D4vd Ordered Body Bag And Chainsaws After Teen’s Death, Detective Says

Singer D4vd purchased a assemblage bag, chainsaws, an inflatable excavation and a shovel online aft nan death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, a homicide detective testified Tuesday.

Prosecutors allege D4vd, whose ineligible sanction is David Burke, utilized nan items to dismember Rivas Hernandez’s body aft stabbing her to decease erstwhile she threatened to expose their narration and harm his euphony career, which 1 witnesser said had earned much than $10 cardinal successful a fewer years.

During nan first time of a preliminary hearing to find whether nan lawsuit tin proceed to trial, homicide detective Joshua Byers testified that Burke placed nan orders nether nan othername Trayvion Davis but utilized his ain slope cards and had nan items delivered to his Hollywood home.

Burke’s attorneys person denied that he caused Rivas Hernandez’s death. He has pleaded not blameworthy to murder, continuous intersexual maltreatment of a kid nether 14, and unlawful mutilation of quality remains.

Byers said astir of nan items that integer records show Burke bought, including 2 of nan 3 concatenation saws and nan bluish pool, had been recovered successful Burke's car shed erstwhile a warrant was served. Prosecutors antecedently said a humor stain successful nan car shed matched Rivas Hernandez's DNA.

And Byers testified that nan assemblage container Burke ordered matched 1 that contained nan caput and torso of Rivas Hernandez successful nan trunk of a Tesla registered to Burke astatine a Hollywood tow gait connected Sept. 8, 2025.

Prosecutors show photos of teen's dismembered body

The lead prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman, showed photos successful tribunal of nan dismembered and decomposing assemblage of Rivas Hernandez. Under nan assemblage bag, authorities recovered a garbage container pinch nan girl's arms and legs.

Burke's lawyer, Blair Berk, pressed Byers astir whether nan assemblage container was tested to necktie it to nan defendant. Berk's cross-examination took a microscopic look astatine really nan segment was treated and nan assemblage was investigated.

Byers said nan aesculapian examiner astatine nan segment told him nan container could not beryllium taken into grounds because nan assemblage was truthful decomposed it could not beryllium removed from it.

Rivas Hernandez’s parents were successful tribunal on pinch dozens of reporters and members of nan nationalist who sewage their seats done a lottery drawing. Her mother appeared to look down erstwhile nan photos of nan assemblage were displayed.

Investigators did not instantly place nan assemblage of Rivas Hernandez erstwhile it was found. Byers said her father, Jesus Rivas, called constabulary a fewer days aft nan body’s find because he had seen news reports and feared it was his daughter.

The photos showed bluish fragments connected nan assemblage that prosecutors opportunity were from nan inflatable pool.

Byers besides testified that erstwhile he and his partner arrested Burke, they noticed he had ‘Celeste’ tattooed successful reddish connected his finger. A photograph of it was shown successful court. A tattoo connected different digit publication “Shhh” and was identical to 1 connected Rivas Hernandez's finger.

Body camera video shows Burke downplaying nan relationship

Also Tuesday, prosecutors showed a assemblage camera video from February 2024 pinch Burke telling sheriff’s deputies who were investigating aft nan then-13-year-old Rivas Hernandez was reported missing; Burke told them he had only met nan woman erstwhile successful person, and did not cognize she was a minor.

“She told maine she was 18,” nan vocalist said successful nan video from February 2024. “Everybody’s telling maine she was 13.”

Prosecutors allege that D4vd had already been having a intersexual narration pinch nan woman for respective months. He was 18 astatine nan time. Burke said he met nan woman arsenic a instrumentality online connected Discord and Instagram successful 2020 aliases 2021.

LA County Sheriff's Deputy Juan Gonzalez, whose assemblage camera video was shown, testified that Burke had been highly cooperative, and allowed him and his partner to hunt nan house. They recovered nary motion of Rivas Hernandez, who was reported missing a number of times successful nan years earlier her death.

The temper was friends and jovial among nan three, and 1 of nan deputies says “Ohhh, that’s beautiful cool, bully for you,” erstwhile Burke described his euphony career.

The proceeding resembles a mini trial

The preliminary hearing, which is expected to past astir 4 days, resembles an abbreviated trial. Judge Charlaine Olmedo will determine whether nan prosecution offered capable grounds to show probable origin to proceed to trial.

District Attorney Nathan Hochman said extracurricular nan proceeding that his agency has not yet decided whether to prosecute nan decease punishment successful nan case.

The defendant, who has been held without bail successful a jailhouse adjacent nan courthouse since his arrest, appeared successful tribunal successful his Orange jailhouse apparel and glasses. The judge ruled that his hands could beryllium uncuffed, but he must stay shackled to his chair.

A tribunal filing said Burke sent a car to prime up Rivas Hernandez connected April 23, 2025, from her hometown of Lake Elsinore, California, immoderate 80 miles (129 km) extracurricular Los Angeles. They exchanged messages until she arrived astatine his home, aft which her telephone went dead.

“Knowing he had to soundlessness nan unfortunate earlier she ruined his euphony profession arsenic she had threatened,” nan archive said, “defendant stabbed nan unfortunate to decease aggregate times and stood by while she bled out.”

D4vd had budding euphony career

One of Burke’s financial managers, Benjamin Gregor, testified that he had earned betwixt $10 cardinal and 11.5 cardinal from 2023 done 2025.

D4vd began making euphony for YouTube videos he created of nan video crippled Fortnite.

The songs he wrote and recorded connected his telephone were a blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. The euphony made him a arena connected TikTok, SoundCloud, and Spotify, wherever his apical songs, including his 2022 breakthrough “Romantic Homicide,” person much than a cardinal plays.

In 2023, he released 2 EPs and opened for SZA connected tour. Last year, he performed astatine nan Coachella euphony show and released a afloat medium that he was connected circuit promoting erstwhile nan assemblage was discovered.