Graphic autopsy details dominated Day 4 of the preliminary hearing for singer David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd, as Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Grant Ho described the advanced decomposition and injuries to 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
This is a preliminary hearing. Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo is deciding only whether prosecutors have enough evidence to send the case to trial. Guilt or innocence is not on the table.
Dr. Ho told the court the odor from the remains was strong enough to be detected from the hallway outside the autopsy room.
“The body was markedly decomposed,”
He said. He estimated the remains had been deceased for “at least weeks.” When asked if that condition was consistent with a death as early as April 24, 2025, Ho answered, “Potentially.”
He described two life-threatening penetrating wounds: one to the abdomen that entered the liver and another to the left chest that damaged ribs. Both, he testified, could have caused death within minutes. The cause of death was ruled multiple penetrating injuries, manner homicide.
Dismemberment sites appeared on both arms and both legs, with additional amputated fingers. Cut surfaces through bone were relatively smooth, and tiny blue plastic fragments were embedded in some of them. Asked whether the injuries were consistent with a power saw or chainsaw, Ho repeatedly said, “Potentially.” On a hypothetical involving a blue inflatable pool, he answered, “Possibly.” He could not determine whether dismemberment occurred before or after death.
Photos and illustrations taken during the autopsy procedure were also entered as evidence in the courtroom proceedings. Burke, who is not guilty of first-degree murder, sexual abuse of a child and the illegal handling of human remains, did not show any sign of emotional distress.
According to the prosecution, Celeste was murdered sometime between April 23-24, 2025 by Burke in his Hollywood Hills house before storing the victim’s remains in the front end of his Tesla that was recovered on September 8, 2025 from a Hollywood tow yard.
The hearing continues before Judge Olmedo. Burke remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
