A 14-year-old girl found dead in the trunk of singer D4vd’s car was stabbed to death and then dismembered, according to the Los Angeles coroner.
Celeste Rivas Hernandez sustained knife wounds to her liver and her chest, an autopsy report obtained by the Daily Mail reveals.
The teenager’s body was found in a Tesla belonging to D4vd, real name David Anthony Burke, in September last year.
The harrowing report reveals that her ring and pinky finger had also been mutilated.
Burke is charged with first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14 and mutilating a body.
His defense lawyer entered not guilty pleas to all counts during his first court appearance on Monday.
Rivas Hernandez’s remains were discovered in Burke’s apparently abandoned vehicle on September 8.
By the time investigators found her, the teenager’s head was partially skeletonized and missing an eye, according to the autopsy report. Coroners also said they detected Benzodiazepines and Methamphetamine in her liver.
Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s body was found in a Tesla towed from the Hollywood Hills on September 8 last year, a day after she would have turned 15
Singer D4vd, real name David Anthony Burke, has been charged with first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14 and mutilating a body
The Tesla SUV, where police say Rivas Hernandez’s body was discovered on September 8
Rivas Hernandez was reported missing by her family in 2024, when she was 13.
Prosecutors say she then fell victim to continuous sexual abuse by Burke for at least a year from September 2023 to September 2024.
Authorities alleged the Houston-born alt-pop singer killed Rivas Hernandez to protect a career on the rise after she threatened to report their sexual relationship.
The teenager’s mother, who reported her missing three different times that same year, said her daughter was dating a guy she had never met, named David.
The pair were rumored to have shared matching ‘Sshhh’ tattoos on their right index fingers.
The autopsy report confirmed that Rivas Hernandez did have the tattoo. Photographs of Burke also show that he has the same markings on his finger.
Authorities described Rivas Hernandez as a ‘runaway’ at the time she was killed with a sharp object on or around April 23, 2025, when she was allegedly at Burke’s house in the Hollywood Hills.
Prosecutors allege Burke mutilated her body about two weeks later.
The autopsy report states that an investigator found her dismembered arms and legs in a trash bag under her body in the trunk of the car.
The 21-year-old has entered not guilty pleas to all counts
LAPD officers clad in tactical gear and carrying rifles swarmed Burke’s Hollywood Hills mansion and arrested him last week
The murder charges include special circumstances – lying in wait, committing a crime for financial gain and murdering the witness in an investigation – that could carry the death penalty. Prosecutors have not announced whether they will seek it.
‘We believe the actual evidence will show David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez,’ lead defense attorney Blair Berk said in court on Monday. ‘We would like to have the evidence come into the light of day.’
Berk told the judge that after media reports of months of secret grand jury proceedings, she would like a public preliminary hearing to take place as soon as possible so a judge can decide whether there is enough evidence for trial.
Burke is entitled under California law to have the evidentiary hearing within ten court days of his arraignment and has insisted on sticking to the time frame. Nearly all defendants waive their right to have the next hearing so soon.
He is scheduled to appear in court again on Thursday.
Rivas Hernandez’s remains were discovered in September 2025 after a Tesla Model Y, which was registered to Burke’s Texas address, was impounded in Los Angeles.
The vehicle had been parked on a public street for more than 72 hours and was seemingly abandoned, according to the LAPD.
Employees at the Hollywood Tow yard called police after they noticed a stench coming from the vehicle.
Burke engaged in continuous sexual abuse of Rivas Hernandez, above together, for at least a year from September 2023 to September 2024, a criminal complaint alleged
Rivas Hernandez was believed to have been only 13 when the alleged sexual abuse began
An autopsy report confirmed that Rivas Hernandez had a ‘Shhh…’ tattoo on her right index finger. A zoomed-in picture of Burke’s finger shows he has a matching one
Investigators searched the Tesla and found a cadaver bag ‘covered with insects and a strong odor of decay,’ court documents said.
‘Detectives partially unzipped the bag and observed a decomposed head and torso,’ the filings added.
LA medical examiner’s office investigators then removed the bag and ‘discovered the arms and legs had been severed from the body,’ according to court documents.
A second black bag was found under the first, and dismembered body parts were inside it.
The coroner determined that Rivas Hernandez had been deceased in the vehicle for ‘an extended period of time before being found’.
The medical examiner said she was wearing black leggings, a tube top, a yellow metal chain bracelet and stud earrings when she was found.
Neighbors said the Tesla had been moved several times over the preceding three months before it was left on Bluebird Avenue in the Hollywood Hills.
Last September, the LAPD obtained a warrant to search the rented $20,000-a-month home that Burke had been staying at in the Hollywood Hills. Officers seized a computer from the residence.
Burke broke his lease shortly after the raid and moved out of the home.
Burke looks on as his defense attorneys, Blair Berk (left) and Marilyn Bednarski (right), speak at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles on Monday
Police raided a $4.1 million home in the Hollywood Hills where Burke had been staying last year
D4vd, pronounced David, gained popularity among Gen Z fans for his blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. He went viral on TikTok in 2022 and landed a record deal.
His popularity led to collaborations with stars such as SZA and Kali Uchis.
When the teenager’s body was discovered, Burke had been on a tour in support of his first full-length album. The tour was later canceled.
