Prosecutors allege D4vd bought chainsaws, body bag after teen killing

Prosecutors are building their case around what they say David Anthony Burke bought online after Celeste Rivas Hernandez died: two chainsaws, a body bag and a shovel. In a court brief filed Wednesday, April 29, 2026, Los Angeles County prosecutors alleged the purchases were part of an effort to dismember and conceal the 14-year-old’s body after she was killed in April 2025.

The filing says Burke, known professionally as D4vd, was 21 at the time of the brief and used online marketplaces to obtain the tools days after the killing. Prosecutors allege he then dismembered Rivas Hernandez’s remains in the garage of his Hollywood Hills home and took steps to hide the body. The allegations are aimed at showing planning after the killing, not only the act itself, and at supporting the prosecution’s claim that Burke tried to cover up the crime.

Rivas Hernandez’s decomposed remains were found in September 2025 in the front storage area of a Tesla owned by Burke. The car had been impounded after being parked in Hollywood Hills near a rental property where Burke had been living. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said last week that the girl died from multiple penetrating injuries caused by objects. The medical finding did not identify a specific weapon, though reports said it was consistent with stabbing.

Prosecutors have also alleged that Burke continued with public appearances the day after the alleged killing. Those claims add to their theory that the conduct following Rivas Hernandez’s death reflected consciousness of guilt and an effort to maintain a public image while concealing what had happened.

Burke has pleaded not guilty. His attorneys have maintained his innocence and vowed to “vigorously defend” him. The case has drawn intense attention because it involves a social media and music figure, a missing child and allegations of a violent killing followed by a methodical attempt to dispose of the remains. After Rivas Hernandez was identified, a makeshift memorial appeared outside her home in Lake Elsinore, California.