Court Reveals D4vd Victim Had Abortion Before Alleged Murder

Singer D4vd allegedly killed and dismembered 13-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez after she threatened to expose their long-standing illegal sexual relationship, text messages revealed in a Los Angeles court, according to prosecutors. The 21-year-old artist, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, faces charges including murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains following the discovery of the victim’s decomposing body in a Tesla boot in September.

Text Messages Detail Relationship, Abortion, and Threat to Career

During the fourth day of a preliminary hearing in Los Angeles, prosecutors reviewed dozens of text messages exchanged between Burke and Ms Hernandez a year prior to her death, according to court testimony. In the messages, Burke asks the teenager when she is going to have an abortion before asking, “it is mine right?” according to the prosecution. Ms Hernandez replied, “of course its yours David,” court documents show. At the time of the messages, the teenager was 13 years old.

Prosecutors alleged in charging papers that Burke stabbed the teenager to death in April 2025 and subsequently dismembered her body with a chainsaw. According to the state’s case, the killing was motivated by the teenager’s threat to make their long-standing and illegal sexual relationship public, which prosecutors argue jeopardized the singer’s rising music career. Burke rose to fame in 2022 when his track “Romantic Homicide” became a viral sensation on TikTok.

Discovery of Remains and Forensic Testimony

Ms Hernandez’s decomposing body was located last September inside the boot of a Tesla registered in the singer’s name. The vehicle had been towed to a Hollywood impound lot, according to investigators. Los Angeles Police Department detective Corey Farrell testified Friday that Burke’s iPhone contained numerous photographs showing him having sex with Celeste.

Dr Grant Ho, who performed the autopsy on Ms Hernandez, testified Friday that determining an exact post-mortem interval was “extremely difficult” because the remains were “severely decomposed.” During cross-examination, defence lawyer Marilyn Bednarski questioned the medical examiner regarding whether the teenager might have injured herself or sustained wounds during a struggle. While Dr Ho agreed he could not rule out that she held the instrument causing the wounds, he specified that he did not observe typical “hesitation marks” associated with suicide and self-harm cases.

Charges, Defense Stance, and Potential Sentences

Burke has entered a denial to one count each of murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains, according to court records. If convicted on the current charges, the 21-year-old could face life imprisonment or the death penalty.

The preliminary hearing, which determines whether sufficient evidence exists to take the singer to trial, is expected to conclude on Monday.

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