The parents of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the 14-year-old girl whose dismembered body was discovered in a Tesla tied to aspiring singer David “D4vd” Burke, were aware of an ongoing relationship between their daughter and the man now accused in her killing, according to testimony in court.
Prosecutors said the family tried to keep the two apart, taking away Celeste’s phone and contacting police when she ran away from home. In one alleged incident, Burke paid a high school student $1,000 to get a new phone to the teen, prosecutors told the court.
Los Angeles Police Department Detective Corey Ferrel testified Monday about text messages prosecutors described as damaging as Burke’s week-long preliminary hearing moved toward its conclusion, FOX 11 Los Angeles reported.
David “D4vd” Burke is seen outside Amiri during Paris Fashion Week Men’s Spring/Summer 2026 on June 26, 2025, in Paris, France. Burke has been charged in Los Angeles with the murder of a 14-year-old girl. (Edward Berthelot/Getty Images)
Burke’s attorneys pushed back, arguing that Celeste’s family had allowed at least some contact between the pair. The defense presented a permission slip signed by her parents that permitted Celeste to travel to London with Burke, according to the outlet. Her sister also reportedly accompanied Celeste and Burke on a Las Vegas trip. In some messages, Celeste allegedly told Burke she was 16 and, at other times, 18.
The judge found prosecutors had presented enough evidence to move the case forward, clearing the way for Burke to stand trial. If convicted, he could face the death penalty, though California currently has a moratorium on executions. Prosecutors have not announced whether they intend to pursue capital punishment.
Authorities allege Burke killed Celeste two days before the release of his debut album, after she threatened to expose him as a child molester when, prosecutors say, his attention shifted toward other girls and women.
Photos, personal notes and flowers are among the tributes left at a memorial Thursday for Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the slain teen whose body was found in the trunk of a Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard on Sept. 25, 2025, in Lake Elsinore, California. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“D4vd allegedly squandered his fame and fortune by brutally killing a young girl because he feared their illicit sexual relationship would ruin his aspiring career,” said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman. “The only headlines that will accompany his stage name from here forward will be about the vicious murder of a young girl.”
Mugshot of D4vd, who is facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of a 14-year-old girl. (Los Angeles County District Attorney)
According to prosecutors, Burke invited Celeste to his home in Hollywood Hills on April 23, 2025. They said an Uber dropped her off, and that was the last time she was seen alive.
The next morning, Burke sat for a radio interview about his forthcoming album and then began a series of what prosecutors allege were suspicious online purchases — a shovel, three chainsaws, a body bag and a blue kiddie pool. Some of the items were ordered using an alias, according to the Los Angeles DA’s Office.
Burke is accused of stabbing Celeste to death shortly after she arrived, then dismembering her with a chainsaw in the pool in his garage, where investigators allegedly found DNA consistent with the victim’s.
Singer D4vd arrested in Los Angeles in connection to the murder of a 14-year-old girl found in a Tesla trunk, police say. (Photo by Timothy Norris/Getty Images for Coachella)
Then on Sept. 8, 2025, Burke’s abandoned Tesla was impounded, and police found Celeste’s decomposing remains inside, according to prosecutors. There were fragments of the pool plastic “embedded” in her remains.
Burke is due back in court on Aug. 31 for an arraignment hearing.
