UPDATED: A Los Angeles judge has ordered singer D4vd (real name David Anthony Burke) to stand trial on murder charges in the killing and dismemberment of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
Burke has been charged with one count each of murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains.
The criminal complaint also includes special circumstance allegations of murder of a witness, murder for financial gain and murder by means of lying in wait as well as a special allegation that Burke personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon, a sharp instrument, to commit the crime.
“The people have met their burden on all counts,” Judge Charlaine Olmedo said. She ordered that Burke continue to be held without bail. He has pleaded not guilty.
If convicted, Burke could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole. A decision on whether to seek the death penalty will be made at a later date.
“What was presented by our Office over the course of the last week is a small but illustrative fraction of the evidence investigators have accumulated that proves defendant Burke is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the brutal murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said. “This has been a parent’s worst nightmare, hearing the ghoulish details of how their child was killed, dismembered and left as trash.”
Burke is to be arraigned on August 31.
PREVIOUS, April 20, 2026: Seeking a quick trial, D4vd entered a not guilty plea Monday in a brief appearance in a downtown Los Angeles criminal court.
Facing first-degree murder and continuous sexual abuse charges with the death penalty over the dismembered killing last year of teen Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the 21-year-old singer (whose real name is David Anthony Burke) sat behind a glass barrier this afternoon in L.A. Superior Court Judge Theresa McGonigle’s courtroom.
“We believe the actual evidence will show David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez,” defense lawyer Blair Berk told the judge and attendees after entering pleas for her client. “We would like to have the evidence come into the light of day, at the earliest opportunity,” Berk added, requesting a fast-tracked preliminary evidentiary hearing. Berk made a point of wanting everything open in court, noting “there have been four months of secret grand jury proceedings.”
In response, Deputy DA Beth Silverman said that her boss Nathan Hochman and the prosecution’s office would be “very happy to put on the evidence we’ve collected against Burke. A formal felony complaint (read it here) against D4vd was filed at the same time in LASC.
Before the judge, Berk lamented the lack of discovery the defense has received so far, and at the same time, as Silverman objected that the evidence collected so far was “voluminous” noted the DA’s office had the time for a detailed press conference on the case earlier Monday. As Silverman cast doubt on there being much material available for a planned follow up hearing later this week, Berk asked the prosecution to endeavor with “conscientious earnestness” to get as much discovery as possible to her team.
Amidst all that, Hernandez’s parents were seated nearby in the the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center during the arraignment proceedings.
The booking photo of D4vd aka David Anthony Burke, revealed before the start of a press briefing Monday
Getty
Earlier in the day at a press conference on the case, LA County DA Hochman said the “Romantic Homicide” singer could be executed if found guilty by a jury due to “special circumstances” that permit the rare use of the death penalty in California.
Part of that special circumstance, according to the DA, is for D4vd “lying in wait, murder for financial gain and killing a witness in a criminal investigation” last April. That witness was the then-13-year-old Hernandez, who was allegedly the victim of sex crimes perpetrated by the TikTok sensation. Hernandez was last seen April 23, just before she went over to D4vd’s L.A. home.
D4vd is also facing charges of “lewd and lascivious sexual acts” with an individual under 14 years of age. Similar to the alleged murder of Rob and Michelle Reiner last year by their youngest son Nick, the DA has not made public whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty or go for life without parole for D4vd.
After months of investigation, D4vd was arrested last week at his rented Hollywood Hills residence. The arrest came almost eight months after Hernandez’s decomposed and mutilated body was discovered in the trunk of an impounded Tesla registered in the singer’s name. At that time, D4vd was on tour and out of L.A. Through representatives, he promised to cooperate with the LAPD and other law enforcement on the matter.
Now behind bars without bail, D4vd is scheduled to be back in court Thursday.
Also in court today, Judge McGonigle (who is overseeing the Reiner case as of right now) ordered the L.A. County medical examiner’s office to release the autopsy report for Hernandez. The report is not available because “the Department of Medical Examiner has not yet received notice the court order sealing the case has been lifted,” the department told Deadline.
That paperwork is expected to arrive in one form or another at the medical examiner’s office by Tuesday morning, I’m told.
Denise Petski contributed to this report.
