LOS ANGELES (AP) — Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the 14-year-old girl singer D4vd is charged with killing, died from penetrating injuries, according to an autopsy report released Wednesday.
Her death was ruled a homicide in the report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office that had been blocked from release for months.
A judge had ordered the report sealed in November at the request of law enforcement after the girl's dismembered and decomposed
body was found in a pair of bags in the trunk of a Tesla parked in the Hollywood Hills in September. But prosecutors agreed this week to allow its release.
The 21-year-old alt-pop singer D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, was charged in the killing Monday. He pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14 and mutilating a dead body.
Prosecutors allege he killed the girl because she threatened to report the sexual relationship that began when she was 13 years old and he feared it would ruin his rising career.
A criminal complaint alleges he killed her with a sharp object and dismembered the body about two weeks later.
Burke's attorneys said he did not cause Rivas Hernandez's death and they will vigorously defend his innocence.
LA County's Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Odey C. Ukpo has sought to emphasize his agency's independence from law enforcement and to make its work as public as possible since he took over the job three years ago. He has said he does not believe sealing reports of his office's work helps investigations and has said he would only put holds on releasing the reports it if compelled by a court order.
“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,” Ukpo said in a statement Wednesday. “It is unfathomable they have had to wait this long to learn what happened to their daughter."
D4vd, pronounced “David,” gained popularity among young fans for his blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. He went viral on TikTok in 2022 with the hit “Romantic Homicide,” which peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. He released his debut EP “Petals to Thorns” and a follow-up, “The Lost Petals,” in 2023.
His debut full-length album, “Withered,” was released one year ago, two days after the date prosecutors estimate that Rivas Hernandez was killed.
