Celeste Rivas Hernandez died from “multiple penetrating injuries” on her upper abdomen, according to an autopsy report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office released on Wednesday.
The report, which has long been under seal, was finally released to the public after the singer D4vd — real name David Anthony Burke — was charged with Rivas’ murder Monday, April 20.
“There are two penetrating wounds of the torso with smooth edges that may represent sharp force injuries. The wound on the upper abdomen penetrates the liver, and the wound on the left chest penetrates one of the left intercostal spaces, with disruption of the adjacent ribs’ cortical surfaces. The left lung appears intact,” the report, obtained by Rolling Stone, reads. “The cause of death is multiple penetrating injuries. The manner of death is classified as homicide.”
The report said postmortem toxicology performed on liver tissue showed the presence of “a low level of ethanol.” Investigators said it may have been due to “postmortem changes or ingestion, and does not appear to be contributory to the cause of death.”
The official cause of death comes seven months after Rivas’ dismembered body was found last September in the front trunk of an impounded Tesla belonging to Burke. An initial statement from the medical examiner described Rivas (who had not yet been identified) as a female with wavy black hair whose body was “severely decomposed.” The statement also said Rivas “appears to have been deceased inside the vehicle for an extended period of time.”
The state of Rivas’ remains were so bad that the ME was also unable to determine her eye color, age, or ethnicity. They did, however, note a yellow metal stud earring and a distinct tattoo on her right index finger that read, “Shhh…” (A photo of Burke with a similar tattoo was unearthed after Rivas was identified.)
An official ruling on Rivas’ cause of death did not come quickly. At the end of September, the LAPD released a statement explaining the lack of named suspects, charges, or arrests. They, in part, noted that the medical examiner still had not “determined the cause or manner” of Rivas’ death, meaning it was technically still “unclear” if there was “any criminal culpability beyond the concealment of her body.”
The first indication that a cause had been determined came in November, when the LAPD filed a declaration requesting a court order to prevent the medical examiner from releasing Rivas’ autopsy findings. (In the filing, the case was described as “an investigation into murder.”) While the judge granted the LAPD’s request, the ME’s office expressed frustration with it in a rare public statement.
“The department’s mission is to have full transparency with the community by providing information about our cases to empower people to make changes that save lives,” Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Odey Ukpo said. “Since becoming the department head, I’ve worked on eradicating the practice of placing security holds on medical examiner cases simply by law enforcement request. The practice of security holds is virtually unheard of in other counties and has not been proven to improve outcomes in the legal system.”
The release of the autopsy comes after Burke was arrested last week and formally charged on Monday. He’s facing one count of first-degree murder with special circumstances, including lying in wait, murdering a witness in an ongoing investigation, and financial gain. The L.A. County DA’s office revealed that, prior to her death, Rivas was a witness in an ongoing investigation into Burke for “lewd and lascivious sexual acts” with a person under 14.
Along with the murder charge, Burke is also facing charges of sexual acts with a person under 14 and mutilating the remains of a body. Burke was arraigned and pleaded not guilty on Monday.
