haven’t announced whether they will seek it.
‘We believe the actual evidence will show David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez,’ lead defense attorney Blair Berk said in court Monday. ‘We would like to have the evidence come into the light of day.’
Berk told the judge that after media reports of months of secret grand jury proceedings, she would like a public preliminary hearing to take place as soon as possible so a judge can decide whether there is enough evidence for trial.
Burke is entitled under California law to have the evidentiary hearing within 10 court days of his arraignment. Nearly all defendants waive their right to have it happen that fast, but he didn’t.
He is scheduled to appear in court again on Thursday.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
