WARNING: Readers may find details in this article distressing.
Texts between singer D4vd and Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the 14-year-old he is accused of murdering, reveal she had been pregnant and had had an abortion before her death.
The messages were shown during a hearing for a judge to determine if the singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, should go on trial for the teen’s death last year.
“What [if] the first abortion didn’t work?” Celeste texted Burke in June 2024, according to prosecutors. She was 13 years old at the time and he was 19.
Prosecutors say Burke killed her after she threatened to reveal he had been abusing a minor and destroy his career. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering and sexually abusing the girl.
In an exchange from January 2024, Burke apologised to the teen for “putting her through this”, according to messages shown in the Los Angeles court on Friday.
She responded, “neither of us are capable of watching and taking care of the baby. it’s for the best no?”
Burke asked, “also my mother always told me to ask this question if I was ever in this situation … it is mine right?”
Celeste replied “of course its yours David”, according to testimony from a detective.
The court heard that in another text to the teen, sent in June 2024, Burke wrote: “Let’s let this abortion be the last one til we have the real one…”
Prosecutors presented iCloud data recovered from the defendant’s iPhone, showing texts between him and Celeste dating back to 8 August 2022, when she was 11 years old and he was 17.
The device belonging to Burke also had photos of the teenager during the alleged sexual abuse, prosecutors and Los Angeles Police Detective Corey Farell said on Friday.
The victim’s mother, Mercedes Rivas Hernandez, became visibly emotional and left the court with her husband as details of some of the pictures were described during the proceedings.
Burke’s phone also showed conversations the two had had about moving in together, which they had dubbed “Operation Awesome”.
The pair “broke up” in November 2024, but stayed in contact, according to a memo filed by prosecutors earlier this year.
Prosecutors allege they argued on the night before her death, allegedly over Burke’s relationships with other women.
Dr Grant Ho of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner, who conducted the post-mortem examination on Celeste, also testified on Friday.
Ho told the court it was “extremely difficult to tell” exactly when the girl died, owing to the state of decomposition when her remains were found.
Lawyers for the defence seized on that uncertainty, questioning whether it was possible that the teenager could have somehow harmed herself.
Farrell, the police detective, testified that DNA taken from blood found in Burke’s Hollywood Hills home and garage was a match for Celeste.
D4vd, who rose to fame on TikTok with the viral hits Romantic Homicide and Here With Me, was on tour when police found Celeste’s body in the front boot of his Tesla in September 2025 – the day after she would have turned 15.
His worldwide tour was cancelled and he largely retreated from public life and social media.
Police announced his arrest in April this year.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman has filed seven criminal charges against him, including murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child and the mutilation of remains.
They said the teen was reported missing by her family and was last seen at Burke’s home on 3 April 2025 – five months before her remains were discovered in the Tesla.
Prosecutors have said he met Celeste online when she was 11, and allege he started sexually abusing her when she was 13 and he was 18.
Friday marked the fourth day of testimony in the pre-trial hearing.
Earlier revelations by prosecutors included that Hernandez had been brought by Burke to London and Texas to meet members of his family there.
Testimony is expected to resume on Monday.
