LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prosecutors on Tuesday began outlining in graphic detail their murder case against the indie pop singer known as D4vd, who is accused of stabbing and dismembering his 14-year-old girlfriend after she threatened to go public with their relationship.

Burke became a music sensation on TikTok in 2022, which earned her a recording deal. His debut studio album was released in April 2025, the week his girlfriend Celeste Rivas Hernandez went missing.

He was arrested in April 2026 and charged with first-degree murder, mutilation of human remains, and child sexual abuse. He has declared himself innocent of all charges.

A police detective described the discovery of a body in a car at an impound lot in Hollywood in September 2025, later identified through dental records as Celeste.

According to testimony from Los Angeles Police Department Detective Joshua Byers, police were called when workers noticed a strong odor coming from the vehicle. The victim’s parents sat in the courtroom as Byers described a horrifying scene, including the “very distinctive smell” of decay familiar to homicide detectives.

Investigators found Celeste’s torso and head inside a black vinyl cadaver bag stuffed in the front trunk of a Tesla registered in the name of the musician’s legal name, David Burke. Underneath the body bag was a plastic garbage bag containing the victim’s severed body parts, Byers said.

The girl had a secret tattoo on her right index finger that read “SHH,” Byers said.

Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman briefed Byers about her testimony and showed gruesome photos of the scene in the quiet courtroom.

Sitting at the defense table in orange prison garb for the preliminary hearing, Burke, 21, looked at the screen, appearing to follow along attentively.

More witnesses will be called

A preliminary hearing requires the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office to demonstrate to the judge that enough evidence exists for the case to proceed to trial.

District Attorney Nathan Hochman, speaking to reporters outside court, said prosecutors would call more than 10 witnesses over three to five days and decide later whether to seek the death penalty.

Burke went viral in 2022 for songs he recorded on his phone for a Fortnite gaming video. The hit single “Romantic Homicide” helped them sign a deal with Interscope Records.

He performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California last year, less than two weeks before prosecutors said he killed her out of fear that his underage girlfriend would harm his budding career.

Defense attorney Blair Burke said during his client’s April 20 arraignment, “We believe the actual evidence will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez, nor was he the cause of her death.”

Prosecutors filed a brief with the court the following week outlining their evidence and the alleged motive for the girl’s murder, which the DA’s office said was likely caused by her cellular activity stopping on April 23, 2025.

Prosecutors said Burke wanted to silence the girl because she had become jealous of him and threatened to ruin her burgeoning music career by publicizing damaging information about their relationship.

The district attorney’s office said Burke had secured highly profitable product endorsements at the time.

In one of the specific charges included in the charges, Burke is accused of committing murder for financial gain. Another alleges that he did so because the victim was a witness to a crime.

‘Terrible solution’

Investigators also recovered text message references to sex, pregnancy, abortion and Plan B emergency contraception, as well as sexually explicit photographs.

According to the court brief, a day after they had a fight over threats to expose her, Burke called her for an Uber ride to his home in the Hollywood Hills, and stabbed her to death after she arrived. The autopsy found that he died of “multiple serious injuries”.

In their brief, prosecutors also alleged in graphic detail the “horrific measures” they said Burke took to dismember and dispose of the girl’s body.

According to the document, the artist placed the victim’s body in a blue inflatable pool “to prevent blood from spreading on his garage floor”, then removed her organs with a chainsaw “and probably other tools.”

The brief states that Burke purchased the pool, two chainsaws, a shovel, a body bag and other items online under a fake name and had them delivered to his home after the murders.

According to his court statement, Burke was the last person to drive the vehicle on July 29, 2025, before he abandoned it near his home and went on a concert tour. Weeks later, the car was taken to a seizure site where workers reported a smell of decomposition and alerted authorities on September 8.

According to prosecutors, a search of Burke’s garage that month turned up dismemberment evidence, including blood samples and the remains of an inflatable pool with “multiple linear cuts.”

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