Editor's note: This story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing.
After months of keeping details of the investigation into Celeste Rivas Hernandez's death under wraps, prosecutors have begun to make their case against D4vd, the 21-year-old singer who has been charged with her murder.
An April 29 court filing obtained by USA TODAY details evidence expected to be presented during David Anthony Burke's preliminary hearing on May 1. In the documents, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office carefully outlines the findings of their investigation, including Burke's alleged sexual relationship with the teenager, efforts to cover up her death, and what happened the day Rivas Hernandez died.
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Prosecutors claim that Burke killed Rivas Hernandez, 14, when she threatened to expose their relationship – which dates back to 2022, when she was 11 years old, and he was 16 – and damage his career ahead of the release of his debut album in April 2025. Authorities believe she died April 23, five months before her remains were found on Sept. 8 inside the front trunk of a Tesla registered to Burke, which had been impounded in a Los Angeles tow yard for several days.
Burke killed Rivas Hernandez, dismembered her in his garage and took additional steps to remove a tattoo of his name in the process, prosecutors allege, citing blood evidence and DNA analysis.
Rivas Hernandez died from "two penetrating wounds" to her right abdomen and left chest, the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner announced on April 22.
Burke has pleaded not guilty to criminal felony charges of first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains. He is jailed without bail, and his attorneys have vowed to "vigorously defend David's innocence."
Prosecutors provide timeline of D4vd, Celeste Rivas Hernandez's relationship
Prosecutors said that Los Angeles Police Department Robbery and Homicide detectives determined Burke and Rivas Hernandez first met in January 2022, when she was 11 years old, and he was 16. In November 2023, when she was 13 and Burke was 18, their relationship turned sexual, the district attorney's office said.
When Rivas Hernandez's family first reported her missing in February 2024, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department called Burke, who "claimed he had spoken to" Rivas Hernandez days earlier, "but stated he was unaware she was a minor or that she had been reported missing," according to the district attorney's office filing.
Los Angeles Sheriff's Department deputies then conducted a welfare check at his home, during which Burke allegedly said he'd met Rivas Hernandez once in November 2023.
Once Rivas Hernandez returned to her Lake Elsinore, California, home two days later, her parents confiscated her phone, per the filing. But according to prosecutors, Burke paid her classmate $1,000 to give Rivas Hernandez a phone he had purchased so that he could continue to contact her.
He took her to different states across the country and abroad, per the filing. They ended their romantic relationship in November 2024, but despite the breakup, the two exchanged text messages that "suggest they also continued to have sexual relations," according to the district attorney's office.
The documents also outline Rivas Hernandez's final hours: On April 23, 2025, a day after she and Burke had an argument over text messages, "all cellular activity ceased," prosecutors claim. But that evening, Burke booked an Uber from Rivas Hernandez's family home to his house in the Hollywood Hills.
Around 20 minutes after her arrival, Burke allegedly texted her asking where she was, a move the district attorney's office characterizes as part of a "premeditated plan to cover up the murder, as she was already dead by this time."
Authorities: D4vd went to extreme efforts to cover up the crime
Prosecutors also allege Burke drove to Santa Barbara County to dispose of evidence in the crime, citing her passport found off a highway there on Jan. 17, 2026, as well as "cellular activity and communications" from Burke's iPhone and Tesla.
Burke, prosecutors said, proceeded to buy supplies to conceal evidence of her death from April 24 to July 7 while using an alias. When police executed a search warrant of his home on Sept. 17, 2025, law enforcement found Rivas Hernandez's "genetic profile" in the garage, per the filing.
Among the evidence expected to be presented on May 1 will be Rivas Hernandez's texts that prosecutors say threatened to expose Burke, Burke's iCloud, iPhone, and Tesla data, records of his purchases, and DNA evidence from his garage.
Rivas Hernandez's family shared a statement in court during Burke's arraignment on April 20. They remembered her as "a beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance."
"Every Friday night was movie night and we spent wonderful times together. We love her very much, and she always told us that she loved us. We miss her deeply," their statement read. "All we want is Justice for Celeste."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: D4vd case findings revealed 7 months after teen Celeste Rivas found dead
