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The parents of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the 14-year-old girl found dead and dismembered in a Tesla belonging to aspiring singer David "D4vd" Burke, had an ongoing relationship with her accused killer that her parents knew about, according to court testimony.
They took steps to separate the two, prosecutors have said, including taking her phone away and calling police when she ran away from home. At one point, he allegedly paid a high schooler $1,000 to deliver her a new phone, according to prosecutors.
Los Angeles Police Department Detective Corey Ferrel testified about damning text message communications Monday as Burke's week-long preliminary hearing neared an end, FOX 11 Los Angeles reported.
RISING SINGER DISMEMBERED TEEN WHO THREATENED TO EXPOSE HIM IN KIDDIE POOL WITH CHAINSAW: DA
David "D4vd" Burke pictured outside Amiri, during the Paris Fashion week Men's Spring/Summer 2026 on June 26, 2025, in Paris, France. Burke has been charged with a 14-year-old girl's murder in Los Angeles. (Edward Berthelot/Getty Images)
But Burke's defense team countered that Celeste's family had consented to at least some of their time together, presenting a permission slip signed by her parents allowing Celeste to travel to London with Burke, according to the outlet. And Celeste's sister reportedly went with her and Burke on a trip to Las Vegas. In some text messages, Celeste told Burke she was 16 and 18 years old.
The judge ultimately accepted the prosecution's case and cleared a path to trial. Burke could face the death penalty if convicted, although California has a moratorium on carrying out capital punishment. Prosecutors have not yet made the decision on whether they will seek it.
Burke is accused of killing Celeste two days before his debut album was released — after prosecutors say she threatened to expose him as a child molester when he turned his attention toward other females.
Photographs, intimate notes, and flowers are among the items left at a memorial on Thursday for slain teen Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who was found dead in the trunk of a Tesla in a Hollywood tow yard on Sept. 25, 2025 in Lake Elsinore, California. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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"D4vd allegedly squandered his fame and fortune by brutally killing a young girl because he feared their illicit sexual relationship would ruin his aspiring career," said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman. "The only headlines that will accompany his stage name from here forward will be about the vicious murder of a young girl."
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Mugshot of D4vd, who is facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of a 14-year-old girl. (Los Angeles County District Attorney)
According to prosecutors, Burke invited Celeste to his home in Hollywood Hills on April 23, 2025. They said an Uber dropped her off, and that was the last time she was seen alive.
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The next morning, Burke sat for a radio interview about his forthcoming album and then began a series of what prosecutors allege were suspicious online purchases — a shovel, three chainsaws, a body bag and a blue kiddie pool. Some of the items were ordered using an alias, according to the Los Angeles DA's Office.
Burke is accused of stabbing Celeste to death shortly after she arrived, then dismembering her with a chainsaw in the pool in his garage, where investigators allegedly found DNA consistent with the victim's.
Singer D4vd arrested in Los Angeles in connection to the murder of a 14-year-old girl found in a Tesla trunk, police say. (Photo by Timothy Norris/Getty Images for Coachella)
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Then on Sept. 8, 2025, Burke's abandoned Tesla was impounded, and police found Celeste's decomposing remains inside, according to prosecutors. There were fragments of the pool plastic "embedded" in her remains.
Burke is due back in court on Aug. 31 for an arraignment hearing.
