Judge weighs murder trial for singer D4vd after grisly autopsy testimony

A Los Angeles judge heard autopsy testimony from Dr. Grant Ho in the preliminary hearing for singer D4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, on first-degree murder charges in the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The preliminary hearing began July 21 in Los Angeles County court, and its narrow task was to decide whether the state had cleared the probable-cause threshold for a trial.

Ho, a medical examiner with the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner, performed the autopsy and took the stand. His testimony added the medical record to a case already built around graphic forensic evidence, body-camera footage, crime-scene photos, and material recovered from Burke’s rented Hollywood Hills home and Tesla. The autopsy could help establish how Rivas Hernandez was injured and the condition of her body, but it could not by itself identify who caused the wounds or prove intent.

Investigators also testified about blood stains and DNA evidence. A police criminalist testified that testing on evidence seized from the Hollywood Hills residence showed a DNA profile consistent with that of a 14-year-old girl. The case centers on the September 2025 discovery of Rivas Hernandez’s dismembered body in a Tesla registered to Burke, months after she had been reported missing in spring 2025.

The state also pointed to Burke’s phone. A detective testified that it contained sexual photos of Rivas Hernandez and messages about abortion. Prosecutors allege that Burke began sexually abusing her when she was 13 and he was 18, and that he killed her after she threatened to reveal their relationship and ruin his career.