LOS ANGELES (AP) — A DNA expert testified Thursday that evidence recovered from apparent blood stains in the garage of D4vd’s Hollywood home was a strong DNA match for 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the girl he is charged with stabbing to death.
Prosecutors are alleging that D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, killed the girl then dismembered her in the garage after she threatened to reveal their sexual relationship and crater his career. Police technicians took the samples from a rubber floor mat, a rowing machine and a Tesla charger in the garage, and Los Angeles police criminalist Samantha Tosch testified that they matched Rivas Hernandez.
The testimony came on the third day of a preliminary hearing where a judge will decide if Burke should stand trial on charges of murder, sexual abuse of a child and mutilation of a body. He has pleaded not guilty and his lawyers have said they will vigorously defend him.
Tosch said the matches of several samples were “one septillion times more likely to occur if it originated from Celeste rather than anyone else in the population,” and pointed out the number had 24 zeros.
Prosecutors had previously said in a court filing that her DNA was found in the garage, but the evidence hadn’t previously been shown publicly.
DNA evidence and testing key to hearing
Testing was also done on a trash bag in the garage and stained cleaning wipes inside it. Tosch said the bag swab showed a mixture of DNA from four people, at least two of them male — and one of them that she said was Burke’s.
Rivas Hernandez’s DNA was found on the wipes but not the bag. Burke’s was not on the wipes.
Another police criminalist testified that most of the garage stains were not visible to the naked eye and were uncovered by a chemical test that makes the area glow blue. A photo displayed in court showed the rubber mat cloaked in bright blue.
Tosch conceded under questioning from the defense that she couldn’t say with certainty that the DNA profiles came from blood, and could’ve been from touch.
“It’s possible that they did not come from blood?” Burke’s lawyer, Blair Berk, asked.
“I cannot with any certainty say that they came from blood,” Tosch replied.
Under further questioning by Berk, Tosch also acknowledged that it can’t be determined how DNA got on a spot, and that it’s even possible for it to transfer between people. And she acknowledged there’s no way to clearly establish how long the DNA had been there.
Defense questions how and what police tested for DNA
Burke’s lawyers have previously given little indication of any counternarrative they may present about how Rivas Hernandez was killed and how her dismembered body was found in the trunk of Burke’s Tesla about five months later.
But they began giving glimpses into their defense strategy as they pressed various prosecution witnesses on why they didn’t conduct more DNA testing on items found in the singer’s home and car.
Berk dwelled on a pair of small chain saws found in Burke’s garage, where prosecutors say he dismembered the body. Lauren Wallace, another LAPD criminalist, testified that initial chemical tests showed no signs of blood on the saws, so the handles were not swabbed for any DNA left behind by someone who touched it.
“If an item has somebody else’s DNA on it, you wouldn’t be able to see that at the time,” Berk said.
“No you’re not able to see touch DNA,” Wallace said, then reiterated that the blades had tested negative for blood.
“But that doesn’t preclude at all that there could be somebody else’s touch DNA,” Berk said.
An indie-pop singer whose music and online presence brought him a huge following, D4vd’s songs and videos often have dark and violent imagery often delivered through an alter-ego character he calls Itami. His breakthrough single in 2022 was called “Romantic Homicide,” one of several of his songs with more than a billion plays on Spotify. His debut full-length album, “Withered,” was released two days after prosecutors say Rivas Hernandez was killed.
On Thursday, he wore orange jail clothes and glasses, sitting at the defense table calmly and intently watching the witnesses testify. He did not betray any emotion during the proceedings but was seen during the recess interacting with and smiling with his attorneys.
Rivas Hernandez’s parents were back in the courtroom Thursday afternoon, sitting in the front row. They did not have a visible reaction to the mostly technical testimony.
D4vd relationship with teen began when she was 13
Prosecutors are seeking to prove Burke began a sexual relationship with Rivas Hernandez when she was 13 and he was 18.
They said in a court filing that she had grown jealous of his relationships with other women and threatened to expose him and ruin his multimillion-dollar career the night before she was killed. The court filing said he sent a car to pick her up on the night of April 23, 2025, and stabbed her when she arrived at his home.
Prosecutors say he kept the body for weeks or months in the front trunk of the Tesla, where it was found after the car was towed 4 1/2 months later.
