Celeste Rivas Hernandez cause of death revealed following D4vd’s murder charge
Authorities have confirmed the cause of death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez after singer D4vd was charged with her murder.
The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner have released a 26-page report confirming that Hernandez died due to homicide and suffered “multiple penetrating injuries”.
They began examining Hernandez’s body shortly after it was discovered in the trunk of D4vd’s, real name David Anthony Burke, Tesla in a towyard in Hollywood in early September 2025 and reached the conclusion of the autopsy in December.
Authorities believe her death occurred around May 5th, 2025, four months before her body was eventually found.
The report states she suffered “penetrating wounds of the torso”, one was to her right abdomen which caused the liver to be punctured and another wound to the left chest, as well as “dismemberment of the upper and lower extremities”.
The report concluded that the injuries were caused by “object(s)” that have yet to be identified.
They also found “multiple skin defects”, and it took “dental radiograph comparison” to identify the body as Hernandez.
Earlier this week, the Hernandez family issued their first statement, telling ABC, “We would like to thank the Los Angeles Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office for their hard work. We would also like to thank the people of Lake Elsinore for all their support.”
They continued, “Celeste was a beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance. Every Friday night was movie night and we spent wonderful times together. We love her very much and she always told us that she loved us. We miss her deeply. All we want is justice for Celeste.”
Burke was arrested on April 16th, before being charged with first-degree murder, as well as charges for lewd acts with a child and for dismembering the victim’s body on April 20th. If found guilty, he could potentially face the death penalty.
He has since entered a not guilty plea. Burke’s next court date is set for 8:30am local time (16:30pm BST) on April 23rd.
Burke’s attorneys, Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter, said in a statement to the BBC that they “will vigorously defend David’s innocence”.
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