LOS ANGELES (Court TV) — Prosecutors continue to focus on the grisly discovery of a missing teenager’s remains inside a Tesla as they present their case against recording artist David “d4vd” Burke.
A sketch shows David ‘d4vd’ Burke in court during his preliminary hearing. (Sketch by Mona Edwards)
The 21-year-old singer-songwriter has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, continued lewd and lascivious acts with an individual under 14 years old and mutilating a human body in the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, a teenager who had been reported missing and whose body was found on what would have been her 15th birthday.
Prosecutors are presenting just a portion of the evidence they say they’ve amassed against Burke at a preliminary hearing that began on Tuesday and is expected to continue through the rest of the week.
Court TV’s reporter in the courtroom confirmed that Rivas Hernandez’s family was in attendance on Wednesday, sandwiched between the attorney representing them in a wrongful death lawsuit and a victims advocate from the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.
Burke has remained shackled, over his attorneys’ objections, during the hearing but was allowed to have his handcuffs removed to facilitate writing notes. While he has had a yellow legal notepad in front of him, he does not appear to have written anything during proceedings.
On Wednesday, an officer with the California Highway Patrol testified that Rivas Hernandez’s U.S. passport card was found by the side of a highway on Jan. 7 — months after her death. The card was found approximately 10 feet off Highway 154 in a dirt-covered area with tall grass a day or two after a rainstorm had moved through. The Caltrans worker who first found the card said they used Google to search the name on it; after seeing the media reports saying that Rivas Hernandez was missing, the employee called CHP and turned the card over to responding officers.
Criminalist Chelsea Murillo testified that she processed the Tesla after the victim’s remains were found inside. Murillo said that while the body bags containing Rivas Hernandez’s remains had been removed, she smelled decomposition and saw insect activity centered around the vehicle’s front storage area. Photos shown in court detailed multiple air fresheners — including ones marked “LUV is in the air” — throughout the Tesla; Murillo said that she found at least 11 in the car’s center console, front trunk and rear seats.
Prosecutors have suggested that Burke began having a sexual relationship with Rivas Hernandez when she was just 13 years old and that he may have killed her after she threatened to reveal it. As part of the evidence laying out a financial motive to silence the victim, prosecutors called Benjamin Greger, who was previously employed by a talent management company to work with Burke and manage his finances, to the stand. Greger testified that from 2023 to 2025, Burke’s approximate gross earnings were between $10 million and $11.5 million. Prosecutors have said Burke stood to lose record deals if the truth about his illegal relationship came out.
Burke’s defense has been trying to challenge evidence collected by the investigators in the case, questioning why some items, including a “burn cage” allegedly purchased by the defendant, were never tested for DNA. His attorneys also pointed out that two chainsaws and an electric saw found in Burke’s home tested negative for blood.
