A forensic analyst said in court Wednesday that evidence of blood was found in multiple sections of the garage where the singer D4vd allegedly cut apart a teenage girl with a chainsaw last year.
Lauren Wallace, an criminologist with the Los Angeles Police Department, said she found evidence of blood on gym mats and flooring inside the garage at the artist’s Hollywood Hills residence. Wallace was the latest witness to take the stand as a preliminary hearing on murder and sex abuse charges against the “Romantic Homicide” singer continued in downtown Los Angeles.
D4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, is charged with fatally stabbing 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez last April and then using a chainsaw to dismember her body before shoving it inside the trunk of his Tesla, where the girl’s remains were discovered months later. Prosecutors say Hernandez was last seen alive at the 21-year-old‘s Doheny Place residence.
If convicted as charged, Burke would face life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, though prosecutors have not indicated whether they intend to pursue capital punishment. At the end of the preliminary hearing, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo will decide whether prosecutors have enough evidence to take Burke to trial.
Burke has pleaded not guilty and denied all wrongdoing through his attorneys. On cross-examination, defense attorney Blair Berk prodded Wallace to admit that her chemical analysis — done months after prosecutors believe Burke turned his garage into an abattoir — did not definitively prove the presence of blood.
“I cannot say it is definitely blood,” Wallace said. “I can say it is possibly blood.”
The chemical deployed by Wallace during her investigation reacts with the iron in hemoglobin, a protein found in red blood cells.
Prosecutors allege Burke met Hernandez when she was just 11 years old and began sexually abusing her when she turned 13, bringing her with him on trips to London and Texas. A search of Burke’s phone turned up text messages referencing “sex, pregnancy, abortion and use of the Plan B emergency contraceptive” as well as images of the teen performing sex acts, L.A. County Deputy Dist. Atty. Beth Silverman wrote in a nine-page court filing made public earlier this year.
Prosecutors allege Hernandez threatened to expose Burke’s abuse of her after an argument. An autopsy shows Hernandez died of two stab wounds to the chest, and prosecutors contend Burke killed the girl for financial gain in order to protect his ascendant music career.
After killing Hernandez, prosecutors allege Burke purchased shovels, chainsaws and an inflatable pool which he planned to use to destroy his victim’s remains. Burke used the chainsaw to cut apart Hernandez’s body, which he placed inside the pool hoping it would capture most of her blood, prosecutors have alleged.
Wallace said Wednesday that she conducted her analysis of Burke’s home on Sept. 17, 2025, a little over a week after police found Hernandez’s body in the trunk of the singer’s Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard. Photos displayed by Silverman in court on Wednesday morning showed investigators recovered at least a half-dozen air fresheners from inside the car, indicating someone was trying to suppress the strong odor coming from Hernandez’s badly decomposed remains.
Wallace said she found two chainsaws in the garage which “tested negative” for blood, but noted investigators never located a 10-inch Makita chainsaw, which prosecutors claim was one of many items Burke purchased in late April and early May that could be used in the disposal of a body.
In the garage, Wallace discovered gym-style rubber flooring that had linear cuts. Wallace said she also found red stains on the mats, a nearby rowing machine and a Tesla charging plug. An ultraviolet light revealed the mats and brick flooring of the garage had likely been stained with blood. A trash bag in the garage and some of its contents also tested positive for indicators of blood, she said.
The inflatable pool that prosecutors allege Burke used to hold his victim’s body while he wielded the chainsaw was also recovered by police, according to Wallace, who said the pool had been cut in multiple places.
Prosecutors also moved Wednesday to solidify their argument that Burke would have lost a fortune if Hernandez spoke out against him. During morning testimony, an Interscope Records executive said Burke stood to make up to $19 million if the label picked up options for several future records, in addition to branding deals with clothing companies. Burke first signed with Interscope in 2022.
Burke — who gained notoriety by layering his original music over clips of himself playing the popular video game “Fortnite” — was touring in support of his debut album, “Withered,” when Hernandez’s body was found dismembered inside his Tesla in Hollywood last September.
He ended his tour soon after and Interscope Records dropped Burke late last year. On Wednesday, Interscope executive Louis Poimiroo testified that the label still paid Burke more than $2 million in 2025 and didn’t terminate his contract until at least a month after The Times reported a grand jury had been convened to hear evidence in Hernandez’s death.
Prosecutors are expected to call at least four more witnesses during the preliminary hearing, which could last another three days, according to Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman.
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