A 14-year-old girl whose dismembered body was found in the trunk of a Tesla last September died from "multiple penetrating injuries," the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office announced, months after investigators first discovered her remains and weeks after the car's owner, singer D4vd, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found dead on September 8, 2025. It took investigators until December 8, 2025, to determine her cause and manner of death. The public only learned the results this week, as the New York Post reported, after prosecutors filed formal charges against the musician whose legal name is David Burke.
The delay left a grieving family in the dark for months. The charges, when they finally came, paint a picture of a young girl who went to a man's house and never came home, and of a suspect who allegedly had every reason to make sure she didn't.
Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Odey C. Ukpo said the autopsy ruled the death a homicide. AP News reported that examiners found two torso wounds with smooth edges consistent with sharp force injuries, including one that penetrated the liver and another that damaged ribs.
Her body was badly decomposed by the time it was discovered. Medical investigators found her torso and head in a black zippered body bag inside the Tesla's trunk. Her arms and legs were in a separate trash bag.
Dr. Ukpo addressed the long wait families endure in cases like this:
"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."
He added that transparency in the findings was "essential for empowering the community to make informed changes to affectively reduce fear and allowing the community to take informed action."
Burke was arrested April 16 at a Hollywood Hills home where he had been staying. California Post obtained exclusive footage showing him in handcuffs being led away. On Monday, prosecutors charged him with first-degree murder with three special circumstances: lying in wait, murder of a witness to an investigation, and murder for financial gain.
Those special circumstances tell a story on their own. Officials believe Burke thought allegations of sexual relations with a minor could derail his music career. Rivas was a witness in a lewd-and-lascivious investigation. The charges allege he killed her to silence that threat, and that money was part of the motive.
Burke also faces charges of lewd and lascivious sexual acts with an individual under 14 years old, and mutilating the human remains of a body. Just hours after the charges were announced, Burke appeared for his arraignment. He remained silent. His legal team entered a plea of not guilty on all counts.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman laid out the prosecution's theory in stark terms, as the Washington Times reported:
"Celeste, a 14-year-old at that time, went to Mr. Burke's house in the Hollywood Hills. She was never heard from again."
Court documents described investigators finding a cadaver bag inside the Tesla, which was registered to Burke and had been towed from the Hollywood Hills area.
Burke's attorneys, Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski, and Regina Peter, released a joint statement following his arrest that pushed back hard against the allegations. The statement, issued before formal charges were filed, noted that no grand jury indictment had been returned at that time.
"Let us be clear, 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. There has been no indictment returned by any grand jury in this case and no criminal complaint filed. David has only been detained under suspicion. We will vigorously defend David's innocence."
Charges have since been filed. Burke has pleaded not guilty. The case now moves toward trial, where the defense will have to contend with the autopsy findings, the body in their client's car, and the prosecution's theory of motive.
The case carries echoes of other high-profile arrests that shocked the public with their details, a young victim, a recognizable suspect, and a set of facts that defy easy explanation.
On Tuesday, Rivas' parents Jesus and Mercedes broke their silence through family attorney Patrick Steinfeld. Their statement thanked the Los Angeles Police Department and the District Attorney's Office for "their hard work" and the community of Lake Elsinore for its support.
But the heart of their message was about the daughter they lost:
"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."
Those words carry a weight that no legal proceeding can fully address. A 14-year-old girl who loved movie night with her parents is dead. Her body was dismembered. Her remains sat in a car trunk. Her family waited months just to learn how she died.
Investigations into violent crimes sometimes move slowly for legitimate forensic reasons, and the condition of the remains in this case clearly complicated the medical examiner's work. Cold and delayed cases are a grim reality of the justice system. But the timeline here, body discovered in September, cause of death determined in December, arrest not until April, raises fair questions about how long families should have to wait before they even know what happened to their child.
Breitbart reported that prosecutors allege Burke killed Rivas with a sharp object before dismembering her body. The autopsy's finding of smooth-edged wounds consistent with sharp force trauma aligns with that theory.
The prosecution's special-circumstances allegations suggest this was not a crime of sudden passion. Lying in wait implies premeditation. Murder of a witness implies a cover-up. Murder for financial gain implies a cold calculation, that a music career was worth more than a child's life.
Burke has pleaded not guilty. His defense team has promised a vigorous fight. The trial will determine whether the evidence supports the prosecution's theory or whether the defense can offer an alternative explanation for how a dead, dismembered 14-year-old ended up in their client's car.
Violent crimes against children demand the most serious accounting the justice system can provide. Cases involving young victims test whether prosecutors, judges, and investigators are willing to pursue the harshest available charges and see them through.
The special circumstances attached to Burke's murder charge carry the potential for the most severe penalties California law allows. Whether the system follows through is now the only question that matters.
There are open questions. The exact location where the Tesla was found beyond the Hollywood Hills area has not been specified publicly. The full details of the lewd-and-lascivious investigation that Rivas was reportedly a witness to remain unclear. And the gap between the December determination of cause of death and the April arrest has not been fully explained by authorities.
Cases like this one, and others involving fatal violence and delayed justice, remind us that the system's credibility depends not just on filing charges, but on the speed and seriousness with which it protects the most vulnerable.
Celeste Rivas loved to sing and dance. She had Friday movie nights with her parents. She was fourteen. The system owes her family more than a not-guilty plea and a long wait.