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Its the kind of case that has social media doing double takes and scrolling back for context. When the names D4vd and Celeste Rivas Hernandez appear in the same headline, the details only seem to grow more unsettling. And now, fresh allegations from prosecutors are adding even more weight to an already disturbing timeline.
According to a newly released preliminary hearing brief, prosecutors are laying out a chilling timeline they say connects D4vd to the death of Hernandez. They allege he arranged for an Uber to bring her to his home on April 23, 2025, where she was last seen alive. According to court documents, tensions between the two had escalated the night before. Furthermore, text messages allegedly showed a heated exchange that prosecutors describe as a turning point in their relationship.
In the filing, Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman shared details from the text messages. Prosecutors say this language helps frame the alleged motive behind the events that followed:
[Hernandez] became extremely upset and threatened to disclose damaging information about her relationship with defendant to end his career and destroy his life, Silverman claimed.
In the filing, prosecutors claim D4vd stabbed the victim to death multiple times. It is also revealed that he remained present as she bled out, before allegedly attempting to conceal what happened. They further allege he placed her body in an inflatable pool to prevent the blood from spilling onto his garage floor. Continuously, he then used a chainsaw and other tools to dismember her remains nearly two weeks later. Investigators say fragments of plastic found with the remains matched an inflatable pool allegedly purchased under a fake name.
The brief also states Burke allegedly tried to cover his tracks digitally. It was revealed that he sent texts and made calls to Celestes phone after prosecutors believe she had already died. Prosecutors claim that this was seemingly an attempt to make it appear she was still alive.
As previously reported, her remains were later discovered in two separate bags inside the trunk of his Tesla after police responded to reports of a foul odor coming from the vehicle in September 2025just a day after what would have been her 15th birthday. Burke, who has pleaded not guilty to charges including murder and continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, is currently being held without bail as prosecutors say they are reviewing an extensive amount of evidence ahead of his rescheduled preliminary hearing on May 26.
