Warning: this article contains distressing details
The court has been shown gruesome images of a dismembered corpse as part of D4vd‘s murder trial in Los Angeles, California.
Earlier this year, the artist (real name David Anthony Burke) was accused by prosecutors of dismembering Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s body with a chainsaw in his garage after buying tools online.
He was charged with the murder of the 14-year-old girl on April 20, and has pleaded not guilty of murdering and sexually abusing the teen. The victim’s remains had been found severely decomposed in the front boot of a Tesla registered to Burke last September.
As BBC News reports, the court was shown a series of graphic and distressing photographs during the opening day of a preliminary hearing in the murder case against the singer yesterday (Tuesday July 21).
Hernandez’s parents were reportedly present at the hearing, where prosecutors presented the crime scene images.
A homicide detective testified that Burke, 21, had purchased a body bag, chainsaws, an inflatable pool and a shovel online in the days after the victim’s death.
The details of the murder had previously only been described in court filings. Yesterday’s hearing marked the first time that evidence and photos were shown publicly in court.
The preliminary hearing, which is not the trial itself, will see prosecutors lay out the evidence they say links Burke to the teen’s death. They are seeking to convince the judge that there is sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial.
According to prosecutors, Burke stabbed Hernandez before dismembering her body with a chainsaw to cover up the murder following years of alleged sexual abuse. It is alleged that the artist killed the teenager because she had threatened to speak out about his relationship with a minor and ruin his music career.
Per Sky News, the court was shown bodycam footage in which Burke told police that he did not know Hernandez was a minor. He claimed to have only met the then-13-year-old once in person.
“She told me she was 18,” Burke said in the video. “Everybody’s telling me she was 13.”
The Hernandez family’s attorney, Patrick Steinfeld, said the victim’s parents were “horrified” over what they had seen and heard in court, explaining that it was “the first time they’ve heard this evidence in detail”.
Steinfeld then cited an image of Hernandez’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”. He added: “It was absolutely deplorable.”
The attorney went on to say that her parents were “at a loss for words and they’re just trying to do the best they can”.
He confirmed that the teen’s mother had been warned that the graphic images would be shown. He’d advised the parents that once they saw the photographs, they would never be able to “unsee” them.
“I encouraged them to step out for a short period of time, and they decided no – they wanted to be here to show they’re supporting their daughter,” he said.
Burke was reportedly shackled at the wrists and ankles as he attended the hearing wearing orange jail clothes.
During his testimony, Detective Joshua Byers recalled opening a cadaver bag inside the car where the victim was discovered. He found decomposing human remains, including a torso and a head, and a black bag containing severed limbs.
According to Byers, Hernandez’s body was so severely decomposed that her face was no longer recognisable.
The hearing also saw the court being presented with evidence showing items delivered to Burke’s address under a fake name – including chainsaws, body bags and an inflatable pool.
It is alleged that these purchases were used to dismember and hide Hernandez’s body.
The court also heard about tattoos prosecutors claimed connected Burke and the victim. Images of a red-ink tattoo reading “Celeste” on Burke’s left ring finger, and a “Shhh…” tattoo on his right index finger, were shown to the judge.
Another photo showed Hernandez with a similar “Shhh…” tattoo on her right index finger, while a separate picture showed a hand where the ring and little finger were cut off.
The preliminary hearing is expected to last several days. Prosecutors are planning to call more witnesses in an attempt to establish enough evidence to bring the case to a jury trial.
In a previous evidence filing, prosecutors alleged that the victim had sent text messages threatening to expose her relationship with Burke before she was allegedly murdered.
As for the purchases of tools online, prosecutors claimed: “Defendant took horrifying measures to destroy and discard the victim’s body,” (via The Independent) and added that the girl’s DNA was later found in his garage.
In April, the court heard that investigators had obtained access to Burke’s iCloud account, which they claimed contained “ a significant amount of child pornography”.
His lawyers have vowed to “vigorously defend David’s innocence”, claiming that “evidence will show that David did not kill Celeste”.
The victim was first reported missing in April 2024, with the Tesla later being discovered after it had been moved to an impound lot in LA. The LAPD subsequently confirmed that the case was being treated as an “investigation into murder”.
