Prosecutors Claim D4vd Murdered Celeste Rivas Over Threats: 'Would End His Career'
· Telemundo McAllen (KTLM)
During a court appearance on Wednesday for 21-year-old TikTok star David Burke, known as D4vd, new details emerged about the evidence against him in the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernández from Southern California. Her remains were discovered in an abandoned Tesla registered to Burke. The preliminary hearing, originally scheduled for Friday, was tentatively postponed to May 26. Burke, dressed in an orange jail uniform, agreed to the delay. A defense request to allow him to change clothes and another to seal court documents were denied by the judge, citing public interest in the case. Prosecutors revealed that Burke and Celeste met in January 2022, when she was 11, and began a sexual relationship in November 2023, when she was 13 and Burke was 18. Burke was arrested on April 16 after months of investigation following the discovery of Celeste's decomposed remains in the front storage compartment of his Tesla in September 2025. The coroner determined her cause of death to be multiple stab wounds. Celeste, who disappeared from Lake Elsinore in 2024, was identified through forensic analysis. Prosecutors detailed their findings, including text messages showing arguments between Celeste and Burke, with Celeste allegedly threatening to expose their relationship and ruin Burke's career. Authorities believe Celeste died on April 23, 2025, just days before D4vd's next album release. Burke was charged on April 20, 2026, with first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a minor, and illegal mutilation of human remains, along with special circumstances that could increase his sentence, including witness murder and use of a deadly weapon. Prosecutors allege Burke killed Celeste to protect his lucrative music career, which she had threatened to expose. Burke has pleaded not guilty to all charges.