Overview
- Los Angeles County prosecutors, who announced the filing Monday, charged David Anthony Burke with first-degree murder in the killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he remains jailed without bail.
- The murder count includes special circumstances of lying in wait, killing a witness, and financial gain, which make the case eligible for life without parole or a possible death sentence, with the decision on seeking death to come later.
- Prosecutors say Burke had a sexual relationship with the minor and also charged him with lewd acts with a child and mutilating human remains, adding that she was last seen arriving at his Hollywood Hills home on April 23, 2025.
- Investigators found Rivas Hernandez’s dismembered, decomposed body in two bags inside the front trunk of Burke’s impounded Tesla on Sept. 8, 2025, after the car was towed from the Hollywood Hills, and the autopsy details remain under court seal due to the body’s condition.
- The district attorney said the case includes digital and forensic records the state plans to present, while Burke’s lawyers deny he killed the teen and plan a vigorous defense following a months-long probe that included a grand jury identifying him as a target.