Horrific Forensic Details Reveal Pop Artist D4vd Allegedly Amputated Girlfriend's Tattooed Fingers

Prosecutors have presented disturbing forensic evidence in the D4vd murder case, alleging that the singer severed two tattooed fingers from Celeste Rivas Hernandez after killing her in Los Angeles.

The allegations were aired during a preliminary hearing into the death of the 14-year-old, whose remains were found inside a Tesla linked to David Anthony Burke, the artist known professionally as D4vd.

One of the missing fingers reportedly bore Burke's name, while another carried a matching 'Shhh...' tattoo shared by the pair.

Burke, 21, has pleaded not guilty to murder, sexual abuse of a child under 14 and mutilation of a body. The court evidence has not established guilt, and the allegations will have to be tested at trial.

How the D4vd Case Reached a Los Angeles Courtroom

Before his name was tied to a murder docket, D4vd was one of pop's fast‑rising acts, signing to Interscope Records in 2022 and opening for SZA on her SOS tour in 2023 and 2024.

Prosecutors now allege that behind that ascent was a years‑long pattern of sexual abuse of a child that moved from messages on gaming videos to hotel rooms, foreign trips and, eventually, a garage in Los Angeles.

According to evidence outlined at pretrial hearings, Celeste and Burke's online contact began when she was 11 and he was making Fortnite gameplay clips while pursuing music. The relationship allegedly became physical almost two years later, after his move to California.

By early 2024, the pair were travelling together. Court testimony states they went to Las Vegas, to Texas to visit his family and to London, a trip her parents allowed by signing a notarised consent form for her to travel with him.

Around the same period, prosecutors say, Celeste messaged Burke that she had missed her period shortly after turning 13.

In one text read out in court, she wrote: 'If I'm pregnant tho I'm not having it.' Burke allegedly replied, 'My mother always told me to ask in this situation, but it's mine right?'

The two discussed abortion, and Celeste later texted, 'I don't like talking about it because it gets me really upset . . . still took an innocent life of a literal baby.'

'Parent's Worst Nightmare': Graphic Evidence and Alleged Dismemberment

The preliminary hearing now underway is not Burke's trial, but it is the first time the public has seen the forensic record that sat until now in case files and sealed exhibits.

On day one, homicide detective Joshua Byers described to the judge how officers opened a cadaver bag in the front trunk of Burke's Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard in September 2025.

Inside, he said, they found decomposing human remains, including a torso and a head. Beneath that bag, in a black refuse sack, were severed limbs. Byers told the court that Celeste's face was so badly decomposed it was no longer recognisable.

Before each image came up on the courtroom screens, deputy district attorney Beth Silverman reportedly turned to Celeste's parents, warning them about what they were about to see and asking if they wanted to look away. At one point, Celeste's mother was comforted by people seated beside her as she put her head down and cried.

The family's lawyer, Patrick Steinfeld, later said the experience had been 'absolutely deplorable' for them. 'There was an image of Celeste's torso and her head in the trunk of the car, and the prosecutor had to ask what it was because you could not tell it was a head,' he explained. 'They're at a loss for words and they're just trying to do the best they can.'

Steinfeld said he had warned them that, once they saw the images, they would never be able to unsee them, and had suggested stepping out. They chose to stay. 'They wanted to be here to show they're supporting their daughter,' he said, calling it 'a parent's worst nightmare'.

Alongside the photographs, the court heard that a homicide detective found purchase records for a body bag, chainsaws, an inflatable pool and a shovel ordered online in the days after Celeste's death, delivered to Burke's address under an alias.

Investigators allege those items were used to dismember and conceal her body in his garage, then in the Tesla.

Prosecutors also pointed to DNA findings, telling the court that Celeste's DNA was allegedly recovered in Burke's garage and in his vehicle, while his DNA was identified on a bag that contained wipes with her blood.

Alleged Amputations and Matching Tattoos Link D4vd to Celeste

Among the most disturbing details raised in court are the alleged efforts to erase the most intimate physical link between the singer and the teenager.

Prosecutors showed photographs of a red‑ink tattoo on Burke's left ring finger that reads 'Celeste', and another tattoo on his right index finger that says 'Shhh...'.

They then presented a picture of Celeste bearing a similar 'Shhh...' tattoo on her own right index finger, and evidence that she had a red cursive 'David' tattoo on her left ring finger, next to a diamond engagement ring.

The court was also shown a photograph of a hand where the ring and little fingers were cut off. The image, prosecutors suggested, is consistent with the allegation that Burke deliberately removed the digits bearing those shared markings.

From 'Operation Awesome' To Alleged Murder

The emotional weight of the forensic details is magnified by the messages that came before. Prosecutors say Celeste and Burke talked about moving in together, giving the plan a name, 'Operation Awesome'.

On Valentine's Day 2024, Burke is alleged to have picked Celeste up from her parents' home after those discussions. The following day, Celeste's mother posted a plea on Facebook alongside a missing‑person flyer, writing in Spanish that she was distressed and asking anyone with information to call her.

Days later, sheriff's deputies carried out a welfare check at a house Burke had rented in West Hollywood. In body‑camera footage played in court, he can be seen greeting officers in a room lined with gold records, joking about beer in the fridge, and telling them he mostly knew Celeste online and had met her only once.

He showed them a school portrait and a copy of the missing‑person flyer on his phone. 'Everyone says she's 13, but she told me she's 18,' he said in the video.

Celeste later returned home, and her parents confiscated her phone. Prosecutors allege that Burke then went to her hometown and paid one of her classmates $1,000 to secretly give her another handset, allowing the contact to continue.

By the spring of 2025, the tone had changed. In March that year, according to texts cited in court, Celeste wrote to Burke: 'All we do is have sex and just hang out man I want more than that for myself.'

Prosecutors say she also threatened to expose years of sexual abuse, a move that, if proved, would have obvious implications for Burke's career.

They allege he stabbed her in his garage on 23 April 2025, dismembered her body in an inflatable pool with a chainsaw, then stored her remains in his car while he embarked on a North American tour.

What Happens Next for Pop Artist D4vd

Burke has been held for nearly four months at Los Angeles County's Twin Towers Correctional Facility, where officials say he is kept in a single cell under 24‑hour monitoring, with regular welfare checks and meal trays delivered to his unit.

He faces a first‑degree murder charge with a special circumstance of lying in wait, as well as counts of sexual abuse of a child under 14 and mutilation of a body.

According to prosecutors, if he is convicted of murder with that special circumstance, he could face the death penalty. Burke's arraignment is scheduled for 31 August at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Centre, and a full trial is expected to begin in the autumn.

In public remarks, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman has described Celeste's death as 'ghoulish' and 'brutal', saying it represented 'a parent's worst nightmare' and alleging she was 'killed, dismembered and left as trash'.

Burke's lawyer, Blair Berk, has pushed back firmly, stating simply that he 'did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez'. Celeste's parents, Jesus Rivas and Mercedes Martínez, have attended the hearings despite the graphic content.

At a July session, her mother broke down in tears and said, 'Oh my God. This is so hard.' Her father, speaking after Burke's arrest, offered a quieter line that carries its own weight. 'Thank God. Justice for Celeste.'

Celeste was reported missing multiple times by her parents in 2024, when she was just 13 and living with her family in Lake Elsinore, California.

The news came after authorities in Los Angeles discovered she was allegedly in a secret sexual relationship with Burke, who was then a rising music artist and, according to prosecutors, more than five years older than her.

Electronic records cited in court show the pair first began communicating online when Celeste was 11 and Burke was living in a Houston suburb, before the relationship allegedly turned physical after he moved to Los Angeles in late 2023.

In September 2025, a medical examiner identified a badly decomposed body found in the front trunk of Burke's Tesla at a city tow yard as Celeste's. A seven‑month investigation ended with Burke's arrest at his Hollywood Hills home and the filing of the current charges.

The photographs and testimony may have shocked the courtroom, but the final verdict will depend on what prosecutors can prove beyond a reasonable doubt.