THE POOL OF HORROR: How a Child’s Toy Became the Center of D4vd’s Gruesome Cover-Up

LOS ANGELES — In the world of indie-pop, David Anthony Burke was the “Romantic Idol” who sang of eternal devotion. But inside the garage of his luxury residence, a far more sinister reality was unfolding. New court filings released on April 29, 2026, have confirmed the most chilling details yet in the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, revealing a level of premeditation that has left even veteran investigators shaken.

The “Amazon” Murder Kit

Prosecutors have now laid out a digital paper trail that suggests the “panic” defense previously hinted at by D4vd’s legal team is a lie. According to subpoenaed records from Amazon and Postmates, within 24 hours of Celeste’s disappearance on April 23, 2025, Burke allegedly ordered a “disposal kit” under a pseudonym.

The list included heavy-duty cleaning agents, industrial-grade bags, and two chainsaws. Perhaps most disturbing was the purchase of a large, blue inflatable children’s pool. Prosecutors allege Burke used the pool in his garage as a makeshift “containment station” to facilitate the dismemberment of the victim while preventing biological evidence from soaking into the concrete floor.

The Duality of a Predator

The motive, according to the District Attorney, was “career preservation.” Celeste, who had been in a relationship with Burke since she was 13, reportedly threatened to go public with their illicit involvement.

“He didn’t see a human being; he saw a threat to his ‘clean’ brand,” said a source close to the investigation. While his hit songs were topping global charts, Burke was allegedly living a double life—spending his days in the studio and his nights in the garage, “processing” the remains of a girl who trusted him.

A Year of Gaslighting

One of the most heart-wrenching revelations is the “Ghost Texting” campaign. For months after Celeste was already deceased, Burke allegedly continued to send her messages like “Where are you?” and “Please call me back, your mom is worried.”

These messages weren’t just for her; they were for the police. This calculated digital trail allowed Burke to maintain the facade of a “worried boyfriend” for nearly a year, even as he continued to tour the world and interact with thousands of young fans who fit the exact demographic of his victim.

The Final Silence

Despite his attempts to use a chainsaw to erase her identity—specifically targeting the fingers that bore the matching “Shhh” tattoo—forensic technology ultimately betrayed him. DNA recovered from the seams of the inflatable pool and the internal logs of his Tesla Model Y have created an “unbreakable chain of evidence.”

Burke remains in custody without bail. If convicted of first-degree murder with special circumstances, he faces the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. The music has officially stopped, and the world is finally seeing the man behind the mask.

Prosecutors lay out a detailed and grisly timeline in case against singer d4vd in alleged killing of a teen

Journalists take pictures of a booking photo of David Anthony Burke, known as d4vd, before the start of a press briefing on the case against the singer in at the Hall of Justice in Los Angeles on April 20.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

EDITOR’S NOTE:  This story includes graphic and disturbing details.

Los Angeles —  

Prosecutors on Wednesday laid out a detailed and grisly timeline in the case against singer d4vd, who is accused of killing 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, including allegations that he began sexually abusing her when she was 13 and then fatally stabbed her when she threatened to expose their relationship.

Celeste was believed to have been killed on April 23, 2025, one day after she and d4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, had an argument during which she threatened to disclose damaging information about their relationship “to end his career and destroy his life,” according to a filing from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

The singer, whose first studio album was released days later, took “horrifying measures to destroy and discard the victim’s body,” the filing said.

Celeste died of “multiple penetrating injuries,” according to an autopsy report released earlier this month. She had wounds on her chest and abdomen that “may represent sharp force injuries,” the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office said in the report, which was signed in December but sealed for months at the request of law enforcement.

Her body was discovered in the trunk of an impounded vehicle last September, a day after what would have been her 15th birthday. She was reported missing by family and friends on several occasions, starting in early 2024, and was last seen alive going to d4vd’s home in April 2025.

The now-21-year-old singer was arrested earlier this month and has pleaded not guilty to charges including first-degree murder. D4vd’s attorney Blair Berk said after the singer’s arraignment that her client is innocent and evidence “will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death.”

Photos posted by the Los Angeles Police Department show the operation that led to the arrest of singer d4vd – whose legal name is David Anthony Burke – on April 16 in the killing of a 14-year-old girl whose decomposed body was found in a car last year.
LAPD

Berk on Wednesday asked the court to seal the evidentiary filing, saying it was “one sided” and “replete with hearsay” and could potentially taint a future jury pool. The judge denied the request. CNN reached out to Berk for comment Wednesday evening.

‘He had to silence the victim,’ prosecutors say

The night before authorities say Celeste was likely killed, she had a lengthy argument with d4vd, described later in text messages that “reveal the victim’s jealousy over defendant’s relationships with other women, as defendant led her to believe they had a future together,” according to the court document.

“She became extremely upset and threatened to disclose damaging information about her relationship with defendant to end his career and destroy his life,” prosecutors wrote, noting that his first studio album’s release date was April 25, 2025.

On April 23, 2025, the singer sent an Uber to pick up Celeste at her home in Lake Elsinore at about 8:40 p.m. and bring her to his Hollywood Hills home around 10:10 p.m., the court document said.

Celeste Rivas Hernandez poses in an undated photo provided by the attorney representing the teen’s family.
Rivas Hernandez family

At about 10:30 p.m. that night, d4vd texted Celeste in what prosecutors described as part of his “premeditated plan to cover up the murder, as she was already dead by this time.”

“Knowing he had to silence the victim before she ruined his music career as she had threatened, very soon after her arrival at his home, defendant stabbed the victim to death multiple times and stood by while she bled out,” the filing said. “At no time did he call law enforcement or 911 or take her to an emergency room to attempt to save her life.”

Celeste’s dismembered remains were found in d4vd’s Tesla in Los Angeles on September 8, 2025. The vehicle was apparently abandoned in the Hollywood Hills and towed to a police impound lot, where an employee noticed a foul smell emanating from the trunk and alerted authorities.

Prosecutors wrote that d4vd bought two chainsaws online that he used to dismember Celeste’s body in an inflatable pool. Her DNA was found in his garage, according to prosecutors, who said her body was cut apart. The singer also made online purchases of a body bag and heavy-duty laundry bags, according to the court document.

“Defendant took horrifying measures to destroy and discard the victim’s body,” prosecutors said in the document.

A portrait of the late Celeste Rivas Hernandez is shown during a press briefing by Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman (out of frame) on the case against singer d4vd in Los Angeles on April 20.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

D4vd “amputated her left ring and pinky fingers because her ring finger contained a tattoo of his name,” the court document said. “Her fingers have not been recovered.”

Small blue plastic fragments were embedded in the victim’s remains, and an LAPD expert made “a physical fit match from the blue fragments to the blue inflatable pool” in which Celeste was dismembered, the document said.

Before departing on a concert tour in late July, the document said, the artist parked his Tesla on the street around the corner from his home.

Prosecutors say texts reveal relationship

The evidence outlined by the state includes photos of Celeste and the singer engaged in sexual activity, which investigators say began when she was 13 and he was 18. Investigators believe the two met when Celeste was 11 years old, the filing says.

Text messages through March 2025 show how d4vd allegedly manipulated the victim. Celeste wrote in one message, according to prosecutors: “all we do is have sex and just hang out man I want more than that for myself.”

Celeste’s parents reported her missing in February 2024. Detectives with the Riverside County Sheriff Department contacted d4vd, who told them he had only met her once and did not know her age, according to the court document.

D4vd looks on from behind his defense attorney Marilyn Bednarski (right) during his arraignment on charges of murder in the case of Celeste Rivas Hernandez at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center on April 20, in Los Angeles, California.
Ted Soqui/Pool/Getty Images

When the teen returned home that February, her parents took away her cellphone. Prosecutors said the defendant then drove to Lake Elsinore and paid a classmate of Celeste $1,000 to give her a phone.

Celeste and d4vd spent significant time together throughout 2024, including weekend trips to his Hollywood Hills home and visits to Las Vegas, London and Texas, to meet the singer’s family, according to the court document. Text messages between the pair allegedly included references to sex, pregnancy, abortion and the Plan B emergency contraceptive.

“The Rivas Hernandez family is absolutely devastated by the findings,” Celeste’s family said in a statement after the release of the autopsy report. “They respectfully ask for privacy, understanding, and patience as they process this information.”

This story has been updated.