Celeste Rivas Hernandez told the singer D4vd she would destroy his career and ruin his life roughly 24 hours before prosecutors say he killed the teenager, according to text messages made public Monday morning in court.
After an argument about a relationship between another woman and the singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, the 14-year-old Hernandez exploded on her then-ex-boyfriend via text message on April 22, according to the evidence shown in court. The alternative pop singer’s debut album, “Withered,” was set to release three days later, on April 25, 2025.
“oh my f— god I swear to GOD I will kill u she was in my dam seat i will strangle u to f—ing death bro,” Hernandez wrote. “I will tell my dad so many f— lies about u dead ass i will end ur career and ur life I will damage anything.”
Hernandez also threatened to “mutilate” Burke’s penis, leak damaging information about him online and contact his mother in messages around the same time, according to text messages entered into evidence by defense attorney Blair Berk.
The next night, prosecutors say, Burke paid for an Uber to bring Hernandez from her Lake Elsinore home to his Hollywood residence. Prosecutors allege Burke killed Hernandez that night in response to her threats. Burke has pleaded not guilty and denied all wrongdoing through his attorneys.
Texts displayed in court Monday show Burke continued to send messages to Hernandez’s phone hours after the Uber arrived, which, according to prosecutors, were an attempt to suggest she’d never arrived at his house.
Phone records showed Burke was sending some of those texts while driving to Santa Barbara County, where prosecutors later found Hernandez’s passport card dumped on the side of a highway, according to Los Angeles Police Det. Corey Farell.
Prosecutors rested after Farell’s testimony concluded, and Burke’s defense team announced they will not be calling any witnesses. After Burke’s attorneys make an argument to dismiss the charges, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo will rule whether prosecutors have presented enough evidence to proceed to trial.
The texts displayed Monday showed the two were in a frantic ongoing argument in the 24 hours leading up to the moment prosecutors allege Burke killed Hernandez. Berk said Monday the pair exchanged over 1,200 text messages in that time frame.
Prosecutors say Burke and Hernandez had been involved in a relationship for nearly two years but “broke up” in November of 2024. Texts displayed in court late last week and early Monday morning showed they continued to talk in the months after, at times arguing over the status of their friendship and Burke’s relationships with other women.
Autopsy records show Hernandez died of stab wounds to her chest and abdomen. Prosecutors allege she was killed by Burke inside his home then dismembered. On cross-examination, Berk asked Farell a series of questions confirming no one actually witnessed the murder or saw Burke or Hernandez between 10:10 and 10:31 p.m. on April 23, the time frame prosecutors believe the killing occurred.
“You have not identified a single witness who saw David Burke during those 21 minutes?” Berk asked. “You have not had any witness tell you what happened after 10:10 p.m.?”
The detective said Berk was correct both times.
While she did not make a self-defense argument, Berk tried to ask Farell about prior incidents of domestic violence in which Hernandez allegedly attacked Burke. Olmedo said that would be irrelevant for a preliminary hearing, but the question suggests a possible argument Burke’s team will make at trial. Berk raised a series of text messages where Hernandez suggested she had “bi-polar disorder,” but Olmedo froze that line of questioning as well. Farell also acknowledged Burke’s relationship with the teenager was no secret.
Hernandez’s parents — who entered the room in the middle of Farell’s testimony Monday morning — signed a travel consent waiver form in 2024 that allowed their daughter to travel overseas with Burke, according to Farell. When Burke and Hernandez traveled to Las Vegas, Hernandez’s adult sister was there at the same time and aware the pair were there together, according to Berk. Hernandez was also filmed sitting with Burke’s family in a VIP box during a concert at The Fonda Theatre in Hollywood.
At times in 2024, when Hernandez was living with her aunt in Los Angeles, Burke would come by the home to pick the teen up for dates. Burke even traveled with Hernandez’s family to Six Flags Magic Mountain, according to court testimony.
“Celeste and David went to church with Celeste’s family members on multiple occasions,” Berk said at one point. While Farell said he had no proof that happened, there were text messages discussing a plan to attend services.
Hernandez’s dismembered body was found inside a Tesla registered to Burke months after their final exchange of text messages. Prosecutors allege the singer mutilated her corpse with a chainsaw after killing her.
Investigators have pieced together much of what they know about Burke and Hernandez’s allegedly illegal relationship from a search of the singer’s cell phone, which was seized last September.
Late last week, prosecutors published dozens of text messages taken from the phone that showed Burke impregnated Hernandez leading to an abortion in early 2024. The pair also described their sex life in graphic detail in the texts, discussed getting married overseas and plans for Hernandez to runaway from her Lake Elsinore home and move in with him.
Farell also described dozens of images taken from the device that showed either Burke or Hernandez naked or engaged in sex acts. On Monday, Berk introduced several text messages where Hernandez allegedly misled Burke about her age, contending the girl told the singer she was 16 when they met and 18 when they began having sexual encounters.
If convicted, Burke could face life in prison without the possibility of parole, or the death penalty. Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said last week his office had yet to decide whether they will seek capital punishment in the case.
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