Singer D4vd has been ordered to stand trial in connection with the killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Following a five-day preliminary hearing, Los Angeles Judge Charlaine Olmedo ruled that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence to establish probable cause for the case to proceed to trial on murder and other charges. D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, has pleaded not guilty.
via Yahoo! News:
A judge determined Monday that there’s enough evidence for David Anthony Burke, the 21-year-old singer known as D4vd, to be tried on all counts in the murder case of Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
The 14-year-old girl’s severely decomposed remains were found in Burke’s Tesla last fall.
Prosecutors allege Burke fatally stabbed Rivas Hernandez in April 2025 after she threatened to expose their alleged sexual relationship, then took steps to conceal her death and dispose of her remains.
During the preliminary hearing in Los Angeles County Superior Court, prosecutors presented new evidence, including graphic photos and text messages, to establish probable cause to proceed to trial.
Burke has pleaded not guilty to charges including first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious sexual acts with a person under 14 years old and the mutilation of a human body.
His attorneys have denied the allegations and said during closing arguments on Monday that the murder charges should be dismissed. “There’s no evidence that Mr. Burke harbored a deliberate intent to kill Miss Hernandez,” said Marilyn Bednarski, Burke’s lawyer.
Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo ordered that Burke continue to be held without bail. A post-preliminary arraignment has been scheduled for Aug. 31. A trial date could be set as soon as 60 days after that arraignment.
The judge’s decision means prosecutors can move forward with the criminal case, but it does not determine D4vd’s guilt. The evidentiary standard at a preliminary hearing is substantially lower than the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard required for a criminal conviction, and D4vd’s defense argued that the evidence was insufficient to support the murder charge.
