D4vd murder case: Teen's cause of death released in medical examiner report

Celeste Rivas Hernandez died of "multiple penetrating injuries."

April 22, 2026, 3:10 PM

The 14-year-old girl whose dismembered remains authorities say were found decomposing in the singer D4vd's towed Tesla last year died by "multiple penetrating injuries," according to the newly unsealed medical examiner's report.

D4vd -- a 21-year-old Los Angeles resident whose legal name is David Burke -- has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of the teen, Celeste Rivas Hernandez, officials said. The "Romantic Homicide" singer was arrested last week following a monthslong investigation.

The booking photo for the singer D4vd -- whose real name is David Burke -- is shown during a press briefing in Los Angeles on April 20, 2026.
LAPD

The Los Angeles County medical examiner found she had two penetrating wounds to her torso, including injury to her liver, and reported evidence of traumatic injury. There were presumptive positives for benzodiazepines and meth/MDMA in her system, the report stated.

There was severe postmortem change to her body based on how long she had been dead.

The report lists the place and date of injury as "unknown," and the manner of death as homicide.

The death investigation report was completed on Dec. 9, 2025, though it had remained under seal until the court ordered its release this week.

PHOTO: Memorial for murdered teen in Lake Elsinore, CA
LAKE ELSINORE, CA - SEPTEMBER 25, 2025: Photographs, intimate notes, and flowers are among the items left at a memorial on Thursday for slain teen Celeste Rivas Hernandez who was found dead in the trunk of a Tesla in a Hollywood tow yard on September 25, 2025 in Lake Elsinore, California.
Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

D4vd faces a slew of charges and special circumstances alleging he continuously committed "lewd and lascivious sexual acts" with the teen while she was under the age of 14, and that he killed her for financial gain "to maintain his very lucrative musical career that Celeste was threatening" to expose, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said during a press briefing on Monday. The charges also allege he unlawfully mutilated human remains, Hochman said.

A not guilty plea was entered on D4vd's behalf during his arraignment on Monday, and he remains held on no bail.

A status conference in the case is scheduled for Thursday.

D4vd Arrest
David Anthony Burke, whose stage name is D4vd, is arraigned Monday, April 20, 2026, in Los Angeles on charges of killing a 14-year-old girl whose dismembered body was found in his car. (Ted Soqui/Pool Photo via AP)
The Associated Press

Rivas Hernandez, a reported runaway from Riverside County, was last known to be alive on April 23, 2025, when she arrived at D4vd's home in the Hollywood Hills, according to Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell. She was never heard from again, Hochman said.

On Sept. 8, 2025, her badly decomposed, dismembered body was found in the trunk of D4vd's abandoned, impounded Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard, officials said.

Her head and torso were found in one bag, and her arms and legs in another, according to the court documents from Hochman filed in connection with a Los Angeles County grand jury investigation in connection with the teen's death.

The Tesla had been at the impound lot for two days after being found abandoned on a Hollywood street, investigators said. The teen may have been dead for several weeks before her body was discovered, police said. Her remains were found a day after her 15th birthday, according to her death certificate.

D4vd's attorneys have maintained the "Romantic Homicide" singer's innocence since his arrest last Thursday.

"The actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death," his attorneys, Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter, said in a statement on Monday. "We will vigorously defend David's innocence." 

In a statement released through the family's attorney on Tuesday, the teen's parents remembered her as a "beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance."

"We love her very much and she always told us that she loved us. We miss her deeply," her parents, Jesus Rivas and Mercedes Martinez, said. "All we want is justice for Celeste."

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