Chainsaw, shovel, body bag: How D4vd killed and dismembered Celeste Rivas; a blow-by-blow account

Horrifying details have emerged about how D4vd killed and eventually dismembered Celeste Rivas, before her body was found in the trunk of his Tesla.

Horrifying details have emerged in the D4vd case as prosecutors now have a clearer picture of how the singer killed and mutilated Celeste Rivas, whose body was eventually found in the trunk of his Tesla.

Singer David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd, looks on during his arraignment for the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. (via REUTERS)

The details of how D4vd went about dismembering Rivas were obtained by New York Post, and paints a blow-by-blow account of how he decided to dispose of her body after the crime. Here's a blow-by-blow account of how D4vd killed and dismembered Rivas.

How D4vd killed, dismembered Celeste Rivas? A timeline

• David Burke or D4vd had an Uber bring Rivas from her family home to his place in Hollywood Hills on the night of April 23. He then stabbed her to death with a knife, and stood by while she bled out, as per the report.
• D4vd then allegedly ordered a shovel from Home Depot the next day, getting it delivered to his home via Postmates.
• A week later, he got two chainsaws from Amazon, also delivered to his home.
• On May 5, he allegedly ordered a body bag, heavy-duty laundry bags, as well as an inflatable pool, the publication noted. All these purchases were reportedly made under the fake name of Victoria Mendez.
• D4vd then allegedly placed Rivas' body into the blue inflatable pool, to prevent her blood from making a mess on his garage floor. Then he used the chainsaw and perhaps other tools to cut her limbs off, the report noted.
• He also amputated her left ring and pinky fingers as the former contained a tattoo of his name. These fingers have not been recovered, the report added.

D4vd and Rivas had reportedly gotten into a long argument the night before the alleged murder, the report noted. This came due to Rivas being jealous of D4vd's relationships with other women, the report further said. “She became extremely upset and threatened to disclose damning information about her relationship with defendant to end his career and destroy his life,” investigators noted.

When a search warrant was served for D4vd's house in September 2025, they allegedly found ‘evidence consistent with the dismemberment of the victim’s body in the inflatable pool, which contained multiple linear cuts. Several biological samples, which tested positive for blood, were collected within the garage area,’ as per the report. The DNA had also matched Rivas'.

It has also emerged that D4vd met Rivas allegedly when she was only 11, in January 2022. As per investigators, the two began a relationship in November 2023, when Rivas was 13 and D4vd 18, the report noted.