Los Angeles Judge Reviews Phone Evidence in D4vd Murder and Abuse Case
During a preliminary hearing, detectives presented text messages and images from singer David Anthony Burke's phone that prosecutors say detail a pregnancy discussion, abortion references, and sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl.
A Los Angeles judge heard testimony on July 24 from LAPD Detective Corey Farell about digital evidence recovered from the phone of singer David Anthony Burke, who is charged with murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains. The recovered data includes text messages exchanged with Celeste Rivas Hernandez when she was 13, discussing a possible pregnancy, abortion and caregiving responsibilities. One message attributed to Burke read, "Let this abortion be the last one till we have the real one," and other texts showed Hernandez expressing emotional distress over the decision.
Farell said investigators retrieved messages spanning November 2023 to March 2025, along with nearly 50 sexually explicit images involving Hernandez that prosecutors describe as child sexual abuse material. Less explicit photographs shown in court depicted the pair kissing, lying together and displaying matching tattoos, and the phone's lock screen displayed an image of them embracing.
Prosecutors argue the messages support their timeline, alleging Burke first contacted Hernandez at about age 11 and began sexual abuse when she was 13, while he was 18. They contend he killed Hernandez at his Hollywood Hills home on April 23, 2025, after she threatened to expose the abuse, and that her remains were later found in the trunk of a Tesla registered to Burke.
The preliminary hearing does not determine guilt; the judge must decide whether probable cause exists to proceed to trial. As of the testimony's conclusion, no final ruling had been issued.