The detective says D4vd’s phone had pictures of teenagers, talking about abortion

Dozens of photos and text messages taken from D4vd’s cell phone reveal that the singer impregnated a 13-year-old girl, then told her to have an abortion – a year before he killed her and operated on her, according to evidence presented publicly in court on Friday afternoon.

Los Angeles Police Det. Corey Farell has laid out the alleged sexually abusive relationship between the singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, and Celeste Rivas Hernandez in vivid detail, in what may be the final episode of Burke’s trial on charges of murder and sexual assault. Burke pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing through his lawyers.

Farell and Los Angeles County Deputy. He said. Beth Silverman showed hundreds of photos and documents showing Burke and Hernandez discussing sexual relations, pregnancy fears and finally, making an appointment for an abortion in January 2024.

The messages on the phone ran from November 2023 to March 2025, the investigator said. There were about 50 photos taken from Burke’s phone that also showed Hernandez nude or the two of them engaged in sexual activity, according to Farell. Burke’s cellphone lock screen was a picture of the two of them, naked, locked in each other’s arms, the detective said.

Other photos showed Hernandez shaking hands with Burke while wearing a ring. At least one photo captures the word “David” tattooed in red ink on Hernandez’s finger. Prosecutors allege that Burke cut off two of Hernandez’s fingers after dismembering her body with a chainsaw last year, allegedly to cover up evidence of a tattoo linking the two.

According to text messages released in court, the two also discussed a plan to move in together in February 2024, which Hernandez called “Operation Awesome.” Hernandez was reported missing to Riverside County authorities by her parents that month.

In January 2024, Burke and Hernandez had a conversation about a 13-year-old who might be pregnant with his child, according to text messages shown in court.

“What are you going to do,” Burke asked, referring to the abortion, according to Farrell.

“Two days,” Hernandez replied, according to documents shown in court.

“And my mother always told me to ask this question if I was ever in this situation … is it true of me?” Burke asked.

“Yes it’s yours David,” Hernandez replied, according to the detective’s testimony.

When the two discussed a plan for Hernandez to move into Burke’s Los Angeles apartment on Valentine’s Day 2024, Burke called it “the most important day of your life next to your wedding day,” according to court documents.

Before examining the photos – which have not been shown in court because prosecutors say many of them contain child sex – a visibly distraught Silverman turned to Hernandez’s parents and begged them to leave the courtroom, warning them it was “big.”

Finally they got up and went out. Hernandez’s mother could be heard crying softly as she walked in and out of the hallway.

Prosecutors allege Burke killed Hernandez last April and stuffed her dismembered body in the trunk of his Tesla, where it was found months later. Prosecutors say Hernandez was last seen alive with the 21-year-old Doheny Place resident after she threatened to expose their relationship.

The singer never spoke or expressed a reaction to the testimony. It is unclear whether his lawyers will call witnesses before the end of the trial. Farell is expected to be the prosecution’s final witness, meaning the trial must wrap up on Monday.

An autopsy of the boy came to light following the singer’s arrest in April and revealed that he died from two stab wounds. Silverman began this week’s hearing by showing gruesome photos of Hernandez’s decomposing body, which was found in September 2025 at a Hollywood tow truck.

Burke met Hernandez online when she was about 11 years old, court records show. Burke — a rising music star who was on tour in support of his debut album and hit single “Romantic Homicide” when Hernandez’s body was found — began abusing the girl in 2023, prosecutors allege.

The two “separated” in November 2024, according to a nine-page memo filed by Silverman earlier this year, but remain in contact. Burke and Hernandez got into an argument the night before prosecutors say he was killed, when the teenager expressed frustration and jealousy over Burke’s relationships with other women.

Hernandez was last seen alive on April 23, 2025 near Burke’s residence, prosecutors said. The singer gave him a ride from his home in Lake Elsinore.

If convicted as charged, Burke faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. Prosecutors have not said they intend to seek the death penalty. Friday marked the fourth day of the trial, where Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo will decide whether prosecutors have enough evidence to bring Burke to trial.

Prosecutors argued that Burke killed Hernandez for financial gain after she threatened to expose the alleged abuse and “ruin” her music career.

After the murder, prosecutors say Burke bought shovels, three chainsaws and an inflatable dam, a cadaver bag and a cremation cage all documented as part of an effort to destroy his victim’s remains. Burke used one of the saws to cut up Hernandez’s body, which he put in a pond in hopes of catching most of his blood, prosecutors said.

LAPD DNA expert Samantha Tosch testified Thursday that evidence found on blood stains in the garage of D4vd’s Hollywood Hills home had a strong DNA match to Hernandez. A separate LAPD expert testified that he took samples from rubber floor mats, a rowing machine, green tile, garbage disposals and a Tesla charger in the garage.

Lauren Wallace, another LAPD specialist, said she searched Burke’s home about a week after police found Hernandez’s body and four months after prosecutors believed Hernandez was killed.

Photos shown by Silverman in court Wednesday morning showed investigators found 11 air fresheners inside the car, indicating someone was trying to suppress the strong odor from Hernandez’s badly decomposed remains.

Wallace said he found two chainsaws in the garage that “tested positive for blood”, but could not find a 10-inch Makita chainsaw, which prosecutors say was one of the items Burke bought in late April and early May that could be used to dispose of the body.

On Friday morning, Burke’s defense team tried to cast doubt on the completeness of the autopsy conducted in the case. For more than an hour, attorney Marilyn Bednarski questioned LA County Deputy Medical Examiner Grant Ho about how the highly decomposed state of Hernandez’s remains made it difficult for him to obtain vital information, including the time of death or the type of weapon used to kill the girl.

Bednarski asked several questions suggesting that Hernandez may have been in possession of the weapon that killed him, that he self-inflicted himself or that his killing occurred during a struggle.

“You can’t say that he was going to touch the metal that caused any of those wounds?” asked the lawyer.

Although Ho said he could not, he also noted that the autopsy did not reveal “suspicious signs,” referring to the minor injuries caused during the self-harm.

The police did not find the fatal gun in Hernandez’s death, and they did not produce any specific evidence about the time of his death.