Celeste Rivas Hernandez died as a result of “multiple penetrating injuries,” according to a Wednesday report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Singer David Burke, known as D4vd, is charged with murder, sexual abuse and bodily mutilation in connection with the teenager’s death. He pleaded not guilty on Monday to the apparent stabbing.
The victim’s dismembered and rotting body was discovered in the trunk of a Tesla registered to the “Romantic Homicide” performer in September. She’d been missing for nearly a year. The electric vehicle had been impounded at a Hollywood tow yard. Local reports said the car had been reported missing.
The medical examiner said Hernandez’s cause of death was determined on Dec. 9, 2025, but that a court order initiated by the the Los Angeles Police Department prevented that information from being made public.
Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Odey Ukpo expressed regret about not being able to release information about the case to the public and to the victim’s family until now.
“It is unfathomable they have had to wait this long to learn what happened to their daughter,” he said. “The transparency of the information contained in our findings and reports is essential for empowering the community to make informed changes to affectively reduce fear and allowing the community to take informed action.”
Reports related to Hernandez’s death said she was 14 years old, though the medical examiner on Wednesday listed her age as 15. Authorities suspect the 21-year-old suspect wanted to keep a sexual relationship between himself and the victim quiet in the months leading up to the April 25 debut of his album “Withered.”
Authorities said Hernandez left home when she was 13. She’s believed to have visited Burke’s Hollywood Hills property around the time she was killed.
Her family said in a statement to KABC in Los Angeles, “All we want is justice for Celeste.”
With News Wire Services