The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office released a formal autopsy report on April 22, 2026, confirming that 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez died from penetrating injuries. The report officially classifies the death as a homicide. The findings had been under a court-ordered seal since November 2025 at the request of law enforcement officials following the discovery of the victim’s remains in the Hollywood Hills. Prosecutors agreed to the unsealing of the document this week as the criminal proceedings against 21-year-old David Burke, the alt-pop musician known professionally as D4vd, move forward in the California legal system.
Burke was formally charged on Monday with first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a person under the age of 14, and the mutilation of a dead body. The charges stem from an investigation that began in September when Hernandez’s dismembered and decomposed remains were discovered in two bags inside the trunk of a Tesla vehicle. According to the criminal complaint filed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, the prosecution alleges that Burke killed the teenager with a sharp object and performed the dismemberment approximately two weeks later to conceal the crime.
The prosecution’s motive for the killing centers on an alleged sexual relationship between Burke and Hernandez that reportedly began when the victim was 13 years old. Legal filings suggest that Hernandez had threatened to report the relationship to authorities, and prosecutors allege that Burke committed the murder out of fear that the allegations would terminate his rising professional career. Burke appeared in court earlier this week and entered a plea of not guilty to all counts. His legal representatives have issued statements asserting that Burke did not cause the death of Hernandez and that they intend to provide a vigorous defense against the allegations.
The case highlights the ongoing intersection of the entertainment industry and the criminal justice system in Southern California, a region where high-profile cases involving public figures often prompt significant institutional scrutiny. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has faced sustained pressure to address crimes involving the exploitation of minors, particularly within the digital media and music sectors where rapid fame can bypass traditional management oversight. This trial is expected to serve as a significant legal touchstone for the application of California’s penal codes regarding the protection of minors in the context of the modern influencer and music economies.
With the autopsy report now part of the public record, the legal process transitions into the discovery phase. The Los Angeles Superior Court is scheduled to review forensic evidence and digital communications recovered from the defendant’s personal devices in the coming months. If convicted of first-degree murder with the included special circumstances, Burke faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The release of the medical examiner’s findings provides the first official confirmation of the mechanical cause of death, a detail that will be foundational to the upcoming preliminary hearings.