The report adds official cause-of-death findings as prosecutors and defense lawyers prepare for the next court hearing.
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said Wednesday that Celeste Rivas Hernandez died from multiple penetrating injuries, releasing the finding days after singer David Burke, known as D4vd, was charged with murder in the killing of the 14-year-old girl whose remains were found in his Tesla.
The report gives the public its clearest account yet of how Rivas Hernandez died and moves a case that had unfolded for months under heavy secrecy into a more defined stage. Prosecutors say Burke, 21, abused the girl, killed her after she threatened to expose him and later dismembered her body. Burke has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty. The immediate stakes now center on what evidence prosecutors will put before a judge, how much of it will become public and whether Los Angeles County will seek the death penalty or life without parole if the case goes to trial.
Authorities say the known timeline begins well before the killing charge. Rivas Hernandez was reported missing from her hometown of Lake Elsinore in 2024, when she was 13. Prosecutors say she was last known to be alive on April 23, 2025, when she went to Burke’s home in the Hollywood Hills and was never heard from again. They allege he killed her that day with a sharp object and mutilated her body about two weeks later. Her remains were not found until Sept. 8, 2025, after workers at a Los Angeles tow yard reported a foul odor from a 2023 Tesla Model Y registered to Burke. Police said the vehicle had sat abandoned in the Hollywood Hills for weeks before it was towed. Detectives who opened the front trunk found a cadaver bag with a head and torso, according to court filings, and another bag underneath with severed arms and legs. District Attorney Nathan Hochman later called the case “a parent’s nightmare” as he announced the charges.
Wednesday’s medical examiner release answered a central question that had remained unresolved in public for more than seven months. The agency said Rivas Hernandez died from “multiple penetrating injuries caused by object(s)” and ruled the death a homicide. An autopsy, though, was limited by what the report described as extensive postmortem changes because the body was badly decomposed when found. The examination identified two penetrating torso wounds with smooth edges that could reflect sharp-force injuries. One wound in the upper abdomen penetrated the liver. Another on the left side of the chest damaged her ribs. The report also noted that the tube top she was wearing appeared to have been cut in three places. The medical examiner said the cause and manner of death were determined on Dec. 9, 2025, but a court order requested by the Los Angeles Police Department blocked public release for months. That order was lifted after prosecutors moved forward with charges. Even with the release, some details remain unknown, including the exact object or objects used and the precise time of death.
The charging documents broaden the case beyond homicide. Prosecutors say Burke engaged in continuous sexual abuse of Rivas Hernandez from September 2023 through September 2024, beginning shortly after her 13th birthday. In addition to one count of murder, he is charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains. The complaint also alleges special circumstances that prosecutors say could support a sentence of death or life without parole: murder of a witness, murder for financial gain and lying in wait. Prosecutors contend Rivas Hernandez was the witness because she could have exposed the alleged abuse, and they say Burke had a financial motive because he feared damage to a fast-rising music career. Burke broke through in 2022 with viral songs on TikTok and later signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records. His debut album was released in April 2025, around the time prosecutors say Rivas Hernandez was killed, and he was on tour when her remains were found months later.
In court this week, Burke’s lawyers signaled that they do not want the case to move slowly behind closed doors. A defense lawyer entered not guilty pleas to all counts Monday, and a judge ordered that Burke remain jailed without bail. Lead defense attorney Blair Berk told the court that the evidence, once aired, will show Burke did not murder Rivas Hernandez. She urged the judge to move quickly toward a public evidentiary hearing rather than let the case linger after months of grand jury secrecy. Under California law, Burke can demand a preliminary hearing within 10 court days of arraignment, and he has not waived that right. A hearing to decide the next step is scheduled for Thursday, April 23, exactly one year after prosecutors say Rivas Hernandez went to his home for the last time. Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman said the prosecution is prepared to present its case and told the court that investigators have gathered 40 terabytes of evidence. What appears in open court, and what remains under seal, may shape the public understanding of the case well before any trial begins.
The release of the autopsy report also brought the story back to Lake Elsinore, the working-class Southern California city where Rivas Hernandez grew up and where neighbors this week paused at a memorial outside her family’s home. Associated Press reporters described flowers and tributes near a white picket fence, rosary beads hanging on the front door and a painted rock that reads, “You Matter.” Her parents, Jesus Rivas and Mercedes Martinez, made their first public comments through an attorney, thanking investigators and remembering their daughter as “a beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance.” They said Friday nights were family movie nights and that they miss her deeply. “All we want is justice for Celeste,” the statement said. In town, some residents said they did not know the family personally, but the case still landed hard. One resident, Elizabeth Davalos, said the teenager had lived “a normal life” with friends at school, a remark that underscored how ordinary the girl’s world once seemed before it became tied to a case that now stretches from a quiet neighborhood to a Los Angeles courtroom.
For now, the case stands at a moment of sharper public definition but not final resolution. The autopsy has established homicide and described the injuries in greater detail. Burke remains in custody, prosecutors have laid out their allegations and the next milestone is the Thursday court hearing that will determine how quickly the evidence begins to surface.
Author note: Last updated April 22, 2026.