Autopsy Doctor Details Teen Girl’s Fatal Injuries At D4vd’s Preliminary Hearing

The expert who performed nan autopsy connected 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez gave nan difficult specifications of her decease Friday at a proceeding to find whether vocalist D4vd should spell connected proceedings successful her killing.

Much of what Dr. Grant Ho of nan Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner said connected nan guidelines was already known: She had been killed by 2 crisp unit wounds to her precocious assemblage and her dismembered, decomposing assemblage was recovered successful nan trunk of a Tesla.

But nan specifications he shared of what nan autopsy showed — and tellingly, what it was incapable to find because of really degraded her assemblage was erstwhile it was recovered — made Friday's proceedings possibly nan astir difficult truthful far. Photos shown from nan autopsy brought uncomfortable shifting successful seats and murmurs successful nan courtroom.

The defense seized connected nan uncertainties to propose location mightiness person been different causes of death, including an overdose aliases self-inflicted injuries.

The preliminary proceeding began connected Tuesday, and will beryllium utilized by a judge to determine if nan lawsuit should spell to trial.

Rivas Hernandez's parents were successful nan building but stayed extracurricular nan courtroom for nan autopsy testimony. D4vd, whose ineligible sanction is David Burke, sat adjacent to his lawyers successful orangish jailhouse apparel and glasses, and did not show immoderate emotion during nan testimony.

Rivas Hernandez's assemblage was discovered successful a Tesla towed from nan Hollywood Hills successful September, astir 5 months aft authorities said Rivas Hernandez was killed.

Autopsy conclusions were difficult to reach

Ho testified that he could not opportunity erstwhile nan decease occurred — 1 of galore challenges brought connected by nan body's degradation.

“It’s highly difficult to tell,” Ho said.

He said she had been dormant for “at slightest weeks.” Asked by Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman whether it could person been 4 to 5 months, he said “potentially.” Authorities judge she was killed successful April 2025; her assemblage was discovered past September.

Rivas Hernandez was recovered nan time aft she would person turned 15.

“She didn’t make it to her 15th birthday, correct?” Silverman asked. “Correct,” Ho replied.

Ho said location were galore “skin defects” that could person been postmortem, but nan 2 he identified arsenic imaginable stab wounds had related soul trauma. One coiled connected nan abdomen penetrated her liver. Another, connected nan near chest, damaged her ribs.

Ho said, “it would return minutes, astatine least,” for personification to suffer capable humor to dice from nan injuries. The prosecution has asserted successful a tribunal filing that Burke “stood by while she bled out.” When pressed, he said it could person perchance taken an hour, but wouldn't perpetrate to that.

Defense seizes connected inconclusive supplier test

He testified that toxicology tests, done only connected her liver because nary humor was available, showed a debased level of intoxicant that whitethorn person been caused postmortem by bacteria. He said nan tests initially showed positives for benzodiazepines — medications typically utilized for worry — and methamphetamine. He said pinch further testing nan benzodiazepine was negative. The methamphetamine was inconclusive, and arsenic a consequence Ho said "I cannot opportunity that it played immoderate domiciled successful nan death.”

Burke's attorney, Marilyn Bednarski, asked if decomposition could impact nan accuracy of supplier trial results, and Ho agreed it could.

"In nan toxicology study location is not capable accusation to support an overdose death, correct?" Bednarski asked. Ho said she was correct.

Bednarski asked if it helps successful an autopsy introspection to talk to nan friends and family of nan deceased astir their life — if they had a intelligence wellness issue, were suicidal, were a predominant supplier personification aliases were violent.

Ho answered “potentially” to each of those but said location were nary specified conversations successful this case.

Ho said he could not show if location had been a struggle earlier death, aliases wherever nan wounds came from.

“You can’t norm retired that she was holding an instrumentality that caused either of those wounds?” Bednarski asked.

Ho said self-inflicted injuries usually see surrounding superficial “hesitation marks” — and those were not recovered — but different he could not say.

D4vd could guidelines proceedings for murder, mutilation and intersexual abuse

Prosecutors are seeking to beryllium Burke began sexually abusing Rivas Hernandez erstwhile she was 13 and he was 18, past stabbed her to decease erstwhile she threatened to uncover their agelong intersexual history and crater his career. They allege he dismembered nan assemblage successful his garage, and a constabulary expert testified successful nan preliminary proceeding that samples pulled from evident humor stains location matched nan DNA of Rivas Hernandez.

Burke has pleaded not blameworthy to murder, intersexual maltreatment of a kid and mutilation of a body, and his lawyers person said he is innocent.

An indie-pop vocalist whose euphony and online beingness brought him a immense following, D4vd's songs and videos often person acheronian and convulsive imagery often delivered done an alter-ego characteristic he calls Itami. His breakthrough azygous successful 2022 was called “Romantic Homicide,” 1 of respective of his songs pinch much than a cardinal plays connected Spotify.