Singer D4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, appeared in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom as prosecutors laid out their case accusing him of murdering and dismembering 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The prosecution sought to convince Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo that probable cause existed to believe Burke committed the crime, presenting a series of findings from a modern digital homicide investigation.

Digital Evidence

Burke’s text messages, cloud storage content, Amazon purchase history, and Tesla data will likely be used against the 21-year-old based on what was presented during this week’s preliminary hearing. Prosecutors alleged Burke used an Amazon account to purchase two orange-and-black electric chainsaws, two cadaver bags, and heavy-duty laundry bags.

A California Highway Patrol officer testified that a Caltrans worker found Rivas Hernandez’s passport ID card in a dirt turnout along Highway 154 in Santa Barbara County on January 7, 2026. LAPD Detective William Roecker explained the connection between Burke and the location where the passport ID card was found, stating that cell tower data showed Burke’s Tesla Model X and his cellphone traveled together from his rented Hollywood Hills home to the Santa Barbara County location.

Investigation

LAPD Detective Corey Farell testified that the pair’s initial conversations began when Rivas Hernandez was 11 years old. Two years later, when she was an eighth-grader, their relationship became romantic, the detective said. According to images presented by prosecutors, the relationship was sexual in nature.

Prosecutors pointed to later messages that they argued referenced a possible pregnancy. In one exchange from January 2024, Burke apologized for “putting (her) through this,” and Rivas Hernandez responded that neither of them was capable of caring for a child.

Original reporting: NBC4 Los Angeles — read the source article.