On the opening day of a high-profile preliminary murder case against 21-year-old rising singer David Anthony Burke, known professionally by his stage name D4vd, prosecutors presented gruesome, never-before-publicly-seen evidence of 14-year-old victim Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s dismembered remains — forcing the teen’s grieving parents to confront horrific details of their daughter’s death in a packed Los Angeles downtown courtroom.
Prosecutors laid out graphic photographs of Celeste’s body, which was discovered last September inside the trunk of a Tesla registered to Burke at a Hollywood tow yard. The photos, which had only previously been referenced in sealed court filings, marked the first time the physical evidence was displayed publicly during the hearing, which will determine whether there is sufficient proof to move the case to a full jury trial.
According to lead homicide detective Joshua Byers’ testimony, online purchase records show Burke ordered a collection of disturbing items just days after Celeste’s death: a heavy-duty body bag, multiple chainsaws, a large inflatable pool, and a shovel, all of which were delivered to his home address under a false name. Prosecutors allege these items were purchased specifically to dismember Celeste’s body and cover up the killing.
Prosecutors’ narrative of the crime alleges that Burke, who had sexually abused Celeste over a period of years, murdered her to protect his burgeoning multi-million dollar music career. They claim he stabbed the 14-year-old to death after she threatened to expose their inappropriate relationship, then dismembered her body with a chainsaw to hide evidence of the killing. Burke has formally pleaded not guilty to all charges of murder and aggravated sexual abuse.
For Celeste’s family, the first day of the hearing was an unimaginable ordeal, according to their attorney Patrick Steinfeld, who spoke with reporters after the session wrapped. Steinfeld said he had warned both parents that viewing the graphic evidence would leave an indelible, traumatic mark, and offered them the option to step out of the courtroom during the presentation of photographs. Celeste’s mother, Mercedes Hernandez, insisted on staying, telling her lawyer she wanted to be present to stand with her daughter.
“This is the first time they’ve heard this evidence in detail, and they’re horrified,” Steinfeld told the BBC. “There was an image of Celeste’s torso and her head in the trunk of the car, and the prosecutor had to ask what it was because you could not tell it was a head. It was absolutely deplorable. They’re at a loss for words and they’re just trying to do the best they can.” Steinfeld added that Mercedes Hernandez broke down crying immediately after seeing the images, and that the experience has been “a parent’s worst nightmare” for the intensely private family.
Lead prosecutor Beth Silverman repeatedly paused before displaying each graphic photograph, turning to Celeste’s parents to warn them of the content and offer them the chance to look away. At multiple points during the evidence presentation, Mercedes was comforted by supporters seated beside her in the courtroom gallery.
Detective Byers told the court that when he first opened the locked trunk of the Tesla at the tow yard, he found a sealed cadaver bag containing heavily decomposed remains: a severed torso and head, with a second black garbage bag holding additional dismembered limbs tucked underneath. Due to the advanced state of decomposition, Byers testified, Celeste’s face was no longer identifiable when her body was found.
Additional physical evidence presented on Tuesday linked Burke directly to the victim, the court heard. Prosecutors displayed photographs of two tattoos on Burke’s hands: a red-ink rendering of “Celeste” on his left ring finger, and a tattoo reading “Shhh…” on his right index finger. Matching photos showed Celeste had an identical “Shhh…” tattoo on her right index finger, and prosecutors also presented a photograph of a severed hand found with Celeste’s remains that included the ring and little finger.
The small Los Angeles courtroom was filled to capacity long before the hearing got underway Tuesday. Members of the press, independent content creators from YouTube and TikTok, and curious members of the public entered a public lottery to win one of the limited number of public seats, and a tense, anticipatory hush fell over the room when Burke was led into the courtroom. Clad in a standard-issue orange jail uniform and shackled at the wrists and ankles, Burke remained chained to his defense table throughout the entire proceeding. He offered a brief smile to his legal team before responding politely to the judge’s opening comments, and otherwise remained quiet during the day’s testimony.
The preliminary hearing is scheduled to continue over multiple additional days, with prosecutors set to call additional witnesses to build their case that sufficient evidence exists to move the murder case to a full jury trial.