Prosecutors say D4vd cut off his victim’s tattooed finger to hide his own name, and it still hasn’t been recovered

A new court filing issued Wednesday alleges that singer D4vd, born David Anthony Burke, amputated two of Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s fingers in a deliberate attempt to “distance himself from the victim.” As detailed by UNILAD, one of those fingers was tattooed with Burke’s name, making the alleged amputation a calculated effort to sever any traceable link between him and the teenager. Neither digit has been recovered.

Burke stands accused of murdering Rivas Hernandez on April 23, 2025, just days before his debut album was set to drop. Prosecutors allege he killed her to prevent her from exposing their relationship and derailing his music career. They further claim he dismembered her body with a chainsaw, stuffed the remains into two bags, and left them inside the trunk of his Tesla.

The medical examiner’s report confirmed that Rivas Hernandez died from “multiple penetrating injuries caused by object(s)” and was found to be missing two fingers. One bore a tattoo reading “Shhh…” while the other, prosecutors allege, was inked with Burke’s name. That detail is central to their argument that the amputations were a deliberate attempt to conceal their connection.

The alleged cover-up was methodical and premeditated

According to the new briefing, Burke first met Rivas Hernandez when she was 11 years old. Prosecutors allege he began a sexual relationship with her when she was 13, at which point Burke was 18, and claim the relationship continued even after the two broke up in November 2024.

Text messages recovered by authorities reveal an argument between the pair the night before she was killed. Rivas Hernandez was allegedly jealous of Burke seeing other women and threatened to “end his career and destroy his life” by exposing their illegal relationship. Prosecutors allege that Burke then invited her to his Hollywood Hills home the following day, ordering an Uber for her from Lake Elsinore, Riverside County, and stabbed her multiple times shortly after she arrived. Her cell activity reportedly ceased on April 23, 2025.

The alleged cover-up efforts extended well beyond that day. Prosecutors claim Burke sent text messages to Rivas Hernandez’s phone after he knew she was dead, pretending to ask where she was, then stopped all contact after April 26, 2025. In the days following the alleged murder, he is accused of ordering two chainsaws, a body bag, heavy-duty laundry bags, and a blue inflatable pool from Amazon, some of them under the fake name Victoria Mendez. Amid a separate Wisconsin case drawing similar attention for a domestic killing with premeditation allegations, prosecutors here say the Amazon purchases point directly to planning.

Prosecutors allege Burke used one of the chainsaws to dismember her body in the inflatable pool, specifically to contain blood and prevent it from spilling onto his garage floor. Small blue plastic fragments found embedded in the victim’s remains reportedly matched the purchased pool, and DNA from blood stains in his garage matched Rivas Hernandez’s genetic profile. He allegedly placed her remains in the body bag and garbage bags before leaving them to decompose in his Tesla, and lied to friends and associates who noticed a strong smell emanating from his home and vehicle.

The body was not discovered until September 2025, when the vehicle was impounded and a site manager alerted law enforcement after detecting a strong smell of decay from the trunk. Surveillance footage allegedly shows Burke as the last person to drive the car in July 2025, shortly before he left for a concert tour. The discovery led investigators to pursue charges that ultimately resulted in his arrest.

Burke was arrested on April 16, 2026, and formally charged on April 20. The charges include first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains. If convicted, he faces life imprisonment or the death penalty. Amid broader coverage of violent crimes escalating across the country, including a woman who showed up at her aunt’s door covered in blood in a separate case, this case has drawn particular attention given Burke’s public profile.

Burke has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail. His attorneys, Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski, and Regina Peter, stated following his arrest that he “was not the cause” of Rivas Hernandez’s death and that they intend to “vigorously defend David’s innocence.” A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for May 26, 2026.