WARNING: Readers may find disturbing information in this article.
Documents between singer D4vd and Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the 14-year-old accused of murder, reveal that she was pregnant and had an abortion before her death.
These messages were shown during the trial of a judge to decide whether the singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, should go to trial for the death of this child last year.
“What [if] the first abortion didn’t work?” Celeste texted Burke in June 2024, according to prosecutors. She was 13 at the time and he was 19.
Prosecutors say Burke killed her after threatening to reveal that she was abusing a child and ruining her career. He denied the charges of killing and sexually assaulting the girl.
In conversations in January 2024, Burke apologized to the teenager for “putting him through this”, according to messages shown in a Los Angeles court on Friday.
He replied, “None of us know how to watch and take care of a child. It’s better, isn’t it?”
Burke asked, “and my mother always told me to ask this question if I was ever in this situation … is it true of me?”
Celeste replied “yes, it’s yours David”, according to the detective’s testimony.
The court heard that in another text to Celeste, sent in June 2024, Burke wrote: “Let’s make this abortion last until we get the real one…”
Prosecutors presented iCloud data found on the defendant’s iPhone, showing texts between him and Celeste dating back to August 8, 2022, when he was 11 and Burke was 17.
Burke’s phone also contained images of the child during the alleged sexual abuse, prosecutors and Los Angeles police Detective Corey Farell said Friday.
The mother of the deceased, Mercedes Rivas Hernandez, appeared frustrated and left the court with her husband as the details of some of the photos were being explained during the trial.
Burke’s phone also showed conversations the two had about moving in together, which they called “Operation Awesome”.
The two “broke up” in November 2024, but remained in contact, according to a memo filed by prosecutors earlier this year.
Prosecutors allege they had an argument the night before his death, with Burke’s relationship with other women suspected.
Dr. Grant Ho of the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office, who performed an autopsy on Celeste, also testified Friday.
Ho told the court that it was “very difficult to say” when the girl died, due to decomposition when her remains were found.
Advocates have found that uncertain, questioning the possibility that the child could harm himself in some way.
Farrell, a police detective, testified that DNA from blood found in Burke’s Hollywood Hills home and garage matched Celeste.
D4vd, who shot to fame on TikTok with hits Romantic Homicide and Here With Me, was on a trip when police found Celeste’s body in the front boot of his Tesla in September 2025 – the day after her 15th birthday.
His world tour was canceled and he largely withdrew from public life and social media.
The police announced his arrest in April this year.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman has filed seven charges against him, including murder, aggravated sexual abuse of a child and mutilation of remains.
They said the teenager was reported missing by her family and was last seen at Burke’s home on April 3, 2025 – five months before her remains were found in the Tesla.
Prosecutors say he met Celeste online when he was 11, and they say he began sexually abusing her when he was 13 and she was 18.
Friday was the fourth day of testimony in the pretrial hearing.
Previous revelations by prosecutors include that Hernandez was brought by Burke to London and Texas to meet with his family members there.
Testimony is expected to continue on Monday.
