American singer D4vd used a chainsaw to dismember the body of an underage teenage girl with whom he had had sexual relations, according to a court document made public Wednesday by the Los Angeles prosecutor’s office.
The 21-year-old artist, real name David Anthony Burke, was arrested in mid-April for the macabre murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, a young Californian whom he kept under his control for months.
His body was discovered dismembered and in a state of decomposition in a Tesla registered in the singer’s name on September 8, in a Hollywood impound lot.
“The accused took appalling measures to destroy and dispose of the victim’s body,” details the prosecution document published Wednesday.
“After placing her body in a blue inflatable pool to prevent her blood from spilling onto her garage floor, the defendant used a chainsaw and possibly other tools to cut off her limbs.”
DAvd also allegedly amputated two of the girl’s fingers, one of which had a tattoo of her name.
The prosecution claims that the body remained in the vehicle for almost four months before its discovery.
D4vd is being prosecuted for murder, sexual assault on a minor and mutilation of a corpse. He has pleaded not guilty and faces life imprisonment or the death penalty.
This macabre murder aroused a lot of interest in the United States, particularly because D4vd’s work seemed to echo it.
The R&B singer rose to fame in 2022 when his track “Romantic Homicide” became a huge hit on TikTok.
In the music video for another song, “One More Dance,” released last year, the singer features a double of himself being dragged to a car before being locked in the trunk.
According to the prosecution, D4vd would have killed Celeste Rivas Hernandez, after a violent argument, the young girl threatening to reveal their sexual relationship, which could, according to them, have ended her musical career.
The singer allegedly called him to his Hollywood home on April 23, 2025. “Knowing that he had to silence the victim before she ruined his musical career, (…) the accused stabbed the victim several times until death ensued and remained watching her bleed out,” relates the court document.
According to the prosecution, D4vd had met the girl when she was 11 years old, and had sexual relations with her when she was 13. They would have separated at the end of November 2024. Exchanges of messages would mention “a pregnancy, an abortion and the use of the morning after pill”.
The police had already questioned D4vd in February 2024, after Celeste was reported missing by her family. He then denied knowing that she was a minor and the teenager returned home a few days later.
Her parents then confiscated her phone, but according to the prosecution, D4vd paid a college student $1,000 to give the teenager a new device in order to continue their relationship. In the following months, he reportedly took her to Las Vegas, Texas and London.
During a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, the singer’s defense denounced the document made public by the prosecution as “biased”, and called for it to be sealed in order to guarantee a fair trial. A request rejected by the judge.
D4vd remains in pre-trial detention. His next appearance has been set for May 12.
