Hundreds of text messages and photographs extracted from singer D4vd’s cell phone reveal that he impregnated a 13-year-old girl and arranged an abortion for her in January 2024, according to Los Angeles police testimony delivered during a preliminary murder hearing on Friday, July 24, 2026.
Text Messages Detail Relationship and Pregnancy
Hundreds of photographs and text messages recovered from a cellphone belonging to singer D4vd show that he impregnated a 13-year-old girl and convinced her to have an abortion in January 2024 according to evidence made public in court. Los Angeles Police Det. Corey Farrell detailed the communications during a preliminary hearing to determine whether the singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, should stand trial on murder and sex abuse charges.
Burke has pleaded not guilty to charges including murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains, denying wrongdoing through his attorneys. Prosecutors argue that Burke fatally stabbed Celeste Rivas Hernandez inside his Hollywood home last April after she threatened to expose their sexual relationship and derail his music career, which prosecutors say had earned him millions. Authorities allege he then dismembered her body with a chainsaw in his garage and amputated two of her fingers to conceal evidence of a tattoo linking them.
The recovered communications span from August 2022—when Hernandez was 11 years old—through April 23, 2025. Farrell testified that the phone contained nearly 50 photographs of Hernandez naked or engaged in sex acts with Burke. Burke’s cellphone lock screen was a picture of the pair, topless, locked in an embrace. Other photos showed Hernandez touching hands with Burke while wearing a ring, and at least one image captured a tattoo of the name “David” in red ink on Hernandez’s finger. Photos displayed earlier in the week showed the singer had the name “Celeste” tattooed on his own finger in the same color and script style.
Text messages showed the pair discussing sexual interactions, pregnancy fears, and the abortion procedure. Farrell testified that the texts discussed abortion and emergency contraception “many times” and indicate the pair had a sexual relationship from November 2023 to March 2025, when Celeste was 13 and D4vd was 18 or 19. In one exchange from November 2023, a 13-year-old Celeste said she was waiting for her period and stated, If im pregnant tho im not having it though.
In another exchange on Dec. 20, she texted him, do I take the plan b?
In early January 2024, Burke apologized for putting her through this,
to which she replied, It's okay, neither of us are capable of watching and taking care of the baby. it's for the best no?
He apologized again and asked if it was his, and she replied, of course it's yours David.
Courtroom Emotional Scenes and Medical Testimony
The presentation of evidence prompted an emotional reaction in the courtroom. Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman warned Hernandez’s parents that the material was graphic before detailing the photographic evidence. Hernandez’s mother began crying and her father looked down as the detective described the images, prompting Silverman to comfort them before the parents stood up and left the courtroom.
“It’s extremely difficult to tell.”
Dr. Grant Ho, Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner
Escalating Tensions and Disappearance Timeline
The relationship deteriorated in the months following the abortion. Texts from late 2024 and early 2025 showed increasing strain, with Hernandez expressing deep regret over the terminated pregnancy. In August 2024, she wrote to Burke that she took a innocent life of a literal baby. By March 2025, communications indicated Hernandez no longer wanted an in-person relationship, telling Burke that their interactions revolved entirely around sex.
Her remains were discovered in September inside the front trunk of a Tesla registered to Burke after the vehicle was towed from the Hollywood Hills, nearly five months after authorities said she was killed. A police analyst testified that samples pulled from apparent blood stains in Burke’s garage matched Rivas Hernandez’s DNA. The preliminary hearing is scheduled to continue with detective testimony.
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