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Singer D4vd to Face Four-Day Hearing on Murder and Abuse Charges
Pop singer D4vd, legal name David Burke, appears Tuesday before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo for a preliminary hearing on charges tied to the 2025 killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The four-day proceeding will test whether prosecutors have enough evidence to send the case to trial.
Jul 21, 4:37 AM·2m read4 sources
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The preliminary hearing for pop singer D4vd, legal name David Burke, opens Tuesday before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo and will examine whether prosecutors can show probable cause on charges of murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains.
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Court filings allege Burke lured Celeste Rivas Hernandez to a Hollywood Hills home he was renting on April 23, 2025, after arranging a car to transport her from Lake Elsinore roughly 80 miles southeast of Los Angeles. The two exchanged messages until her arrival, after which her phone ceased all communication.
Prosecutors state Burke killed Rivas Hernandez after she threatened to disclose their relationship and then dismembered her body in the garage with chain saws. They recovered sexually explicit text messages and photographs between Burke and the victim, and they add that Burke met Rivas Hernandez when she was 11 and began sexually abusing her when she was 13.
Burke has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
His attorney, Blair Berk, stated that Burke is not responsible for Rivas Hernandez's death. Prosecutors say records show Burke purchased chain saws and plastic wading pools used in the dismemberment, and investigators recovered the victim's DNA from bloodstains in the garage. Prosecutors state Burke kept the remains in the trunk of a Tesla registered in his name for months.
The decomposing body was found after the vehicle was towed from the Hollywood Hills in September 2025. Surveillance footage shows Burke was the last person to drive the car, and authorities arrested him in April after the investigation concluded. The final autopsy report determined Rivas Hernandez died from multiple stab wounds.
