D4vd Celeste Rivas texts shown in court as prosecutors outline case

Prosecutors put the D4vd Celeste Rivas texts at the center of their case, telling a judge the messages showed an 18-month relationship involving pregnancy fears, abortion discussions, plans to meet and, eventually, the night they say she was killed.

Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman said the messages she reviewed in court dated back to November 2023, when Celeste was 13 and D4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, was 18. Silverman also said their communications began in August 2022, when Celeste was 11.

What did the D4vd and Celeste Rivas texts show?

According to prosecutors, the messages covered missed periods, ovulation tracking and pregnancy prevention, including alleged discussion by D4vd about emergency contraception. Prosecutors argued the texts were evidence of an underage sexual relationship and were part of the broader murder case against him.

Silverman pointed to late-December 2023 messages that prosecutors said were sexual in nature. By January 2024, prosecutors said, the conversations had shifted to a tattoo, a possible pregnancy and an abortion.

The court was shown messages in which prosecutors said D4vd apologized to Celeste, asked when she would have a procedure done and later checked in after what prosecutors described as an abortion appointment.

In February 2024, Silverman said the pair discussed a plan for Celeste to leave her parents’ home, calling it “Operation Awesome.” Prosecutors said the messages involved duffel bags and transportation, and investigators testified that her family reported her missing that same day.

Prosecutors said the conversations grew more explicit during summer 2024, with references to sex, pregnancy scares, intimate recordings, marriage and future children. By late 2024 and early 2025, Silverman argued, the messages showed strain in the relationship, including Celeste saying in March 2025 that she wanted more from D4vd than sex and hanging out.

What happened on April 23?

Silverman focused on the final messages from April 2025, the month prosecutors allege D4vd murdered Celeste. Prosecutors said the pair argued about another woman, Aysia Collins, but still arranged to meet on April 23.

According to prosecutors, D4vd ordered Celeste an Uber to his Hollywood Hills home. They said Celeste messaged that she was almost there, and Uber records showed she arrived. About 20 minutes later, prosecutors said, D4vd began sending messages asking where she was.

Defense attorney Blair Berk challenged the prosecution’s reading of the messages during cross-examination. Berk argued prosecutors left out context, including messages in which Celeste allegedly presented herself as older online, threatened to kill D4vd, threatened to damage his career and threatened to reveal private information.

Berk also argued Celeste pushed to see D4vd before the April 23 meeting and asked him to send the Uber. The defense position, as described in court, was that Celeste insisted on the meeting that night.

Prosecutors allege D4vd lured Celeste to his home, fatally stabbed her, dismembered her body and placed her remains in two bags that were later found inside his Tesla.

D4vd is charged with murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains. He has pleaded not guilty.

This story draws on original reporting from TMZ.