In a new court filing issued on Wednesday, prosecutors have alleged that singer D4vd, cut off two of Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s fingers in an attempt to ‘distance himself from the victim.’
The musician, born David Anthony Burke, stands accused of murdering Rivas on April 23, 2025 — just days before his debut album was due to be released.
Prosecutors claim he murdered the teenager in order to silence her and stop her from exposing him; they also alleged that he dismembered her body with a chainsaw and stuffed the parts into two bags and left them in the trunk of his Tesla.
It was several months later before the body would be discovered, when the vehicle was impounded and a manager at the site called in law enforcement over a ‘strong smell of decay’ coming from the trunk.
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According to the medical examiner’s report that confirmed the teenager’s cause of death, the 15 year old died of ‘multiple penetrating injuries caused by object(s)’ and was missing two fingers.
One of these fingers was tattooed with the word ‘Shhh…’ while the other, prosecutors allege, was tattooed with Burke’s name. It was this detail that they claim, is why he amputated her fingers to hide their connection.
Neither digit has yet been recovered.
Prosecutors further allege that Burke used a chainsaw to dismember her, and then sent a series of text messages to her phone after he knew she was dead, in order to cover his tracks.
Surveillance footage also allegedly showed Burke as the last person to drive the car containing the body in July 2025, shortly before he left for his tour.
Wednesday’s briefing also outlined further details about Burke’s alleged relationship with Rivas, which claims he met the teenage runaway when she was 11 years old before embarking on a sexual relationship with her at the age of 13.
Text messages recovered by authorities also highlighted an argument between the pair that is thought to have taken place the night before Rivas is believed to have been murdered.
The argument allegedly stemmed from Rivas being jealous of Burke seeing other women, and alleged that she had threatened to ‘end his career and destroy his life’ by exposing their illegal relationship.
Burke was arrested on April 16, before being formally charged on April 20 with first degree murder. In addition, he has also been charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains.
If successfully convicted, he could potentially face life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
He has pleaded not guilty and is being held in custody ahead of his trial, with both Burke and his attorneys strongly refuting the charges.
His attorneys, Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter, said in a statement following his arrest that he ‘was not the cause’ of Rivas’ tragic death and added that they plan to ‘vigorously defend David's innocence.’
Phoebe Tonks