Overview
- The multi‑day preliminary hearing began Tuesday with prosecutors showing body‑cam video, crime‑scene photographs and testimony to establish probable cause linking David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd, to the killing and dismemberment of 14‑year‑old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
- Prosecutors say the evidence includes DNA and blood found in Burke’s garage, purchase records for chainsaws, a body bag and an inflatable pool ordered under an alias, location and text records, and blue plastic flecks tying the pool to the victim’s remains.
- The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death as multiple penetrating injuries and testimony described severely decomposed, dismembered remains recovered from a Tesla registered to Burke in September 2025.
- Burke, who has pleaded not guilty, remains jailed without bail as the judge considers whether the case should go to trial and the district attorney continues to evaluate whether to seek the death penalty.
- The courtroom display of graphic images, watched by the victim’s parents, has prompted a county review of alleged coroner‑file access and highlighted the unusually large volume of digital discovery that has already delayed proceedings.