More disturbing details emerge as D4vd hearing continues

As the preliminary hearing of David Anthony Burke—aka D4vd, the singer accused of killing and dismembering 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez—continues, prosecutors have revealed a slew of gruesome new details about the alleged crime. Los Angeles Police Department homicide detective Joshua Byers revealed that a search of the singer’s Amazon purchase history revealed that he bought a shovel in late April 2025, just a day after he allegedly killed Hernandez. In the following two weeks, Burke also purchased three different chainsaws—two under an alias and one on Postmates—two “City Morgue” cadaver bags, a blue inflatable pool, heavy-duty laundry bags, and a mop and bucket. 

Prosecutors allege Burke killed Hernandez at his home on April 23, 2025—two days before the release of his debut album Withered. In September 2025, Rivas’ dismembered remains were discovered in a Tesla registered to Burke, and he was later arrested and accused of killing her. In the months after his arrest, prosecutors alleged that Burke was fearful that Hernandez would expose their illegal relationship, and that he was found with a “significant amount” of child pornography on his phone. 

During Byers’ testimony, deputy district attorney Beth Silverman showed bloody photos of Hernandez’s dismembered body, including severed fingers, one of which bore a tattoo prosecutors said matched one seen on Burke. Other photos showed a head, torso, arms, and legs in a trash bag. A highway patrol officer revealed that Hernandez’s passport card had been found on a dirt shoulder off of a Santa Barbara highway, a county Burke traveled to after her death. 

Prosecutors also played body-cam footage of sheriff’s deputies conducting a welfare check at Burke’s home in February 2024, not long after Hernandez, then 13, was reported missing. In the video, Burke claims that he thought Hernandez was 18, and that he had only met her once in person. Other witnesses at the hearing described a foul odor coming from Burke’s Tesla before Hernandez’s body was discovered. 11 air fresheners were found inside, including one placed beneath a mound of maggots. Traces of blood in the Tesla and the inflatable pool were later matched to Hernandez’s own. 

Burke has pleaded not guilty. This preliminary hearing will determine whether enough evidence has been presented to establish probable cause. If the judge does find probable cause, the case will then proceed to trial. Prosecutors are alleging Burke acted under “special circumstances,” including that the killing was committed for financial gain. If those allegations are found to be true, Burke could face the death penalty. 

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