Prosecutors have put forward worrying new details in their case against US singer D4vd.
It comes after the Los Angeles Police Department arrested the 21-year-old star on 16 April in connection with the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
Prosecutors allege that Burke met Celeste when she was just 11, and claim that he started sexually abusing her when she was 13 and he was 18.
The body of Celeste was discovered in the trunk of a vehicle owned by the rapper in September. The car, a Tesla, had been moved to a Hollywood tow yard after seemingly being abandoned in an upscale neighbourhood in the hills.
The discovery was made by police after they received reports of a 'foul odour' being emitted from inside the car.
Celeste had disappeared from her Lake Elsinore, California home in April 2024 at the age of 13, and she was identified by her wavy black hair and an 'Shh' finger tattoo.
A spokesperson from the Medical Examiner's Office later confirmed that the teen had been 'deceased inside the vehicle for an extended period of time before being found' by police.
Following his arrest, D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, is being held without bail and has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other counts. His lawyers have said he is innocent and did not cause Celeste’s death.
New Disturbing Details
Now, new disturbing details about the allegations against the singer have been released in an evidence filing
R&B singer D4vd used chainsaws he bought from Amazon to cut up the body of the teenage girl he murdered and left to rot in the trunk of his Tesla, prosecution documents claimed Wednesday.
He then hacked up her corpse, using a plastic paddling pool to contain the blood, and stuffed it into bags that he left in his car on the streets of the swanky Hollywood Hills neighbourhood, before leaving for his music tour around the United States, prosecutors said.
The 21-year-old, whose real name is David Burke, could face a life sentence or the death penalty if convicted of the child’s murder. He denies the charge.
A short court appearance in Los Angeles on Wednesday revealed the first full accounting of what detectives believe happened to Celeste, who had been reported missing from her home east of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman filed a brief outlining the evidence she intends to present at any eventual trial.
The document says numerous text messages between Burke and Celeste — which include references to sex, pregnancy and emergency abortion, as well as explicit photographs — attest to an ongoing sexual relationship between the two that prosecutors believe continued even after they officially broke up in November 2024, two months after Celeste’s 14th birthday.
In April last year, the teenager, who had seemingly become jealous, told Burke she would expose their relationship — potentially derailing the imminent release of his first studio album, an event that was expected to kickstart a multi-million dollar career.
“Knowing he had to silence the victim before she ruined his music career as she had threatened, very soon after her arrival at his home, defendant stabbed the victim to death multiple times and stood by while she bled out,” the document says.
Chainsaws
Over the coming weeks, he ordered two chainsaws from Amazon, as well as a body bag, heavy-duty laundry bags and an inflatable pool.
“After placing her body into the blue inflatable pool to prevent her blood from spilling onto his garage floor, defendant used a chainsaw and perhaps other tools to cut off her limbs,” the document alleges.
“In order to distance himself from the victim, he amputated her left ring and pinky fingers because her ring finger contained a tattoo of his name. Her fingers have not been recovered.
“Defendant then placed her head and torso into the cadaver bag he purchased. He placed her limbs into a garbage bag, which he deposited into his front trunk, laying the cadaver bag on top. For several weeks, or possibly months, defendant left the victim’s body to decompose inside his Tesla.”
Her body was found in the vehicle after it had been taken to a tow yard, following an official report that it had been abandoned.
Detectives who were called to the yard because of a foul smell emanating from the car discovered Celeste’s remains within days of what would have been her 15th birthday.
Burke has denied one count each of murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains.
Burke was arrested on April 16 on charges of first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14 and mutilating a dead body. He is eligible for the death penalty, but prosecutors said they have not decided whether to seek it.
Fortnite
The singer began making music for YouTube videos he created of the video game Fortnite when he was a teenager.
The songs he wrote and recorded on his phone were a blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. The music made him a phenomenon on TikTok, Instagram, Soundcloud and Spotify, where his top songs, including his 2022 breakthrough Romantic Homicide, have more than a billion plays.
In 2023, he released two EPs and opened for SZA on tour.
He performed at last year’s Coachella music festival just a few weeks before prosecutors said Celeste was killed and his album was released.
D4vd was on tour promoting it in September when the body was discovered and his name became publicly attached to the case. It would be seven months before he was arrested.
The singer remains in jail. His case is next expected to be dealt with on May 12.
Source: Agence France-Presse, The Associated Press, Staff, April 30, 2026
"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde
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