New Evidence: Investigators have uncovered messages sent after the cr!me, suggesting an attempt to conceal what happened
D4vd is charged with murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains in connection with Rivas’ death
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d4vd; Celeste Rivas Hernandez.Credit : Antoine Flament/Getty; Riverside Sherrif’s Office
D4vd, whose real name is David Burke, allegedly sent text messages and called Celeste Rivas Hernandez after he killed her in an effort to “cover up” the crime, prosecutors claim.
In a preliminary hearing brief released Wednesday, April 29 and obtained by PEOPLE, prosecutors allege that the 21-year-old singer— who has been charged with murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains in connection with Rivas’ death — stabbed the California teen multiple times on April 23, 2025.
According to prosecutors, the brutal slaying came one day after the two got into a lengthy argument over his relationships with other women and several days before the release of his debut album.
Rivas “threatened to disclose damaging information about her relationship with [Burke] to end his career and destroy his life,” the brief states.
According to the brief, Burke called an Uber around 8:40 p.m. on April 23, 2025 to pick up the 14-year-old from her parent’s home in Lake Elsinore and take her to his Hollywood Hills home. She arrived around 10:10 p.m., per prosecutors.
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D4vd.Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office
“At approximately 10:30 p.m., [Burke] sent text messages to the victim inquiring where she was,” according to the eight-page brief. “The People contend this was part of [his] premeditated plan to cover up the murder, as she was already dead by this time.”
Prosecutors allege that after the murder, Burke drove away from his home around 11:30 p.m. and “texted and called the victim’s phone, asking where she was. Again, these were acts calculated and planned to set up his defense within a very short timeline after the victim’s vicious murder.”
Burke allegedly drove his Tesla to Santa Barbara “attempting to dispose of her property and destroy evidence” before returning to his home the following morning.
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Celeste Rivas Hernandez.GoFundMe
“He sent two additional texts to the victim’s phone that day which obviously went unanswered because she was already dead,” the brief states.
Prosecutors said Burke never contacted her again after April 26.
Rivas’ dismembered body was discovered in two bags in the front trunk of Burke’s Tesla on Sept. 8, 2025. Her severely decomposed head and torso were found in one of the bags. In the other, authorities discovered her arms and legs.
According to prosecutors, Rivas’ ring and pinky fingers on her left hand were missing. They allege Burke placed her body in an inflatable pool and then used a chainsaw to cut off her limbs.
The filing also states that Rivas met Burke in January 2022 when she was just 11 years old, and prosecutors allege they began a sexual relationship in November 2023 when she was 13 and he was 18.
Burke is facing a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or death. However, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has yet to decide whether to pursue the death penalty.
Burke’s attorneys, Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter, said in a April 16 statement that their client “was not the cause” of the girl’s death, adding they plan to “vigorously defend David’s innocence.”
His preliminary is scheduled to begin May 26.
