D4vd preliminary hearing details decomposed body found in Tesla trunk

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page Horrific details of Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s death have been shared in court as David Anthony Burke – known as D4vd – faces trial. The 14-year-old girl’s parents were in court for the preliminary hearing, during which images of her dismembered corpse were shown. In September last year, her remains were found in a Tesla registered to the rapper, 21, who was arrested and charged with her murder. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges of murdering and sexually abusing the teenage girl. The evidence is being laid out for the first time as prosecutors seek to convince a judge there is enough to proceed to trial. For Celeste’s parents, the ordeal was more than they had anticipated, with their lawyer, Patrick Steinfeld, calling it ‘extremely painful’. David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd, is accused of murdering a 14-year-old girl (Picture: EPA) The girl’s mum, Mercedes Martinez, reportedly sobbed through the hearing and ‘never recovered’. Speaking to TMZ after the hearing, Steinfeld called the evidence ‘damning’, saying it seems to get ‘harder and harder’ for the still grieving family. In a graphic reveal, he said her body had liquefied and ‘just looked like mush’, leaving even her head unrecognisable. ‘This is the first time they’ve heard this evidence in detail, and they’re horrified,’ Steinfeld also told the BBC after the court hearing. ‘There was an image of Celeste’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. It was absolutely deplorable. ‘They’re at a loss for words and they’re just trying to do the best they can.’ While he had told Celeste’s mum she didn’t have to be in the room, she had insisted on showing support for her late daughter. Celeste Rivas Hernandez was unrecognisable when her body was found (Picture: BACKGRID) She was discovered in a body bag in a Tesla registered to Burke (Picture: KABC) The grieving parents were reportedly told they ‘won’t unsee’ those images, with Steinfeld calling it a ‘parent’s worst nightmare’. During the hearing, a homicide detective reportedly testified that Burke had ordered chainsaws, an inflatable pool, a shovel, and a body bag online days after her death. Detective Byers described opening a cadaver bag inside the Tesla to discover decomposing human remains, including a head and torso. The bag underneath contained her severed limbs. The Tesla had been found abandoned in a tow yard, with the teenager’s remains discovered inside after employees complained of a foul smell coming from the car. Celeste was said to have had a matching ‘Shhh’ tattoo with Burke on her right index finger, which was shown in pictures, while he also has a tattoo of her name. She was last seen alive on April 23, 2025, when she went to the rapper’s home in the Hollywood Hills. Burke is currently facing a preliminary hearing to see if the trial will go ahead (Picture: AP) He and the teenager had matching tattoos (Picture: via REUTERS) During a previous hearing in April at a court in LA, prosecutors claimed Burke possessed a ‘significant amount’ of child pornography on his phone. He had eight terabytes of data in iCloud storage, with only one terabyte able to be downloaded so far. It’s unclear if any of the images were of Celeste or how much of the storage was child pornography. The charges Burke is facing could potentially make him eligible for the death penalty. The charges are: first-degree murder with special circumstances, including lying in wait, committing the crime for financial gain, murdering a witness to an investigation, lewd and lascivious sexual acts with a person under 14 years old, and the mutilation of a human body. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The body of a teenage girl found in the trunk of US singer D4vd's car had been decomposed to the point it was "unrecognisable," a police detective testified in a Los Angeles court on Tuesday. The 21-year-old D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, faces several charges, including murder in the horrifying death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Her body was discovered in Burke's Tesla last September within days of what would have been her 15th birthday. Los Angeles Police Detective Joshua Byers testified during the preliminary hearing's first day, saying that when law enforcement opened the trunk of Burke's car in a tow yard, he recognised the "very distinctive smell" of a corpse. Grim photographs of the girl's dismembered remains were shown to the court, with a large black bag containing her head and torso. When asked whether he was able to recognise any facial features, Byers said: "No, there was a quite a bit of decomposition to where skin slippage...made it unrecognisable." Her arms and legs were found in a separate bag where "there was insect activity. There was maggots. There was various stages of flies," Byers told the court. Burke, who attended the court hearing wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, did not flinch when the pictures were shown. Prosecutors said the singer met the girl when she was just 11 years old, and started a sexual relationship when she was 13. Body camera footage played during the hearing Tuesday showed Burke telling sheriff deputies: "She told me she was 18. Everybody saying she was 13." The victim's mother had reported her missing in 2024 when she was just 13 years old. Prosecutors alleged in charging papers that Burke killed her after she threatened to make their long-standing and illegal sexual relationship public, jeopardising his singing career. Burke has denied one count each of murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains. He could face life imprisonment or the death penalty if convicted. Los Angeles chief prosecutor Nathan Hochman said the preliminary hearing, in which a judge will determine whether the case proceeds to trial, will last "three to five days." "We believe we will more than accomplish the evidentiary burden of probable cause at this point to hold David to answer on these three felony charges," Hochman told the press.