A memorial for Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images 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 Wednesday and obtained by Rolling Stone.
The report, which has long been under seal, was released to the public after the singer D4vd — real name David Anthony Burke — was charged with Rivas’ murder on 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 26-page report 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 long-awaited report comes seven months after Rivas’ dismembered body was found in the front trunk of a towed and impounded Tesla registered to Burke. Law enforcement officials kept a tight lid on their criminal probe during that time and even got a court order barring coroner officials from releasing their findings. The ME’s office vocally opposed the security hold, saying it precluded the agency from “serving our community with full transparency.”
“After several months, I am grateful this information can now be released, not only to the public, but also to the grieving family enduring loss,” the chief medical examiner, Dr. Odey Ukpo, said in a statement. “It is unfathomable they have had to wait this long to learn what happened to their daughter.”
Celeste Rivas autopsy finally unsealed, released by LA County Medical Examiner "There are 2 penetrating wounds of the torso with smooth edges that may represent sharp force injuries" "Cause of death is multiple penetrating injuries" "Manner of death is classified as homicide" pic.twitter.com/SwylAZrlVd
— Nancy Dillon (@Nancy__Dillon) April 22, 2026
The report expands on information released during the effort to identify Rivas and provides new details about the condition of her remains. It reiterates that her face and body were so severely decomposed that she could not be identified visually, and that her age, ethnicity, and eye color could not be determined. The report also includes new details, noting that her arms and legs appeared to have been “dismembered into several fragments.” It said her body had undergone “liquefication,” and that she could not be fingerprinted “due to waterlogged fingers.” It further reveals that Rivas’ left ring and pinky fingers “appear to have been mutilated” and were never found.
Editor’s picks
The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far
The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
100 Best Movies of the 21st Century
According to the report, Rivas was wearing a tube top, underwear, leggings, and socks. Her tube top had “multiple holes in the front and the back,” it states. As previously reported, it confirms Rivas had 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.
Related Content
Red-Pilled Morning-Show Host Stars in First Clip From The Onion’s InfoWars Takeover
Trump’s Long, Strange Relationship With Faith
Family of Celeste Rivas Hernandez Breaks Silence After D4vd Charged With Murder: 'All We Want Is Justice'
Tucker Carlson’s Trump Apology Is Too Little, Too Late
“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.
