By admin 
HangupsMusic.com – Los Angeles, A dramatic cross-examination unfolded in court this week as attorneys representing the musician known as D4vd, whose legal name is Burke, challenged the foundational medical findings surrounding the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The defense team, led by attorney Marilyn Bednarski, presented a glimpse into its potential strategy by meticulously questioning Dr. Grant Ho, the medical examiner who conducted Rivas’s autopsy, regarding the possibility that Rivas’s fatal wounds were self-inflicted or resulted from actions she initiated. The high-stakes preliminary hearing saw a tense exchange over forensic certainty and the interpretation of medical evidence, with the courtroom frequently hushed by the gravity of the proceedings and audible gasps at graphic photographic exhibits.
Dr. Ho had previously concluded that Rivas Hernandez died from "multiple penetrating injuries" inflicted by another individual, leading to a homicide ruling by his office. However, Bednarski spent over an hour probing the parameters of this determination, aiming to introduce doubt about the direct involvement of another party in the fatal act. Her line of questioning suggested that Rivas might have engaged in actions that inadvertently set in motion the chain of events leading to her demise, a critical pivot for the defense seeking to distance Burke from the direct act of killing.
The defense attorney began by exploring the role of "collateral information" in a medical examiner’s assessment, inquiring whether details such as a victim’s history of suicidal ideation, frequent drug use, or past violence could influence the determination of a cause of death. Dr. Ho conceded that such background information could "potentially" impact a ruling. Crucially, he confirmed that he had not consulted with Rivas’s family prior to his office officially classifying her death as a homicide, a point the defense likely sought to emphasize regarding the comprehensiveness of the initial investigation.
Focus then shifted to the physical evidence itself: the two penetrating wounds discovered on Rivas’s body. During his direct testimony, Dr. Ho detailed a lower abdominal wound, approximately 1.5 inches deep, which perforated Rivas’s liver. A second injury, located on the left side of her chest, measured about two inches deep, entering near her lung and causing damage to an adjacent rib. Bednarski pressed Dr. Ho on whether he could definitively ascertain who was "holding the instrument" responsible for these injuries, which formed the basis of the homicide ruling. The medical examiner admitted he could not.
"So you can’t rule out that she could have been holding the instrument," Bednarski asserted, drawing a careful response from Dr. Ho. "That is a consideration," he replied, "but we would expect to find hesitation marks," referring to the superficial, exploratory wounds often found around deeper, self-inflicted injuries. The absence of such marks is typically cited as an indicator against suicide, yet Bednarski continued to chip away at the absolute certainty of the findings. She directly asked if it was fair to conclude that Dr. Ho lacked knowledge of the precise "circumstances under which these wounds occurred," to which he unequivocally responded, "Correct." Further questioning regarding Rivas’s body position or movement speed at the moment of injury also yielded Dr. Ho’s inability to determine such specifics.
Earlier in the proceedings, Dr. Ho’s direct testimony was accompanied by a series of unsettling autopsy photographs, some reportedly so gruesome they elicited audible gasps from those in the courtroom. One particularly harrowing image showed Rivas’s body reassembled on a metal table, her face described as "skeletonized." Burke himself reportedly observed these images quietly, his chin propped on a hand that partially obscured his mouth, maintaining a stoic demeanor at the defense table.
Beyond the direct cause of death, Dr. Ho’s testimony also touched upon several elements central to the prosecution’s broader narrative. Regarding the alleged dismemberment of Rivas’s body, the medical examiner stated that "going through bone would require [a] power tool," lending credence to the prosecution’s claims about Burke’s use of such instruments. He also corroborated the powerful and pervasive odor associated with decomposition, noting that the stench from Rivas’s remains was discernible down the hall from the autopsy room. Furthermore, he affirmed that the wound to Rivas’s lower liver was consistent with being stabbed in the stomach, aligning with the prosecution’s allegation that Burke stabbed her to death.
Prosecutors contend that Burke killed Rivas inside his Hollywood Hills rental on April 23, 2025, after she allegedly threatened to expose their sexual relationship, which was illegal due to her underage status. They further allege that Burke then dismembered her body in the garage, potentially weeks later. In their preliminary hearing brief, prosecutors stated Burke "stood by while [Rivas] bled out." Dr. Ho testified that Rivas could have bled to death within "minutes," though he conceded, when questioned, that it was "Potentially" possible it could have taken "hours."
Rivas’s severely decomposed remains were eventually discovered on September 8, 2025, divided between two black vinyl and plastic bags found in the front trunk of Burke’s vehicle. Burke has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains. His legal team maintains that he neither killed Rivas nor caused her death.
Earlier in the week, the court heard from Los Angeles police criminalist Samantha Tosch, who presented DNA evidence. Tosch testified that Burke’s DNA was identified as part of a mixture found on an outer trash bag recovered from his garage. Inside this outer bag, an inner bag contained wipes that presumptively tested positive for blood. DNA analysis on one of these wipes indicated that the genetic material was three trillion times more likely to belong to Rivas than to an unknown individual. Notably, Burke’s DNA was not detected on this particular blood-stained wipe.
Tosch’s testimony also placed Rivas’s DNA on several items within Burke’s garage, including a rowing machine, a black rubber floor mat, a Tesla charger, and a green tarp. Additionally, Rivas’s DNA was found in a rear compartment of Burke’s Tesla, distinct from the front trunk where her remains were discovered. Under cross-examination, Tosch acknowledged the possibility of DNA transfer without direct contact and clarified that police software calculates the likelihood of an individual’s inclusion in a mixture, rather than providing a definitive match. Despite these caveats, she reiterated her professional opinion that Burke’s DNA was indeed present on the outer trash bag.
Another criminalist, Lisa LaHendro, offered testimony linking fragments of blue material recovered from Rivas’s remains to holes found in an inflatable pool located in Burke’s garage. Prosecutors have posited that Burke used this pool as a contained area for dismemberment, aiming to collect blood and other evidence. Criminalist Lauren Wallace further testified about the application of Bluestar, a chemical used to detect latent blood, which yielded strong reactions on the rubber mats covering the garage floor and on the bricks beneath them. However, Wallace noted that two chainsaws found in the garage and a third electric saw from upstairs were not collected by investigators because they tested negative for presumptive blood and were therefore deemed not forensically valuable, a point the defense may leverage. Prosecutors have previously stated that Burke ordered two chainsaws from Amazon shortly after the alleged killing and also purchased a 10-inch Makita chainsaw from Home Depot on May 4, 2025, which was delivered via Uber Postmates and has never been recovered.
Detective William Roecker presented cell-tower records and data from Burke’s Tesla modem, illustrating that Burke’s phone and vehicle traveled together from his home to a remote area of Santa Barbara County on three occasions following the alleged murder. The initial trip commenced around 11:31 p.m. on April 23, approximately an hour after prosecutors allege Rivas was killed. The phone and Tesla journeyed to a "pretty desolate" area off Highway 154, notably near where a transit worker later discovered Rivas’s passport card. The phone and Tesla returned to Burke’s residence around 7 a.m. the following day, and subsequent trips to the same area were recorded on May 8 and May 31. Earlier testimony also revealed that investigators found at least 11 air fresheners inside the Tesla, including one situated beneath a mass of fly larvae near the concealed remains.
Detective Joshua Byers testified that Burke had the name "Celeste" tattooed in red cursive on his left ring finger when he was arrested. Tesla data further indicated Burke’s iPhone disconnecting from the vehicle on July 29, 2025, shortly before a neighbor’s camera captured him walking back toward his home. Police license-plate readers subsequently recorded the Tesla remaining in the same parking spot until its impoundment on September 8.
Prosecutors also presented body-camera footage from February 2024, showing sheriff’s deputies questioning Burke after Rivas was reported missing. In the footage, Burke claimed he had met Rivas online, seen her once, and believed she was 18. Prosecutors allege that Burke later purchased a secret phone for Rivas and paid a classmate $1,000 to deliver it after her parents confiscated another device. Investigators also uncovered evidence suggesting Burke bought airline tickets and traveled with Rivas to Texas and London.
Benjamin Greger, a former financial manager at Burke’s management company, testified that discussions had taken place regarding transferring Texas properties from Burke to his mother, ostensibly to shield these assets from a potential civil lawsuit.
At the conclusion of this preliminary hearing, a judge will evaluate whether the prosecution has presented sufficient evidence to warrant sending the case to trial. Should Burke be convicted as charged, he faces a sentence of life in prison without parole or potentially the death penalty, though prosecutors have not yet announced whether they will pursue capital punishment. The proceedings continue to unveil layers of forensic detail and circumstantial evidence, painting a complex picture of the events leading to Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s tragic death.
