(CNN) — In the 10 months since a girl’s severely decomposed remains were found in d4vd’s abandoned car, prosecutors have described in gruesome detail how they believe the famed singer killed and dismembered the 14-year-old runaway to prevent her from disclosing details about their relationship.
The 21-year-old musician, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder with special circumstances, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and mutilating human remains in connection with the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
Prosecutors are presenting their evidence in the case this week and a judge will decide whether there’s enough to move forward with a trial.
The following is a timeline of d4vd’s connection to Celeste, the circumstances surrounding her disappearance and death, and what we know about the investigation so far:
2022 to 2023: First encounters
D4vd first met Celeste in 2022, when she was 11, according to a document laying out the prosecution’s evidence to support the charges.
In November 2023, the pair began a sexual relationship, prosecutors said. D4vd was 18 and Celeste was 13. That month, d4vd appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and performed his hit “Romantic Homicide.”
Early 2024: Signs of connection
Celeste repeatedly appeared in Burke’s orbit before and after she was reported missing for the first time in February 2024, a CNN investigation found.
In January 2024, she appeared alongside the singer in a livestream video on the social media platform Twitch. The pair joke and banter until about 3 a.m. before d4vd laughingly proclaims, “Delete everything.”
Sometime between January and March 2024, d4vd was photographed getting out of a black Tesla a few blocks from Celeste’s home in Lake Elsinore, California. A local teen later posted the photos on TikTok. CNN geolocated and chronolocated the photos to verify when and where they were taken.
Early 2024: The seventh grader is reported missing
Celeste was reported missing three times in early 2024 as loved ones worried about the seventh grader’s well-being and whereabouts.
She was first reported missing in mid-February 2024 at age 13, according to 911 call logs and missing-person flyers. A poster from that time said she was last seen on or about February 14.
Around that time, someone concerned about her well-being sent an email to an address using d4vd’s name on his record company’s domain.
The writer referenced Celeste’s disappearance and said, “There’s been talk” that d4vd possibly had something to do with it. If there was any truth to that, the person wrote, “Please do the right thing and take her home. Her parents are very worried.”
CNN confirmed the authenticity of the email with the sender, who asked not to be identified due to safety concerns.
Celeste returned home within days of the email being sent, an acquaintance of the family told CNN.
She was reported missing a second time on or about March 19, according to 911 logs and missing-person posters.
The third and final missing-person report was made April 5, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.
June 2024-early 2025: Photos capture Celeste alive
It is unclear when Celeste was killed, but photos indicate she was still alive almost a year after she was first reported missing. According to The Associated Press, court documents show authorities said she was 14 when she died.
In June 2024, Celeste was photographed backstage during a sold-out show d4vd performed at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles.
Another clue linking d4vd to Celeste was found in the singer’s rented home after Celeste’s body was identified in September 2025.
A private investigator hired by the owner of the property, Steve Fischer, said he uncovered a digital camera inside the house that contained photos of Celeste and d4vd taken in late December 2024 and early January 2025.
During that time, d4vd posted other photos from the camera’s memory card to his X account, captioned “took these pics,” along with a selfie of him wearing a camera of the same model.
April 22, 2025: An argument and a threat
The musician got in a heated argument with Celeste after the teen became upset about d4vd’s relationships with other women, prosecutors said. Text messages from that night show Celeste “threatened to disclose damaging information about her relationship” with d4vd, then 20, that would “end his career and destroy his life.”
April 23, 2025: Likely date Celeste was killed, prosecutors say
Prosecutors believe this is the day Celeste was killed. The next day, d4vd had an album release party ahead of an international tour.
September 8, 2025: Celeste’s body is found
A day after she would have turned 15, Celeste’s dismembered and decomposing body was found in the front trunk of a Tesla at a police impound yard.
The car, which was registered to d4vd, had apparently been abandoned on a street not far from where d4vd was living in the Hollywood Hills. The vehicle was eventually transferred to the tow yard, where an employee called police after noticing a foul smell coming from it.
No cause of death was released publicly. The autopsy results were later sealed by a judge at the request of the Los Angeles Police Department, whose Robbery-Homicide Division is investigating the girl’s death.
When the body was discovered, d4vd was on a world tour promoting his first full-length album, “Withered.”
September 19, 2025: d4vd cancels world tour
The singer canceled his final US tour stops in San Francisco and Los Angeles as news of Celeste’s death drew national headlines and fervent social media speculation. The entire European leg of the Withered World Tour was also canceled.
February 2026: Grand jury investigation revealed
Court documents revealed a grand jury was investigating d4vd in connection with Celeste’s death. Prosecutors described d4vd as a “target” of the investigation in court filings, submitted as part of a dispute over whether d4vd’s family members could be forced to appear before the grand jury.
April 16: d4vd is arrested
The singer was arrested on suspicion of killing Celeste. He is taken from a home in the Hollywood Hills just over a mile from the tow yard where Celeste’s body was found in his car.
Los Angeles police and US Marshals used a ramming device to breach a door, photos posted by police showed. As they prepared to enter, a squad of officers stood behind the breaching officer with guns drawn.
April 20: d4vd pleads not guilty
The musician pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, a charge that carries a potential sentence of life in prison or the death penalty.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide moratorium on the death penalty in 2019, banning executions during his time in office. But capital punishment remains legal in California, and prosecutors can still seek the death penalty.
July 21: Preliminary hearing begins
A preliminary hearing began to determine whether the case will go to trial, revealing new insight on some of the evidence prosecutors have gathered so far.
The hearing is expected to feature more than 10 witnesses, which will include law enforcement, a coroner and individual witnesses, and last about three to five days, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman. A preliminary hearing is different from a trial in several ways, he said, including a lower legal burden of proof and the amount and type of evidence they share.
Photos of Celeste’s decomposing body were among the more jarring pieces of evidence seen on the first day of the hearing, showing her as she was found in a Tesla in a Hollywood tow lot. When the photos were shown in court, Celeste’s mother looked down and started crying, the family’s attorney, Patrick Steinfeld, said after the hearing.
Other evidence shared by prosecutors includes body camera footage of a search of d4vd’s home before Celeste disappeared, chainsaws, heavy-duty laundry bags and a shovel bought on Amazon, as well as an unused burn box.
During the hearing, d4vd sat at the defense table, wearing an orange jumpsuit and dark-rimmed glasses, and listened to the testimony.
July 22: Day 2 of preliminary hearing
On the second day of the hearing, witnesses shared details of an ID found on the side of a road and discoveries from the crime scene analysis.
A state transportation worker found Celeste’s passport card in January 2026 on the side of a highway in the hills above Santa Barbara, more than 85 miles from d4vd’s West Hollywood home. LAPD detectives searched the area days later but found no other evidence. Prosecutors previously said in a court filing d4vd drove to this area to dispose of evidence.
Investigators found 11 air fresheners throughout the Tesla, along with preliminary evidence of blood during the initial investigation, according to a forensic criminalist.
Two chainsaws found at the house did not have blood; a third chainsaw prosecutors believe d4vd had delivered to the house was not recovered, but preliminary results of “possible blood” were found on floor mats, a rowing machine and a Tesla charging cable, another forensic criminalist said.
July 23: Day 3 of preliminary hearing
On the third day of the hearing, the prosecutor continued to review potential blood analysis from items found at the house d4vd was staying at.
After time was spent in previous days discussing the initial collection of potential blood samples found on items like the garage floor, a Tesla charger and a rowing machine, as well as in d4vd’s Tesla, another criminalist who evaluated the items said DNA test results showed a high probability of being from Celeste.
Defense attorney Blair Berk questioned the reliability of those results, making the point that DNA can easily last for long periods, sometimes even years, and that there can also be a “secondary transfer,” where someone touches one item and it is transferred to another surface.
A black trash bag that was collected had “a mixture of DNA” from four contributors, including d4vd, one forensic criminalist testified. Berk pushed back on that finding, saying that while d4vd’s DNA may have been included in the mixture, some samples were more probable than others to be a match, and testing was unable to pinpoint d4vd’s exact probability – a distinction the criminalist agreed with.
A cellular analyst with the LAPD also testified about records from a cellphone connected to d4vd and his Tesla, which has a modem that connects to a cellular network. The records help show three trips d4vd allegedly took to Santa Barbara County, near where Celeste’s ID was found, and show at least one phone call to Celeste’s phone number the night prosecutors think she was killed, the analyst said.
A deputy medical examiner started discussing the autopsy report but will continue Friday. Eleven witnesses have testified so far.
This story has been updated with additional information.
The-CNN-Wire
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