D4vd appeared in court on Wednesday while his lawyers requested that the preliminary inquiry be postponed for several weeks. The evidentiary hearing, originally scheduled to begin on Friday, was rescheduled for May 26th.
Minutes after the hearing ended, prosecutors released an explosive evidentiary document in which they claim “surveillance videos and other evidence confirm that the defendant was the last person to drive” his Tesla before the dismembered and badly decomposed remains of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas were discovered in the front trunk of the vehicle in September.
The document, obtained by ROLLING STONE, claims the platinum artist, real name David Anthony Burke, first met Rivas when she was 11 years old. Prosecutors allege Burke began a “sexual relationship” with Rivas when she was 13, and that Riverside County authorities contacted Burke in February 2024 and informed her of her age after she was reported missing by her family.
Contact despite warning
Despite being contacted by law enforcement, Burke “continued to stalk” Rivas, the filing said. He allegedly drove to her home in Lake Elsinore, south of Los Angeles, and paid a classmate in the victim’s class $1,000 to give her a cell phone he had purchased “so they could stay in touch,” prosecutors said.
Seized text messages between Burke and Rivas “contain references to sex, pregnancy, abortion and use of the emergency contraceptive pill Plan B,” the document claims. Burke and Rivas also “exchanged explicit photos that document and provide evidence of their sexual relationship.”
According to prosecutors, Burke “ended” the relationship with Rivas in November 2024, although they continued to communicate. The nine-page filing alleges that Burke and Rivas were “in an extensive argument, documented in detail in their text messages,” the night before Rivas’ last sign of life.
Threats and an Uber
“The messages reveal the victim’s jealousy of the defendant’s relationships with other women, as he pretended to her that they had a future together,” the document says. Rivas then became “extremely upset” and threatened to make public incriminating material about her relationship with Burke in order to ruin his career and destroy his life, prosecutors said. Burke sent an Uber to Lake Elsinore to pick up Rivas on April 23, 2025, the night she was allegedly murdered.
Prosecutors allege Burke exchanged text messages with Rivas during their drive, and the driver dropped the teenager off at Burke’s address in the Hollywood Hills around 10:10 p.m. Burke then sent Rivas text messages at 10:30 p.m., asking where she was, the filing said.
“The prosecution believes this was part of the defendant’s premeditated plan to cover up the murder since she was already dead at the time,” the document reads. “Knowing that he had to silence the victim before she ruined his music career, as she had threatened to do, the defendant stabbed her multiple times shortly after she arrived at his home, leaving her to bleed to death.”
Searching for clues and chainsaws
Prosecutors allege Burke left his home at 11:30 p.m., calling Rivas’ phone and sending her messages asking where she was. “These actions were also calculated and planned to prepare his defense,” the filing says. Burke then reportedly drove to Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara County and returned home the next morning to give a radio interview. He later ordered a shovel from Home Depot via Postmates and two chainsaws from Amazon, according to the document.
“The circumstances and the current status of the evidence have led us to the conclusion that we need this additional time to review the evidence that we have just received or will soon receive,” Burke’s defense attorney Marilyn Bednarski said at Wednesday afternoon’s hearing.
Judge Charlaine Olmedo asked Burke if he agreed to the postponement. “Yes, your honor,” he replied.
Charges and special circumstances
Burke, 21, is charged with the first-degree murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez – the 14-year-old girl who was found dismembered and badly decomposed in the front trunk of his Tesla last September.
Prosecutors also charged him with continued sexual abuse of a child under 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains. There are also special circumstances – including murder of a witness, murder for financial gain and lying in wait for the victim – that qualify him for the death penalty. (Prosecutors have not yet decided whether they will request it.) Burke has pleaded not guilty.
Last week, Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman revealed that Burke’s iCloud account, seized by investigators, contained what she described as “a significant amount of child pornography.”
Preliminary investigation postponed
Burke’s lawyers, Marilyn Bednarski and Blair Berk, had pushed for an immediate preliminary investigation. Judge Charlaine Olmedo had stated that this should begin this Friday, May 1st.
Burke was arrested April 16 at a home in the Hollywood Hills. Prosecutors said police simultaneously executed a search warrant for the property, which is not far from the famous Chateau Marmont. Silverman said the case involves a large volume of evidence, including phone surveillance footage, and three grand juries have been convened in recent months to investigate the case.
A long-awaited autopsy report released last week concluded that Rivas died of “multiple penetrating injuries” to the upper abdomen. He describes two stab wounds that pierced her liver and chest. The manner of death was classified as a homicide.
Autopsy report and condition of the body
The report also describes the condition of the body and notes that dismemberment and advanced decomposition would have made visual identification and fingerprinting impossible. Toxicology testing revealed a low ethanol level and preliminary positive results for several substances that are still awaiting confirmation.
Prosecutors allege Rivas was last seen entering Burke’s home in the Hollywood Hills on April 23, 2025, and was killed that same day. Authorities believe her body was mutilated weeks later. Burke’s lawyers have said he “did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez.”
If convicted, Burke faces either life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. The public prosecutor’s office has announced that it will make the decision at a later date.
Rise to fame
Burke was born in New York and later grew up in Texas. He initially gained attention as a “Fortnite” gamer and musician with the self-produced song “You and I”. In the summer of 2022, he made his breakthrough into the mainstream with the hit singles “Romantic Homicide” and “Here With Me,” after the songs generated so much response on TikTok that they entered the “Billboard” charts. In May 2023 he released his debut EP “Petals to Thorns”.
His debut studio album “Withered” was released in April 2025 – two days after Rivas was last seen.
At a press conference, LADA Nathan Hochman said Rivas was only 13 years old when Burke allegedly repeatedly performed “lewd and lascivious sexual acts” on her.
“Burke’s actions should not have ended there,” he said. “When she threatened to expose his criminal behavior and destroy his music career, Burke allegedly murdered her, dismembered her body and stuffed her into two bags that were placed in the front trunk of his car.”
