Steinfeld said Celeste’s mother, Mercedes, had been warned beforehand that graphic images would be shown.

“I told him he didn’t have to be in the courtroom during this part of the hearing,” he said.

“But she said, ‘I want to be here to show my support for Celeste.’ She just hung her head and started crying.”

He said he had warned both parents that once they saw the images, they could never “unsee them.”

“I encouraged them to go out for a short period of time and they decided no; they wanted to be here to show that they support their daughter.”

“They are an extremely private family,” he added. “It’s a parent’s worst nightmare.”

The small courtroom in downtown Los Angeles was packed long before Tuesday’s hearing began.

Journalists, YouTubers, TikTok creators and members of the public entered a drawing to win one of the limited seats to watch the proceedings.

There was a palpable sense of anticipation in the room.

The constant chatter stopped when Burke was brought in.

He was wearing an orange prison uniform and was handcuffed at the wrists and ankles.

His handcuffs were removed, but he remained chained to his chair throughout the hearing.

He smiled briefly at members of his defense team before calmly responding to the judge with “Good morning, your honor” and “Yes, your honor.”

The atmosphere changed dramatically once Detective Joshua Byers began his testimony.

Before showing each graphic image, prosecutor Beth Silverman repeatedly addressed Celeste’s parents, warning them about what they were about to see and checking to see if they wanted to look away.

At one point, Celeste’s mother was comforted by followers sitting next to her.

The girl’s body was discovered inside the trunk of a Tesla in September 2025 at a Hollywood towing yard.

Detective Byers described how he opened a body bag inside the car and found decomposing human remains, including a torso and head, with another black garbage bag underneath containing severed limbs.

He told the court that Celeste’s body had decomposed so badly that her face was no longer recognisable.

The court also heard evidence showing purchases delivered to Burke’s address under an alias after Celeste’s death, including chainsaws, body bags and an inflatable pool.

Investigators allege the objects were used to dismember and hide Celeste’s body.

The court heard about the tattoos that prosecutors said connected Burke and Celeste.

The judge was shown photos of a red ink tattoo reading “Celeste” on Burke’s left ring finger, as well as a “Shhh…” tattoo on his right index finger.

Prosecutors showed a photo of Celeste with a similar tattoo of “Shhh…” on her right index finger and another image of a hand where her ring finger and pinky finger were cut off.

The preliminary hearing is expected to last several days, and prosecutors plan to call additional witnesses as they try to establish enough evidence for the case to move on to a jury trial.