A forensic pathologist testified Friday that 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez sustained two stab wounds, one piercing her liver and another her ribs, during a hearing that will determine whether musician D4vd faces trial for her murder.
Grant Ho, who conducted the autopsy, described the challenges posed by the advanced decomposition of Rivas Hernandez's remains. Her body was discovered in September in the trunk of a Tesla registered to the suspect, five months after prosecutors allege she was killed in April.
The court has reviewed graphic photographs of her dismembered and decomposed body this week as part of the proceeding. Ho testified that the degraded state of the remains made it extremely difficult to determine an exact time of death.
D4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, has pleaded not guilty to capital murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains. Prosecutors argue Burke killed Rivas Hernandez to prevent her from revealing the sexual nature of their relationship as his music career gained traction.
According to prosecutors, the age gap between Burke and Rivas Hernandez when sexual abuse began was stark: he was 18, she was 13. The relationship allegedly continued until her death last April.
The Los Angeles county medical examiner's office determined in an autopsy report unsealed in April that Rivas Hernandez died from multiple penetrating injuries. Ho's testimony Friday identified the specific wounds that proved fatal: the stab to her abdomen that damaged her liver and the chest wound that fractured her ribs.
Author James Rodriguez: "The clinical detail of how this teenager died starkly contrasts with the industry glamour of the accused, and that friction is exactly what makes this case impossible to look away from."
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