Singer D4vd pleaded not guilty Monday in the murder case involving 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez and replaced his private attorneys with lawyers from the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office.
The 21-year-old singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, faces charges of murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains. Prosecutors accuse him of killing Rivas Hernandez in April 2025 after sexually abusing her over an extended period.
Deputy Public Defender Walid Kandeel asked Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo to postpone Monday’s arraignment so Burke’s new defense team could review transcripts from a five-day preliminary hearing held in July.
Olmedo denied the request, noting that the charges had not changed since Burke’s arrest. Kandeel then entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. The judge scheduled the next hearing for Oct. 19, and no trial date has been set.
Burke had been represented by high-profile defense attorneys Blair Berk and Marilyn Bednarski. The court allowed them to withdraw after determining that Burke qualified for appointed counsel.
Bednarski told reporters that there was no conflict behind the change and said Burke made the decision himself. She declined to discuss how the recording artist qualified for publicly funded representation. Berk, Bednarski and attorney Regina Peter said they continued to support Burke and had confidence in his new legal team.
Olmedo ordered Burke to stand trial in late July after finding that prosecutors had presented enough evidence for the charges to move forward. A preliminary hearing requires prosecutors to show there is sufficient evidence to continue a criminal case, a lower standard than the proof required for a conviction at trial.
The murder charge includes allegations that Rivas Hernandez was killed while Burke was lying in wait, for financial gain and to prevent her from reporting the alleged sexual abuse.
During the July hearing, prosecutors argued that Burke killed Rivas Hernandez after she threatened to expose their relationship and damage his music career. About a dozen witnesses testified, including law enforcement officers and financial staff connected to Burke’s management company and his label, Darkroom/Interscope.
Investigators also presented messages and photographs recovered from Burke’s iCloud account and a phone seized from his home. Prosecutors said the evidence documented his relationship with Rivas Hernandez while she was a minor and growing conflict between them before her death.
According to prosecutors, Rivas Hernandez threatened to expose Burke during an argument the night before she died. Burke later arranged transportation for her to come see him.
Prosecutors allege he killed her the following day, dismembered her body in his garage and concealed the remains in his Tesla Model X. Her remains were later discovered inside the vehicle.
Bednarski challenged that account during the preliminary hearing, arguing that prosecutors had not proven Burke killed Rivas Hernandez or planned her death. She also argued that evidence of dismemberment and concealment after death did not establish how the teenager died.
An attorney representing Rivas Hernandez’s parents has disputed claims that Burke initially believed she was 18, citing evidence that sheriff’s deputies told him in February 2024 that she was 13 after her parents reported her missing.
Burke remains in custody and is due back in court with his new public defenders on Oct. 19.
A Los Angeles judge has ruled that the case against musician D4vd will proceed to trial, finding sufficient evidence to support charges that the singer killed and dismembered 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo issued the decision Monday after determining prosecutors had cleared the "probable cause" threshold required... Read More »
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D4vd, the platinum-selling artist charged in the killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, sat through another day of testimony Thursday in a Los Angeles courtroom as forensic experts detailed DNA evidence connecting him to a trash bag containing what prosecutors say was the teenager's blood.The bag was pulled from the... Read More »
Prosecutors opened a closely watched preliminary hearing in the murder case against musician D4vd on Tuesday by presenting graphic photographic evidence of the dismembered remains of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The proceeding marked the first major courtroom presentation of evidence since the singer's arrest earlier this year.David Anthony Burke, the... Read More »
