Los Angeles prosecutors have secured a trial date for David Anthony Burke, the 21-year-old musician known as D4vd, following a preliminary hearing over the killing and dismemberment of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Burke has pleaded not guilty to murder.
Preliminary Hearing Sets Trial Following Massive Evidence Handover
The decision arrived at the conclusion of a five-day preliminary hearing where Los Angeles prosecutors questioned a dozen witnesses and displayed photographic evidence inside the courtroom.
BBC’s North America correspondent Shaimaa Khalil was inside the courtroom during the proceedings. A preliminary hearing in the murder case against David Anthony Burke, the 21-year-old singer better known as D4vd, was previously set for the end of June, establishing a timeline for when more detailed evidence about the gruesome killing and dismemberment of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez would become public. Burke — who prosecutors say sexually abused the teen for a year before stabbing her to death and mutilating her corpse last year — faced the hearing on June 29, attorneys said during a brief hearing Tuesday morning. A status conference hearing took place June 17.
After the singer’s arrest in April, his legal team pushed for an immediate preliminary hearing — in which a judge determines if prosecutors have enough evidence to bring a case to trial — but they backed off after prosecutors began turning over what they have described as a massive amount of digital evidence linking Burke to the teenager’s brutal slaying, and attorneys backed off as prosecutors began turning over a massive volume of digital evidence linking Burke to the killing, according to detailed reporting. The hearing was expected to last at least five days.
The Investigation into Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s Death
Questions about the singer’s connection to Hernandez’s grisly end have swirled since last summer, ever since her badly decomposed and dismembered body was found in the trunk of a Tesla linked to Burke. Late last month, prosecutors filed a nine-page brief laying out what they believe to be Hernandez’s final moments and Burke’s alleged horrific actions after her death.
In the filing, prosecutors said Burke stabbed Hernandez to death inside a Hollywood Hills residence after she threatened to go public about the ascendant singer’s continual sexual abuse. After killing her, Burke ordered a chainsaw, a “burn cage,” a shovel and other implements he used to dismember her remains in his garage, prosecutors alleged last week. The motion also laid out the dramatic steps Burke allegedly took in order to continue his relationship with the teen.
According to the court filing, Hernandez had been reported missing to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department by her parents in February 2024, who were concerned about her involvement with Burke. Although she went home and had her phone taken away, Burke allegedly paid a junior high school student $1,000 to give her a new device so they could stay in touch.
Digital Evidence and Child Pornography Charges
Prosecutors also said they found images of Hernandez naked and performing sex acts on Burke’s phone, according to the document. Atty. Beth Silverman said in court last month that search warrants turned up Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman stated via AOL that search warrants had uncovered a significant amount of child pornography on Burke’s devices.
Burke’s lawyers have not commented on their defense strategy. Burke has entered a not guilty plea in the case.
