Text messages between singer D4vd and Celeste Rivas Hernandez shown in court Friday revealed she was pregnant and had an abortion more than a year before the murder.In an exchange earlier in January 2024, D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, apologizes for “making this happen to him.”
The message reveals Celeste Rivas Hernandez was pregnant
“It’s okay,” he said in his voice, “none of us can take care of the child. Is that okay?”He apologized again before asking if it was his, to which he replied “of course it’s yours.”The testimony came during a preliminary hearing where a judge will decide whether Burke should be charged in her murder.
Photos taken in court
Prosecutors spent Friday afternoon detailing Burke’s relationship with Rivas Hernandez, showing sexually explicit photos of the two.The photos were recovered from his iPhone which was seized during a search of his home. The text message conversations taken from her iCloud account often discussed contraception and pregnancy, and in early January 2024, she discussed abortion.
Prosecutors say D4vd ‘sexually abused’ minors
Prosecutors want to prove that Burke began abusing Rivas Hernandez when she was 13 and then 18, stabbing her to death when she threatened to reveal their long sexual history and violate her contract. He allegedly dismembered the body in his garage, and a police investigator testified at the preliminary hearing that samples taken from bloodstains found there matched Rivas Hernandez’s DNA.
Doctors reveal more about the killer
The doctor who operated on 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez described the complications of her death Friday at a hearing to determine whether singer D4vd should be charged in her murder.Most of what Dr. Grant Ho of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner said on the stand it was already known: He was killed by two sharp wounds to his upper body and his crushed, decomposed body was found in the trunk of Tesla.But the details he shared about what the autopsy showed — and, more tellingly, what he couldn’t figure out because of the damage to his body when it was found — made Friday the most difficult yet. The footage shown at the inquest brought unsettled seats and murmurs in the courtroom.The defense used uncertainty as to whether there could be other causes of death, including overdose or self-harm.Autopsy results were difficult to achieveHe testified that he could not say when the death occurred – one of the complications that arise from the decomposition of the body.“It’s hard to say,” Ho said.He said he had been dead “for weeks,” then added that it could have been months. Authorities believe he was killed in April 2025; His body was found last September.
The murder case of Celeste Rivas
Rivas Hernandez’s body was found in a Tesla taken from the Hollywood Hills in September, nearly five months after authorities said Rivas Hernandez was killed.Rivas Hernandez was found the day after he would have turned 15.“She hasn’t reached her 15th birthday yet, has she?” Silverman asked. “Okay,” Ho replied.Ho said there were many “skin lesions” that could have occurred post-mortem, but the two he identified as possible stab wounds were related to internal injuries. One abdominal wound penetrated his liver. Another, in the left chest, damaged his ribs.Ho said, “it can take minutes, at least,” for someone to lose enough blood to die from their injuries. The prosecutor said in court that Burke “stopped right where he came out.” When pressed, he said it would take an hour, but he wouldn’t give up.
Protection applies to anonymous drug tests
He testified that toxicology tests, which were performed only on the liver because there was no blood, showed a low alcohol concentration that may have been caused by postmortem bacteria. He said the trials initially showed the benefits of benzodiazepines – drugs used for anxiety – and methamphetamine. He said another benzodiazepine test was negative. Methamphetamine was unproven, and as a result Ho said “I can’t say it played a role in the death.“Burke’s attorney, Marilyn Bednarski, asked if decomposition could affect the accuracy of drug test results, and Ho agreed that it could.“You don’t have enough information in the toxicology report to support a drug-related death, do you?” Bednarski asked. Ho said he was right.Bednarski asked if it helps during an autopsy to talk to friends and family about the deceased’s life — whether they had mental health problems, were suicidal, used drugs frequently or were violent.Ho replied “opportunity” to each of them but said there was no such discussion on the matter.Ho said he could not tell if there was a struggle before the death, or where the wounds came from.“You wouldn’t say he was carrying the weapon that caused the wounds?” Bednarski asked.Ho said self-inflicted injuries often included “doubtful symptoms” – and those that were not found – but he probably couldn’t tell.
D4vd to be tried for murder?
Burke could be charged with murder, dismemberment and rapeProsecutors want to prove that Burke began abusing Rivas Hernandez when she was 13 and then 18, stabbing her to death when she threatened to reveal their long sexual history and violate her contract. He allegedly dismembered the body in his garage, and a police investigator testified at the preliminary hearing that samples taken from bloodstains found there matched Rivas Hernandez’s DNA.
D4vd accuses ‘innocents’
A preliminary hearing began Tuesday, and will be used by a judge to decide whether the case should be prosecuted.Burke has pleaded not guilty to murder, rape and mutilation, and his lawyers have maintained his innocence.