Gruesome particulars of chainsaw and ‘burn cage’ revealed in D4vd trial as argument with Celeste Rivas, 14, allegedly led to slaying and dismemberment
Singer D4vd allegedly used chainsaws when he dismembered 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez and a ‘burn cage’ to destroy evidence, chilling new court documents reveal.
The gruesome details came to light after the singer – David Anthony Burke – was charged with first-degree murder last week for killing the teenager, whose body was found in the trunk of his Tesla.
The LA County District Attorney’s Office now claims Burke knew Rivas Hernandez was underage as he continued to pursue a sexual relationship with her.
Prosecutors provided the shocking details in a nine-page preliminary trial brief filed on Wednesday, when the singer also appeared during a 40-minute hearing.
After they broke up last April, Rivas Hernandez became jealous over Burke’s relationship with other women, according to the brief.
Rivas Hernandez ‘threatened to disclose damaging information about her relationship with defendant to end his career and destroy his life,’ the documents state.
At that time, prosecutors say, Burke was set to release his first solo album and had a multi-million dollar career at stake.
With that allegedly on his mind, Burke sent an Uber to pick Rivas Hernandez up at her home in Lake Elsinore, California at around 8.40pm on April 23, 2025, and she was dropped off at the home he was renting in Hollywood Hills at around 10.10pm.
‘Knowing he has 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 brief said.
‘At no time did he call law enforcement… to take her to the emergency room to attempt to save her life.’
Instead, Burke allegedly tried to cover up his tracks by sending a text message to Rivas Hernandez asking where she was.
Singer D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, is accused of killing and mutilating 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez
Prosecutors assert Burke knew Rivas Hernandez was underage as he continued to pursue a sexual relationship with her
But following the murder, Burke allegedly drove about an hour north of his home in Los Angeles to Santa Barbara as he tried to dispose of some evidence.
Burke then arrived home the following morning on April 24, 2025 and went to a show interview.
That same day, he also allegedly ordered a shovel from the Home Depot and two days later, he stopped texting the teenager.
By May 1, prosecutors said Burke also decided to order two chainsaws, and on May 5, Amazon delivered a body bag, heavy-duty laundry bags and a blue inflatable pool to the home he was renting.
Burke allegedly made those purchases under the name ‘Victoria Mendez.’
He then allegedly returned on May 8 and May 31 to Santa Barbara, where prosecutors said Celeste’s identification was found in January 2026 in an isolated area off Highway 154.
The final part of his efforts to dispose of evidence came on July 7, when Burke ordered and had Amazon deliver a ‘burn cage’ to his rental home under the same fake name ‘as part of his plan to incinerate evidence,’ prosecutors allege.
They go on to claim Burke ‘took horrifying measures to destroy and discard the victim’s body.
Prosecutors describe in chilling court documents how Burke (pictured last year) ordered a chainsaw and a ‘burn cage,’ which he allegedly used to dismember Rivas Hernandez’s body
Rivas Hernandez is said to have become jealous of Burke’s relationships with other women, and threatened to expose their own dalliance
Prosecutors claim Burke ‘amputated her left ring and pinky fingers because her ring finger contained a tattoo of his name.’ His own fingers featuring a ‘Shhh’ tattoo are pictured
‘After placing her body in the blue inflatable pool to prevent her blood from spilling onto his garage floor, defendant used a chainsaw and perhaps other tools to cut off her limbs,’ prosecutors write.
‘Small blue plastic fragments were found in the victim’s remains, which were collected by the LAPD’s Forensic Science Division, Trace Analysis Unit.’
Prosecutors said forensics was able to make a match with those plastic fragments to the inflatable pool Burke had bought weeks earlier.
They also claim that in an effort to ‘distance himself from the victim, he amputated her left ring and pinky fingers because her ring finger contained a tattoo of his name.’
Those fingers have never been recovered.
Once Burke was done mutilating the body, prosecutors say he put Rivas Hernandez’s head and torso in the cadaver bag and placed her limbs in a garbage bag, placing both in the front trunk of his Tesla.
He then allegedly lied to his friends and business associates when they started to notice a strong smell of decay around the house.
Before he left for his tour at the end of July, he parked the Tesla on the street around the corner from the house he was renting.
Burke was arrested after Rivas Hernandez’s mutilated body was found in a Tesla he owned
The Tesla SUV, where police say Rivas Hernandez’s body was discovered on September 8
The court filing also details how Burke first met Rivas Hernandez when she was just 11 years old in January 2021.
The two then allegedly began a sexual relationship in November 2023 when Rivas Hernandez was 13 and Burke was 18.
The teenager’s mother, who reported her missing three different times that same year, had said her daughter was dating a guy she had never met, named David.
But Burke denied to deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office that he knew Rivas Hernandez was a minor as he showed investigators a picture from Rivas Hernandez’s yearbook that was in his cell phone, according to the court filing.
Once Rivas Hernandez was discovered safe, authorities also allegedly found a phone number listed in her phone belonging to the singer.
Her family took the phone away, but prosecutors say Burke continued to pursue her – even paying a junior high school student in her class $1,000 so that the classmate could get a phone for Rivas Hernandez.
‘Throughout 2024, the victim spent a significant amount of time with defendant, including summer weekends at his home in the Hollywood Hills and traveling with him to Las Vegas, London, and Texas to meet his family.’
‘Text exchanges between the victim and defendant contain references to sex, pregnancy, abortion and use of the Plan B emergency contraceptive.’
Prosecutors further alleged that they broke up in November 2024, but they continued to communicate.
Burke has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder with special circumstances , continuous lewd acts with an individual under 14 and mutilating human remains of a body
The singer was formally charged earlier this month with first-degree murder with special circumstances, continuous lewd acts with an individual under 14 and mutilating human remains of a body.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office explained the special circumstances for D4vd’s first-degree murder charge, which includes ‘lying in wait, committing this crime for financial gain or murdering a witness in an investigation.’
The charges, filed in California, carry a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole and the death penalty.
D4vd’s defense lawyer entered not guilty pleas to all counts during his first court appearance on Monday.
D4vd, pronounced David, gained popularity among Gen Z fans for his blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. He went viral on TikTok in 2022 and landed a record deal.
His popularity led to collaborations with stars such as SZA and Kali Uchis.
When the teenager’s body was discovered, Burke had been on a tour in support of his first full-length album. The tour was later canceled.
His attorneys have asked his preliminary hearing to be continued to the end of May.
