The family of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose remains were found inside a Tesla registered to singer D4vd, said it was “shocked” by new “horrifying allegations” that prosecutors submitted in court, the family attorney said Thursday.
The new brief filed on Wednesday alleged that D4vd or David Burke used a “chainsaw and perhaps other tools” to remove the 14-year-old girl’s limbs. The “Romantic Homicide” singer had purchased tools to carry out his plot to dismember and dispose of the victim’s body,” according to the prosecutors.
Some of the objects bought and delivered to Burke’s home under a pseudonym include a shovel, two chain saws, a body bag, heavy-duty laundry bags and a blue inflatable pool, the brief alleged.
Credit: Rivas Hernandez family.
“There are no words to express the indescribable pain the family is experiencing right now,” Patrick Steinfeld, the Rivas Hernandez family attorney, said in a statement. “They still have bills to pay and jobs they go to every day. All they want is time to grieve and heal.”
The lawyer added given the gruesome and painful details that are being released frequently, the family will no longer make a statement. Instead, Steinfeld will speak for the family, the attorney said.
Prosecutors also claimed that Burke went the extra mile to destroy and discard the victim’s body.
“After placing her body into the blue inflatable pool to prevent her blood from spilling onto his garage floor, defendant used a chain saw and perhaps other tools to cut off her limbs. Small blue plastic fragments were found embedded in the victim’s remains, which were collected by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Department,” according to the filing.
The filing alleges that Burke “amputated her left ring and pinky fingers because her ring finger contained a tattoo of his name,” and her fingers have not been recovered.
Prosecutors also noted biological samples were collected from the garage area of Burke’s home, and DNA analysis determined some of them matched the 14-year-old’s “unique genetic profile.”
According to the newly released document, Burke and Rivas Hernandez met in January 2022 when she was 11 years old, and they began a “sexual relationship” in November 2023 when he was 18 and she was 13.
The teen’s mother had reported her missing in 2024 when she was only 13 years old.
Prosecutors also said the “text exchanges between the victim and the defendant contain references to sex, pregnancy, abortion and use of the Plan B emergency contraceptive.” There are also explicit photo evidence to corroborate the relationship, the brief said.
Investigators believe the teen was likely killed on April 23, 2025 following an argument. Her body was later found in Burke’s Tesla Model X on Sep. 8, 2025 before his arrest on April 15, 2026.
Burke’s preliminary hearing was scheduled for May 26 following a status hearing on May 12.