Texts reveal abuse allegations in case of TikTok star accused of murdering 14-year-old

The text messages came out in court on a Friday afternoon in Los Angeles, and they told a story of a girl trying to survive something that should never have happened to her. Celeste Rivas Hernandez was fourteen years old when her remains were found in the front trunk of a Tesla in September 2025, the day after she would have turned fifteen. The singer who owned that car, a TikTok personality known as D4vd whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, is accused of killing her. But the messages prosecutors presented during the pre-trial hearing revealed something else first: years of sexual abuse that began when Celeste was eleven years old and Burke was seventeen.

The relationship, if it can be called that, started online in August 2022. By the time Celeste was thirteen and Burke was nineteen, she was pregnant. In January 2024, Burke apologized to her for "putting her through this," and she responded with the language of someone far too young to be making such decisions: "neither of us are capable of watching and taking care of the baby. it's for the best no?" Burke asked if the child was his. She confirmed it was. Months later, in June 2024, Burke texted her: "Let's let this abortion be the last one til we have the real one." The messages showed a girl who had been pregnant multiple times, had multiple abortions, all while being sexually abused by an adult who was building a career on social media.

The evidence presented went beyond the texts. Investigators recovered iCloud data from Burke's iPhone showing conversations dating back years. His phone contained photographs of Celeste during the alleged abuse. The pair had even discussed moving in together, calling it "Operation Awesome" in their messages. When Celeste's mother, Mercedes Rivas Hernandez, heard details of some of those photographs described in court, she became visibly emotional and left the courtroom with her husband. The detective who testified, Corey Farell of the Los Angeles Police Department, also described DNA evidence: blood found in Burke's Hollywood Hills home and garage matched Celeste's profile.

Prosecutors allege that Burke killed Celeste in April 2025, after she threatened to expose the abuse and destroy his career. The two had "broken up" in November 2024 but remained in contact. They argued the night before her death, prosecutors say, over Burke's relationships with other women. Celeste was last seen at his home on April 3rd. Her family reported her missing. For five months, no one knew where she was. When police found her body in the Tesla in September, Burke was on tour. His worldwide tour was cancelled. He largely disappeared from social media and public life until his arrest in April 2026.

The medical examiner who performed the autopsy, Dr. Grant Ho, testified that the state of decomposition made it extremely difficult to determine exactly when Celeste died. Burke's defense lawyers seized on that uncertainty, questioning whether the teenager could have harmed herself. But the physical evidence told a different story: DNA from Burke's home, photographs on his phone, text messages spanning years, and the location of her remains in his vehicle.

Burke, who rose to fame on TikTok with songs like "Romantic Homicide" and "Here With Me," has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman has filed seven criminal charges against him: murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child, and the mutilation of remains, among others. The pre-trial hearing was in its fourth day when the text messages were revealed. Testimony is expected to resume on Monday. What emerges from the court record is not a love story or a relationship between peers, but a systematic exploitation of a child by someone with a platform, a following, and access to her life.