Medical examiner says body decomposed for weeks before discovery
The doctor who performed the autopsy on 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez testified Friday that he identified two stab wounds on her body, as a preliminary hearing continued in Los Angeles Superior Court to determine whether singer D4vd will stand trial in her killing.
Dr. Grant Ho of the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said the degraded condition of Rivas Hernandez’s remains posed challenges to the autopsy. Ho said it was “extremely difficult to tell” when exactly she died, noting her body had been dead for weeks when it was discovered.
The April autopsy report found that Rivas Hernandez’s death was a homicide caused by penetrating wounds to her upper body. Ho said he identified two stab wounds — one on her abdomen that struck her liver and another on her left chest that damaged her ribs.
Prosecutors say Burke, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, fatally stabbed Rivas Hernandez last April to silence her from divulging the sexual nature of their relationship. According to prosecutors, Burke was 18 and Rivas Hernandez was 13 when the sexual abuse began.
Burke has pleaded not guilty to charges including capital murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains. Last September, Los Angeles police discovered Rivas Hernandez’s remains in the front trunk of a Tesla registered to Burke, five months after prosecutors allege Burke killed her. The court has viewed photographs of her body this week.