Medical Examiner: Dr.Grant Ho
LA County Medical Examiner
Dr. Odey Ukpo
Chief Medical Examiner
Dr. Grant Ho
Supervising Deputy Medical Examiner
Dr. Ansel Nam
Deputy Medical Examiner
Garment
- Garment
- According to the report, Rivas was wearing a
- tube top,
- underwear,
- black leggings, and
- black socks.
Stab wounds
Stab wound 1
- Right Abdomen
- One 1.5 inch deep
- Punctured her liver
- Smooth edges (may represent sharp force injury)
- Her tube top had “multiple holes in the front and the back,” it states
Stab wound 2
- Lower left chest
- 2 inches deep
- Penetrates “left intercostal spaces with disruption of the adjacent ribs.”
- Smooth edges (may represent sharp force injury)
- Her tube top had “multiple holes in the front and the back,” it states
Head
Head
- “partially skeletonized with an absent left eye.”
Limbs
Arms
- dismembered into several fragments”
Legs
- dismembered into several fragments”
Fingers
- Fingers
- body had undergone “liquefication” of soft tissue, and that she could not be fingerprinted “due to waterlogged fingers.”
- left ring and pinky fingers “appear to have been mutilated” and were never found.
- Tattoo on her right index finger that read, “Shhh…” (A photo of Burke with a similar tattoo was unearthed after Rivas was identified.)
Toxicology
Postmortem Toxicology
- Postmortem Toxicology:
- Liver tissue:
- Low level of ethanol
- not a contributor to death
- Could not be determined wether it’s due to ingestion or postmortem changes
- Liver tissue:
Toxicology
- Toxicology screening “presumptively positive”
- Need further testing
- Benzodiazepines (downer) – examples: Xanax, Valium
- Methamphetamine – examples: Molly, meth, speed
- MDMA – examples: Molly, ecstasy
- Need further testing
Discourse on the release of information
There’s a seven month gap between the moment they received the body to the moment they had a press release.
There was a hold on releasing information.
Court Hearing
What Medical Examiner said
Beth Silverman asked what the photo was of. They replied, “it’s the head.”
What people have said
TMZ interviewed Patrick Steinfeld, Celeste Rivas Hernandez parents’ attorney, said it was, “gruesome,” “body was liquified.”
“DA had the police officer identify parts of her body but it looked like mush.”
He stated it no longer looked like a person’s body.
Conclusion
- Conclusion:
- Cause of Death: multiple penetrating injuries
- Manner of Death: Homicide
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