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Prosecutors presented graphic photographs of the decomposing and dismembered remains of Celeste Rivas Hernandez during the first day of the preliminary hearing for David Anthony Burke on Tuesday, according to multiple reports from the Los Angeles Times and ABC7. A homicide detective testified that the 14-year-old girl’s body was discovered inside the front trunk of a Tesla registered to Burke in a Hollywood tow yard in September 2025, the Los Angeles Times reported. Detective Joshua Byers described opening a cadaver bag and finding a torso, head and severed limbs in refuse bags, with decomposition so advanced that her face was unrecognisable, court testimony showed. The New York Times noted the hearing, which is expected to last three to seven days, will determine whether sufficient evidence exists to send the first-degree murder and child sexual abuse case to trial.
Burke, 21, has pleaded not guilty to charges that include murder, sexual abuse of a child and unlawful mutilation of human remains, ABC News stated. Prosecutors allege he began abusing Hernandez after they met when she was 11 years old and killed her in early 2025 at his Hollywood Hills home because she threatened to expose their relationship and derail his music career, according to testimony summarised by Rolling Stone. A Marca report from April placed the artist’s net worth at around $2 million following breakout success with 2022 singles that earned platinum certifications and a deal with Interscope Records, details that prosecutors tied to his alleged motive. The Los Angeles Times reported that Burke ordered items including chainsaws, body bags, an inflatable pool and a shovel online under an alias in the days after the killing.
Family attorney Patrick Steinfeld described the experience for Hernandez’s parents as a parent’s worst nightmare after they viewed the previously sealed images for the first time in open court, the BBC reported from the scene. Celeste’s mother Mercedes was warned about the graphic nature of the evidence but chose to remain present to support her daughter, putting her head down and crying during the presentation, Steinfeld told reporters. Prosecutor Beth Silverman repeatedly cautioned the family before displaying each photo, at one point prompting supporters to comfort the mother, according to eyewitness accounts carried by KTLA. The courtroom in downtown Los Angeles drew a lottery crowd of journalists, social media creators and the public ahead of the proceedings.
Photographs of matching tattoos were also introduced as evidence linking Burke and the victim, the New York Times detailed. Images showed a red-ink “Celeste” tattoo on Burke’s left ring finger and a “Shhh…” design on his right index finger, with prosecutors displaying a similar tattoo on Hernandez and a photo of a hand missing its ring and little fingers, according to the Los Angeles Times. Detective Byers further testified about the condition of the remains and the online purchases delivered to Burke’s address, tying them to efforts to conceal the crime, court records reviewed by ABC7 indicate. The preliminary hearing began after several delays since Burke’s arrest in April.
Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo is presiding over the proceedings and will decide at the conclusion whether the case advances to a full jury trial, the New York Times reported. Additional witnesses are scheduled to testify in the coming days as prosecutors continue laying out evidence that had previously been limited to court filings, according to ABC News. Wikipedia entries on the Houston-raised artist, who began composing music in 2021 for Fortnite montages before his 2022 viral hits, provide context for the career prosecutors say he sought to protect, though those details were not repeated in Tuesday’s session. Hernandez’s parents remained in attendance throughout the first day despite the emotional toll.
