Gruesome details of chainsaw and 'burn cage' revealed in D4vd trial as argument with Celeste Rivas, 14, allegedly led to slaying and dismemberment 97%
By Marjorie Hernandez0% Melissa Koenig0%
4/29/2026, 9:49:36 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 27 faulty reasoning types, including Post Hoc (False Cause), Appeal to Emotion, and Confirmation Bias, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 42% saturation with 451 hits. Analysis detected 2,671 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,073 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 95.2% and a BS Rank of 97% (695 of 21,887 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 96.80% of the article peer group.
D4vd allegedly used chainsaws when he dismembered 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez and a 'burn cage' to destroy evidence, chilling new court documents reveal.
The gruesome details came to light after the singer, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, was charged with first-degree murder last week for killing the teenager, whose body was found in the trunk of his Tesla.
The LA County District Attorney's Office now claims Burke knew Rivas Hernandez was underage as he continued to pursue a sexual relationship with her.
Prosecutors provided the shocking details in a nine-page preliminary trial brief filed on Wednesday, when the singer also appeared during a 40-minute hearing.
After they broke up last April, Rivas Hernandez became jealous over Burke's relationship with other women, according to the brief.
Rivas Hernandez 'threatened to disclose damaging information about her relationship with defendant to end his career and destroy his life,' the documents state.
At that time, prosecutors say, Burke was set to release his first solo album and had a multi-million dollar career at stake.
With that allegedly on his mind, Burke sent an Uber to pick Rivas Hernandez up at her home in Lake Elsinore, California, at around 8.40pm on April 23 last year, and she was dropped off at the home he was renting in Hollywood Hills at around 10.10pm.
'Knowing he has to silence the victim before she ruined his music career as she had threatened, very soon after her arrival at his home, [the] defendant stabbed the victim to death multiple times and stood by while she bled out,' the brief alleged.
'At no time did he call law enforcement... to take her to the emergency room to attempt to save her life.'
Instead, Burke allegedly tried to cover up his tracks by sending a text message to Rivas Hernandez asking where she was.
But following the murder, Burke allegedly drove about an hour north of his property in Los Angeles to Santa Barbara as he tried to dispose of some evidence.
Burke then arrived home the following morning and went to a show interview.
That same day, he also allegedly ordered a shovel from Home Depot and two days later, he stopped texting the teenager.
By May 1, prosecutors said Burke also decided to order two chainsaws, and on May 5, Amazon delivered a body bag, heavy-duty laundry bags and a blue inflatable pool to the home he was renting.
Burke allegedly made those purchases under the name 'Victoria Mendez.'
He then allegedly returned on May 8 and May 31 to Santa Barbara, where prosecutors said Celeste's identification was found in January in an isolated area off Highway 154.
The final part of his efforts to dispose of evidence came on July 7, when Burke ordered and had Amazon deliver a 'burn cage' to his rental home under the same fake name 'as part of his plan to incinerate evidence,' prosecutors allege.
They go on to claim that Burke 'took horrifying measures to destroy and discard the victim's body.
'After placing her body in the blue inflatable pool to prevent her blood from spilling onto his garage floor, defendant used a chainsaw and perhaps other tools to cut off her limbs,' prosecutors alleged.
'Small blue plastic fragments were found in the victim’s remains, which were collected by the LAPD’s Forensic Science Division, Trace Analysis Unit.’
Prosecutors said forensics matched those plastic fragments to the inflatable pool Burke had bought weeks earlier.
They also claim that in an effort to 'distance himself from the victim, he amputated her left ring and pinky fingers because her ring finger contained a tattoo of his name.'
Those fingers have never been recovered.
Once Burke was done mutilating the body, prosecutors say he put Rivas Hernandez's head and torso in the cadaver bag and placed her limbs in a garbage bag, placing both in the front trunk of his Tesla.
He then allegedly lied to his friends and business associates when they started to notice a strong smell of decay around the house.
Before he left for his tour at the end of July, he parked the Tesla on the street around the corner from the house he was renting.
The singer was formally charged earlier this month with first-degree murder with special circumstances, continuous lewd acts with an individual under 14 and mutilating human remains of a body.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office explained the special circumstances for Burke's first-degree murder charge, which includes 'lying in wait, committing this crime for financial gain or murdering a witness in an investigation.'
The charges, filed in California, carry a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole and the death penalty.
Burke's defense lawyer entered not guilty pleas to all counts during his first court appearance on Monday.
D4vd, pronounced David, gained popularity among Gen Z fans for his blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop.
He went viral on TikTok in 2022 and landed a record deal.
His popularity led to collaborations with stars such as SZA and Kali Uchis.
When the teenager's body was discovered, Burke had been on a tour in support of his first full-length album.
The tour was later canceled.
On Wednesday, defense attorney Blair Berk asked Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine F Olmedo to seal the preliminary trial brief.
'The prosecution filed an unusual brief that appears to be a very one-sided view of what is anticipated as evidence in this case,' Berk said.
'We have a very real concern about the reasonable possibility of the jury pool at a future trial to be tainted.
She continued: 'We are concerned about prejudging witness credibility and certainly witnesses who have yet to testify, and any compromise of the preliminary hearing itself, allowing witnesses to tailor their testimony.'
The judge denied Berk's request.
'Here in LA County, the jury pool is extremely large and LA has a plethora of high-profile cases,' Olmedo said.
'This case is not unique in that prospect.'
Burke, who remained mostly silent during last week's hearing, looked anxious and diminutive, wearing a bright orange county jail garb that hung loose on his thin 5ft 4in frame.
His attorneys have asked his preliminary hearing to be continued to May 26, but the singer will appear for another hearing on May 12.
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78%flagged-word coverageBlair Berk
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