A Los Angeles court has heard that teenage murder victim Celeste Rivas Hernandez had an abortion at age 13 after becoming pregnant by the singer D4vd, according to text messages presented by prosecutors during a preliminary hearing. The exchanges, read into the record on the fourth day of proceedings, show the musician—whose legal name is David Anthony Burke—asking the girl when she would have the procedure and questioning paternity. “Of course it’s yours, David,” the girl replied, in messages the prosecution says confirm a long‑running illegal sexual relationship that began when she was 11 and he was 17.

Los Angeles County prosecutors argue that Burke killed the 14‑year‑old in April 2025 to prevent her from exposing the relationship, which they say would have jeopardised his career. A detective testified that the artist’s iPhone held numerous explicit photographs of the pair, while iCloud records showed conversations planning a shared future and, later, a month before her death, the girl’s decision to end in‑person contact. The prosecution also presented evidence of purchases—a body bag, three chainsaws and an inflatable pool—made under an alias but charged to Burke’s cards and delivered to his Hollywood Hills address. Blood matching the victim’s DNA was found in the garage where, investigators allege, her body was dismembered before being left to decompose in the boot of a Tesla registered to the singer.

Burke’s defence challenged the forensic findings, questioning the handling of evidence and suggesting that wounds could have been self‑inflicted. A medical examiner acknowledged that severe decomposition made it “extremely difficult” to fix a time of death, but noted the absence of hesitation marks typical of suicide or self‑harm. The defence also pressed on the lack of DNA on some seized items, seeking to undermine the chain of custody. From Los Angeles legal analysts, the preliminary hearing is seen as a pivotal stage at which the judge must decide whether the weight of evidence meets the threshold for a full trial on charges of murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains.

The artist, who rose to prominence in 2022 when his track “Romantic Homicide” went viral on TikTok, has denied all counts. If convicted, he faces a maximum of life imprisonment or the death penalty. The preliminary hearing is expected to conclude on Monday, after which the court will rule on whether the case proceeds to trial.