D4vd has been accused by prosecutors of dismembering a teen girl with a chainsaw in his garage after buying tools online.
The musician (real name David Anthony Burke) was charged with the murder of a 14-year-old girl, Celeste Rivas Hernandez, on April 20, and has pleaded not guilty.
Hernandez’s remains had been found severely decomposed in the front boot of a Tesla registered to Burke last September and, earlier this year, the artist was named as the target of a grand jury investigation into the apparent murder.
Now, in an evidence filing that details D4vd’s alleged motive and speculated efforts to cover his tracks, prosecutors accuse the singer of purchasing tools online, including chainsaws, to dismember the body.
Their argument claims that D4vd met Hernandez when she was 11 and began to sexually abuse her when she was 13 and he was 18 (via BBC News). They also allege that she sent D4vd text messages threatening to expose their relationship and jeopardise his image and career before she was allegedly murdered.
The court filing yesterday (Wednesday April 29) saw prosecutors allege that the singer stabbed Hernandez multiple times at his home, and claimed that they had tracked his purchases online in the following days, in which he used a fake name to buy two chainsaws, an inflatable blue pool, a body bag and a shovel.
They also claim he purchased a “burn cage” and had plans to burn evidence.
Prosecutors say D4vd bought two chainsaws online and used them to dismember Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s body in an inflatable pool in his garage.
Investigators say fragments of that pool were found in cut wounds on Celeste’s body. pic.twitter.com/Y38XOEUmZu
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) April 30, 2026
D4vd has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers have vowed to “vigorously defend David’s innocence” and that “evidence will show that David did not kill Celeste”.
The singer appeared in court yesterday wearing an orange jumpsuit from the Los Angeles County Jail and was shackled. He did not speak much during the hearing, other than to agree with his preliminary hearing being pushed back until later next month.
The filing in court saw prosecutors allege that Burke and Hernandez had an argument over text messages in April 2025 about the singer’s relationship with other women, and Hernandez threatened to “disclose damaging information” about their illicit relationship in an attempt to “end his career”.
They also claim that she was killed the following day, and on that day D4vd had ordered an Uber for her to come to his house.
D4vd sent texts around then asking where she was, but prosecutors allege this was done to cover his tracks.
As for the purchases of tools online, they said: “Defendant took horrifying measures to destroy and discard the victim’s body,” (via The Independent) and added that the girl’s DNA was later found in his garage.
They argued that Burke drove around 110miles northwest of his home to dispose of evidence, and returned home on April 24 to give a radio interview to promote his debut album ‘Withered’ which was released the next day.
In court yesterday, Burke’s lawyers attempted to block the release of the filing, arguing that it would lead to more media coverage and potentially interfere with him getting a fair trial. Judge Charlaine Olmedo allowed for the document to be released, however agreed to keep some other pieces of evidence sealed.
Another hearing will take place on May 26.
In the wake of D4vd being charged, his collaborations with Laufey, Damiano David, Kali Uchis and more have been removed from online streaming platforms, and it has been revealed that he was quietly dropped by his record label last year.
Last week, the court heard that investigators had obtained access to Burke’s iCloud account, which they claimed “contains a significant amount of child pornography”.
Burke has been charged with first-degree murder, as well as murder for “financial gain” and with murder of a witness to an investigation. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and is being held without bail. If found guilty, he could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
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