Medical Examiner Rules D4vd Case Teen Death a Homicide

After months of speculation and delays, officials have announced that the teen girl found in singer D4vd's car died from "multiple penetrating injuries". The Los Angeles County medical examiner's office on Wednesday announced that they'd ruled Celeste Rivas Hernandez's death a homicide, noting that the 14-year-old died of injuries caused by an undisclosed object or objects.

She was found dead in the front boot of a Tesla registered to TikTok star D4vd, 21, in September. The singer is facing several charges in her death, including murder. D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, has pleaded not guilty. His attorneys say they will "vigorously defend his innocence".

The musician's defence team has said it believed the "actual evidence will show that David did not kill Celeste" and he was not the cause of her death. "We will vigorously defend David's innocence," his attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter said in a statement to the BBC.

Burke is due back in Los Angeles court on Thursday at 0830 local time (1630 BST). Investigators at the medical examiner's office had examined Rivas Hernandez's body shortly after she was found in September and determined the cause and manner of death on 9 December but were barred from releasing it publicly as police investigated the case.

Prosecutors allege the teen was killed and her body dismembered sometime on or around 5 May 2025, charging documents have said, at least four months before her body was discovered.

"After several months, I am grateful this information can now be released, not only to the public, but also to the grieving family enduring loss," Chief Medical Examiner Dr Odey Ukpo said in a statement. "It is unfathomable they have had to wait this long to learn what happened to their daughter," said Ukpo, who had criticised the decision to hold off on releasing their findings.

Warning: This story contains distressing content and details of death. According to the medical examiner's report obtained by the BBC, stab wounds were discovered on her abdomen and chest during the autopsy. The report includes some new details about her remains, including that forensic teams found shredded blue plastic in some of her wounds. It states that her body was found in a black zippered bag in the front trunk of the Tesla.

A toxicology report said methamphetamine or MDMA and a low level of alcohol were found in her system, but noted that neither appeared to play a role in her death.

Rivas Hernandez's family made their first public statement this week, following Burke's arraignment in court on Monday. They thanked the police, prosecutors and the residents in their community of Lake Elsinore for the support over the months.

"Celeste was a beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance. Every Friday night was movie night and we spent wonderful times together," her parents Jesus Rivas and Mercedes Martinez said in a statement. "We love her very much and she always told us that she loved us. We miss her deeply. All we want is Justice for Celeste."

Family attorney Patrick Steinfeld, in a statement to the BBC, said that the family was "devastated after hearing the gruesome details that came out in David Burke's arraignment".

At a news conference, Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the teen went to Burke's home in the Hollywood Hills on 23 April 2025 and "she was never heard from again". "A parent's nightmare is a situation where your daughter goes out one night and never comes back," Hochman said.

Her parents had reported her missing in April but it wasn't until September when she was found dead. More than seven months passed after that before police arrested the Romantic Homicide and Here With Me singer in Los Angeles last week. The singer, who was detained by police and has been held without bail since, largely retreated from public life after the teen's body was found in his car last year. His world tour was cancelled and deals he had with brands were also reportedly axed.

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell on Monday defended his agency's handling of the case and why it took so long to make an arrest. "I want to be clear about something. My duty is not to fuel speculation. It's to deliver justice, and that requires patience and discipline on everybody's part," he said. "This investigation was driven by a single purpose to secure justice for Celeste Rivas and for those who loved her. We had to be certain that nothing we did or said would ever jeopardise this case."

He added that conditions of the teen's body delayed determining her cause of death because a "substantial amount of time" had passed between her death and the discovery of her body, which made evidence degrade or disappear.