Autopsy confirms teen killed by sharp object in D4vd murder case

The Los Angeles Medical Examiner released an autopsy report Thursday confirming that 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez died from multiple penetrating injuries, ruling her death a homicide, as musician D4vd faces first-degree murder charges in the case, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.

The report, released months after Celeste's dismembered body was found in a Tesla belonging to D4vd in September 2025, provides the first official forensic account of her death as prosecutors prepare to argue the case at trial.

The report, reviewed by ABC7 Los Angeles, documented two stab wounds — one to the right abdomen with injury to the liver, and a second to the left chest. Celeste's remains weighed 71 pounds when discovered and were in an advanced state of decomposition. Toxicology tests detected benzodiazepines and methamphetamine/MDMA in her system. Blue plastic material fragments were also found embedded in cut surfaces of her remains.

Los Angeles Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Odey Ukpo said the wait before releasing the findings weighed heavily. "After several months, I am grateful this information can now be released, not only to the public, but also to the grieving family enduring loss. It is unfathomable they have had to wait this long to learn what happened to their daughter," Ukpo said.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman pointed to motive at a prior news conference. "This murder was committed for financial gain, as the evidence will show in court. The financial gain was for Mr. Burke to maintain his very lucrative musical career that Celeste was threatening," Hochman said. Prosecutors allege D4vd — who has approximately 4 million TikTok followers — invited Celeste to a rented home in the Hollywood Hills on April 23, 2025, killed her, then dismembered her body and left the remains in the front trunk of his Tesla.

D4vd, whose given name is David Anthony Burke, has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder with special circumstances, continuous sexual abuse of a minor and mutilation of human remains. His legal team rejected the prosecution's account. "The actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death. We will vigorously defend David's innocence," his attorneys said in a statement.

Barry Fisher, former director of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Crime Lab, told ABC7 the blue plastic fragments recovered from the body could indicate the type of weapon used. "That's possibly from fragments of a, say, a plastic device, a knife or something," Fisher said.

Celeste's family, in a statement issued through an attorney, said the report's contents were devastating. "The Rivas Hernandez family is absolutely devastated by the findings contained in the Medical Examiner's Report involving the horrible and gruesome death of their beloved daughter," the statement said.

If convicted, Burke faces a maximum sentence of life without parole or the death penalty. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, addressing questions about the investigation's pace, said: "I want to be clear about something — my duty is not to fuel speculation, it's to deliver justice. And that requires patience and discipline on everybody's part."