Murder Trial of Musical Artist D4vd Delayed Due to Volume of Evidence

Photo Credit: Abaca Press/Sipa USA via AP via Los Angeles Times

David Anthony Burke, better known as 21-year-old musical artist D4vd — who was charged with the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez — had his preliminary hearing delayed due to the massive volume of evidence prosecutors need to examine beforehand. He is currently being held at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles without bail. 

His preliminary hearing, where a judge will decide if there is probable cause for a criminal trial, is set to begin on Jun. 29, with a preceding status conference scheduled for Jun. 17. 

According to CNN, during a court hearing, LA County Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman said evidence against the singer includes up to 40 terabytes of data obtained by various law enforcement agencies, all coming from Burke’s iCloud account, computers, tablets, and iPhone. There is also a significant amount of child sexual abuse evidence present in the available data.

Burke was arrested on Apr. 16 and charged on Apr. 20 with one count of first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, and mutilation of a human body. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

 He is also faced with three special circumstance allegations. In a statement released on Apr. 20 by the LA County District Attorney’s office, the criminal complaint against Burke “also includes special circumstance allegations of murder of a witness, murder for financial gain, and 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.”

According to a public legal brief released by Nathan Hochman, the District Attorney of LA County, Hernandez was 11 when she met Burke in January 2022. Prosecutors allege that their relationship became sexual in November 2023, when she was only 13 years old, and Burke was 18. Then, in February 2024, Hernandez was reported missing from her Lake Elsinore home in Riverside County. 

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office reportedly called Burke after they found his phone number in her records. He allegedly told the deputy sheriffs that he had last spoken to her around Feb. 13 or 14, but said that he was unaware she was a minor, that he had only met her in person once, and that he didn’t know her current whereabouts. 

However, prosecutors allege that during the two days that she was considered missing, Burke and Hernandez spent a substantial amount of time together at his home, and traveling to Las Vegas, London, and Texas to meet Burke’s family. Finally, two days after she had been reported missing in February 2024, Hernandez returned home. 

In November 2024, Hernandez and Burke allegedly broke up, though they continued to communicate, and online messages suggest they also continued to have a sexual relationship. 

Then, in April 2024, Hernandez was reported missing for a second time. The last day Hernandez was known to be alive was on Apr. 23, 2025, when she arrived at Burke's home in the Hollywood Hills. The night prior, Apr. 22, Burke and Hernandez had a detailed argument via text message. During the argument, Hernandez reportedly became extremely upset and threatened to disclose damaging information about their sexual relationship to destroy his career.

The day after the text messages were sent, Burke allegedly sent an Uber to her house around 8:40 PM, and Hernandez reportedly arrived at Burke’s home at 10:10 PM. Prosecutors believe that shortly after her arrival, she was stabbed to death by Burke. 

Burke allegedly left his house around 11:30 PM and drove to an area near Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara County, while calling and texting on Hernandez's phone, which prosecutors allege was part of a “premeditated” plan to cover up her murder. On the same night, Apr. 23, 2025, tickets for Burke's world tour went on pre-sale. 

On Apr. 24, 2025, Burke ordered a shovel from Home Depot, hours after the murder. Then, on May 1, 2025, Burke ordered two chainsaws. During this week-long window, Celeste's body was allegedly hidden in his home.

Burke ordered other items to dispose of her body, prosecutors allege. Under the alias of “Victoria Mendez,” he purchased a body bag, heavy-duty laundry bags, and a blue inflatable pool. 

Then, on May 5, 2025, he allegedly put Hernandez’s dead body into the inflatable pool to stop her blood from staining his garage. Then, prosecutors allege that the singer used a chainsaw to cut off her limbs. Hernandez’s remains were destroyed. Two of her fingers were never recovered by prosecutors, including one that had Burke's stage name, D4vd, tattooed on it. 

On Sept. 8, 2025, one day after Hernandez would have turned 15 years old, prosecutors allege that a 2023 Tesla registered to Burke was towed from an upscale neighborhood, where it appeared abandoned. At the tow yard, LAPD investigators found a cadaver bag in the car's trunk, described as covered with insects and emitting a strong odor. When opened, detectives saw a decomposed head and torso. Later, the LA County medical examiner determined that the corpse’s arms and legs had been severed. At this time, Burke was on a world tour. 

Then, on Sept. 16, 2025, using past dental records, the remains were identified as Celeste Rivas Hernandez. On Sept. 17, 2025, police executed a search warrant at a Hollywood Hills home where Burke was staying. The LAPD reportedly found evidence inside the garage consistent with the dismemberment of Celeste's body. Samples tested positive for blood and matched her DNA, according to the legal brief. On Dec. 9, 2025, the medical examiner ruled her death a homicide caused by two penetrating injuries to the torso. 

Finally, on Jan. 17, Celeste's passport card was found by a Caltrans worker off the SR-153 in Santa Barbara County, the same area that Burke had previously visited, according to prosecutors.