LOS ANGELES (AP) — The doctor who performed the autopsy on 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez is set to give the difficult details of her death Friday at a hearing to determine whether singer D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, should go on trial in her killing.
The April autopsy report from Dr. Grant Ho of the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner found that Rivas Hernandez's death was a homicide caused by penetrating wounds to her upper body.
Click to Gallery
In this courtroom sketch, David Anthony Burke, also known as D4vd, far right, is seen in court Tuesday, July 21, 2026, in Los Angeles, during his trial for the killing of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. (Bill Robles via AP)
FILE - D4vd appears at Variety's Power of Young Hollywood in Los Angeles on Aug. 8, 2024. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
In this courtroom sketch, David Anthony Burke, who is known as D4vd, is seen in court Tuesday, July 21, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Bill Robles via AP)
FILE - A makeshift Memorial for Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who was killed and found inside a vehicle owned by singer D4vd, is placed outside her home in Lake Elsinore, Calif., on April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, file)
FILE - A makeshift memorial for Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose body was found inside a vehicle owned by singer D4vd, is displayed outside her home in Lake Elsinore, Calif., on April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
The dismembered and decomposing body was discovered in a Tesla towed from the Hollywood Hills in September, 4 1/2 months after the time authorities say Rivas Hernandez was killed.
That meant the autopsy was limited by “extensive postmortem changes.” The body had so degraded that examiners couldn’t even determine the girl's eye color.
Prosecutors are seeking to prove Burke began sexually abusing Rivas Hernandez when she was 13 and he was 18, then stabbed her to death when she threatened to reveal their long sexual history and crater his career. They allege he dismembered the body in his garage, and a police analyst testified in the preliminary hearing that samples pulled from apparent blood stains there matched the DNA of Rivas Hernandez.
Burke has pleaded not guilty to murder, sexual abuse of a child and mutilation of a body, and his lawyers have said he is innocent.
There is some uncertain language in the autopsy report, which says the wounds “may represent sharp force injuries.” The defense, which has been seeking to dismantle the forensic evidence, may seize on this.
One wound on the upper abdomen penetrated the liver, the report said. Another, on the left chest, damaged her ribs. A tube top she was wearing appeared to be cut in three places.
Toxicology tests on Rivas Hernandez's liver showed a low level of alcohol, but it may have been produced postmortem by bacteria and didn’t appear to be a factor in her death, the report said.
LA County’s Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Odey C. Ukpo gave a statement with the autopsy report objecting to police keeping his office from releasing the results for several months, calling it “unfathomable” that her grieving family would have to wait so long to find out what had happened to her.
In an interview with The Associated Press in June, Ukpo elaborated, saying keeping information sealed “goes completely against our mission.”
“It’s so important for us to release the information that she did not die from something natural, she did not die from drugs, she was stabbed,” Ukpo said. “And then we start to look back at what made her vulnerable to be in that situation.”
An indie-pop singer whose music and online presence brought him a huge following, D4vd's songs and videos often have dark and violent imagery often delivered through an alter-ego character he calls Itami. His breakthrough single in 2022 was called “Romantic Homicide,” one of several of his songs with more than a billion plays on Spotify.
In this courtroom sketch, David Anthony Burke, also known as D4vd, far right, is seen in court Tuesday, July 21, 2026, in Los Angeles, during his trial for the killing of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. (Bill Robles via AP)
FILE - D4vd appears at Variety's Power of Young Hollywood in Los Angeles on Aug. 8, 2024. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
In this courtroom sketch, David Anthony Burke, who is known as D4vd, is seen in court Tuesday, July 21, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Bill Robles via AP)
FILE - A makeshift Memorial for Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who was killed and found inside a vehicle owned by singer D4vd, is placed outside her home in Lake Elsinore, Calif., on April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, file)
FILE - A makeshift memorial for Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose body was found inside a vehicle owned by singer D4vd, is displayed outside her home in Lake Elsinore, Calif., on April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian activist Sonam Wangchuk ended a 26-day hunger strike on Friday that helped galvanize a youth movement that's become one of India’s largest protests in recent years, but demonstrators vowed to continue until the education minister resigns.
Wangchuk’s fast became a rallying point for India’s “Cockroach” protests, which began more than a month ago demanding education reforms after alleged leaks in some of the country’s most competitive entrance exams. Since then, the movement has tapped into broader public anger over unemployment, government accountability and economic opportunity, drawing professionals, families and activists to demonstrations in New Delhi and cities across the country.
The demonstrations have become one of the most sustained waves of public dissent against Modi’s government in recent years, with thousands returning to the streets even after police used tear gas and batons this week to disperse marchers trying to reach Parliament.
In a post on X, Wangchuk said he ended his fast in the presence of two federal ministers after appeals from dozens of members of parliament and following “a long negotiation on various conditions and in view of possible violence in the country.” He did not elaborate on the talks.
Protest organizers said demonstrations would continue until Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned. They have called for demonstrations across the country on Friday in solidarity with students who were beaten by police during a march to Parliament on Monday that drew thousands of people.
“We won’t let Sonam sir’s sacrifice go in vain,” said Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of Cockroach Janta Party, a satirical group that has spearheaded the movement, named in reference to a remark by the country's supreme court chief justice that compared some unemployed young people to cockroaches.
The nationwide protests come a day after Modi publicly addressed the protests for the first time, announcing fast-track courts to prosecute cases involving examination paper leaks. In a separate video message, Modi also said his government would introduce a legislation in Parliament to crack down on exam paper leaks.
The announcements did little to calm the movement, as protesters said they failed to address their demands for government accountability, examination reforms and compensation for the families of students who died by suicide after exam paper leaks.
Fabeha Sayyed, 23, said Modi’s video message showed he was finally paying attention to the issue, but she questioned why he had not asked the education minister to resign.
“If he were so concerned about the protests, about the students and the families of students who committed suicide, then it is not hard for him to get a person to resign,” she said.
Volunteers collect garbage at a protest site during a demonstration demanding educational reforms as part of the Cockroach Janta Party's ongoing protest movement in New Delhi, India, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Shonal Ganguly)
A protestor carries a placard saying 'When the education is taxed, why should Pradhan be not held accountable' referring to India's Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan, during a demonstration demanding educational reforms as part of the Cockroach Janta Party's ongoing protest movement in New Delhi, India, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Shonal Ganguly)
A protestor carries a placard saying "In the exam attempt all questions, in a democracy answer all questions" during a demonstration demanding educational reforms as part of the Cockroach Janta Party's ongoing protest movement in New Delhi, India, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Shonal Ganguly)
A reclining protestor covers himself with a banner printed with a portrait of Sonam Wangchuk, a prominent activist who was forcefully transferred to a hospital by the police as he staged a hunger strike in support of a movement led by Cockroach Janta Party, at a protest in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Vipin)
Protesters shout slogans as they carry posters asking for the resignation of India's Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan at a protest led by Cockroach Janta Party in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Vipin)
A supporter distributes food to protestors during a demonstration demanding educational reforms as part of the Cockroach Janta Party's ongoing protest movement in New Delhi, India, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Vipin)
Police officers chase protesters during a demonstration demanding educational reforms as part of the Cockroach Janta Party's ongoing protest movement in Mumbai, India, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Protesters confront a police officer during a demonstration demanding educational reforms as part of the Cockroach Janta Party's ongoing protest movement in Mumbai, India, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Protesters shout slogans during a demonstration demanding educational reforms as part of the Cockroach Janta Party's ongoing protest movement in Mumbai, India, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
