A presentation on collected graphic photographs and testimony outlining the discovery of the remains of missing 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez months after her demise was the prosecutors’ opening scene during the preliminary hearing in singer D4vd’s murder case on Tuesday, July 21.
Shown in the photographs, taken at a Hollywood tow yard, were the dismembered torso and limbs of the victim, including an arm severed at the elbow and legs chopped into multiple pieces.
These were sealed in a cadaver bag and a black plastic trash bag later uncovered by investigators inside a Tesla registered to D4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, according to the testimony of Josh Byers, a detective of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Byers stated that he saw “various limbs of a body – arms and legs that had been severed” after opening the bag.
He further attested that the dismembered legs of Hernandez had been cut at the kneecaps and divided into four pieces, according to a related report from the Los Angeles Times.
Other photographs presented by prosecutors showed the victim’s left hand with two missing fingers.
They claim that concealing a tattoo that could prove Burke’s rumoured connection with Hernandez was the motivation behind the removal of the fingers.
To back this allegation, investigators said they later found the name “Celeste” among the defendant’s tattooed fingers, according to evidence presented in court.
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The alleged cover-up unfolds
Burke is accused of murdering Hernandez at his Hollywood Hills home in April 2025 after she threatened to expose their relationship and then dismembered her body to hide the crime.
Prosecutors stated that the defendant used an alias to order a portable “burn cage” and acquired chainsaws, body bags, a shovel, and an inflatable pool.
Despite the murder and continuous sexual abuse charges, Burke maintained a not-guilty plea and denies wrongdoing through his legal team.
Additionally, testimony from a former manager reportedly backs the allegation that the killing involved financial motives due to the mentioned $11.5 million earnings of the defendant from record contracts and other income between 2023 and 2025.
A five-day stretch is expected for the preliminary hearing before deciding whether the case proceeds to trial.
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James Mario Ajero 
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