Criminalist details blood evidence in D4vd murder case at preliminary hearing

An LAPD criminalist testified that blood found in D4vd’s garage was consistent with the DNA of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the 14-year-old he is accused of killing.

Forensic testimony delivered Thursday tied blood recovered from the garage of singer D4vd’s Hollywood Hills home to Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the 14-year-old whose remains were found in his impounded Tesla last year.

PEOPLE reported that LAPD Criminalist Samantha Tosch took the stand during a preliminary hearing for the artist, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, and testified that blood detected on several items inside the garage was consistent with Rivas’ DNA. Those items included a black rubber mat, a green tarp, a Tesla charging plug and a rowing machine.

Tosch, who told the court she has spent 18 years in the crime lab’s DNA unit specializing in biological fluid analysis, also described a double-bagged trash bag recovered from the space. According to her testimony, the outer bag carried DNA from four contributors, Burke among them, while wipes inside the inner bag carried Rivas’ DNA.

Earlier in the proceedings, LAPD Criminalist Lisa LaHendro testified about the clothing Rivas was wearing at the time of her death, describing the items as heavily soiled, saturated and badly deteriorated, with a strong odor and insect activity.

Burke, now 21, faces charges of murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains. Prosecutors allege he killed the Lake Elsinore teen on April 23, 2025, a day after an argument over his involvement with other women and shortly before his debut album arrived.

A preliminary hearing brief obtained by PEOPLE contends Rivas threatened to disclose information about their relationship that would have upended his career, and that Burke stabbed her multiple times at his home.

Prosecutors further allege he dismembered her and disposed of the remains using items ordered from Amazon and Home Depot, including a shovel, three chainsaws, cadaver bags and heavy-duty laundry bags. Rivas’ head and torso were recovered from a cadaver bag in Burke’s impounded vehicle on Sept. 8, 2025, with her arms and legs found in a separate garbage bag.

The hearing, which will determine whether the case proceeds to trial, is ongoing.