D4vd, the platinum-selling musician born David Anthony Burke, showed no emotion Tuesday as he stared at gruesome photos of the severely decomposed remains of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez found in the front trunk of his Tesla last year.
The photos, shared on a large screen in a Los Angeles courtroom during the singer’s preliminary hearing in his murder case, showed Rivas’ limbless torso in one black plastic bag and her dismembered arms and legs in another. A photo of her knee showed flecks of blue plastic allegedly from the inflatable pool prosecutors claim Burke used while dismembering Rivas’ body. A close-up of her left hand showed that her ring and pinky fingers had been cut off. Another photo showed a tattoo of the word “Shhh…” on her right index finger.
Rivas’ mother, Mercedes Martínez, silently bowed her head and averted her eyes as she sat in the front row of the gallery. The teen’s father, Jesus Rivas, looked at the screen with a mournful expression and repeatedly checked on his wife.
Burke, 21, is accused of murdering Celeste on April 23, 2025, to cover up his sexual abuse of the girl. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Tuesday’s hearing was the first in a multi-day hearing, during which prosecutors will lay out the evidence they’ve accumulated against Burke, and a judge will decide whether there is enough probable cause to send the case to trial. Burke’s attorneys will also get the chance to defend their client, question witnesses, and potentially poke holes in the state’s case.
