Prosecutors have secured a trial for indie pop singer D4vd, known legally as David Anthony Burke, following a five-day preliminary hearing in Los Angeles. A judge found probable cause to try the 21-year-old performer on charges of first-degree murder, continuous child sexual abuse, and unlawful mutilation of human remains.
Probable Cause Established in Five-Day Los Angeles Hearing
The path toward a murder trial for the indie pop vocalist David Anthony Burke, 21, cleared a major legal hurdle on Monday when a Los Angeles judge ruled that the prosecution had met its evidentiary burden. Over five days in a crowded downtown courtroom, prosecutors laid out graphic witness testimony, crime scene photographs, and cell phone records to convince Judge Charlaine Olmedo that a jury should hear the case.
Burke, who rose to prominence as a viral TikTok sensation in 2022 before signing a multimillion-dollar recording contract with Interscope Records, has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman told reporters that his office would decide at a later date whether to pursue the death penalty. Burke’s next arraignment is scheduled for August 31.
Cell Phone Evidence and the Timeline of Events
During the final segments of the preliminary hearing, Los Angeles Police Detective Corey Farell walked the court through hundreds of text messages and photographs extracted from Burke’s cell phone. The messages, spanning from November 2023 to March 2025, detailed a clandestine relationship between the singer and Celeste Rivas Hernandez that began when the victim was 13 years old.
According to evidence presented by the prosecution, the digital records showed the pair discussing a pregnancy scare in January 2024 and a subsequent abortion.
Prosecutors argued that the killing occurred on April 23, 2025, after Hernandez threatened to expose their relationship and ruin the singer’s career during a text-message dispute over another acquaintance. Investigators tracked her final hours through a series of messages showing Burke had arranged an Uber to transport her to his Hollywood Hills home. At 10:02 p.m., Hernandez sent her final message: girly pop i’m almost there open ur door if ur home,
according to The Times of India. Prosecutors stated that her phone went permanently silent after that moment.
Disputed Motives and Forensic Discoveries in the Garage
Prosecutors argued that Burke acted out of fear that Hernandez would make public damaging details of their illegal relationship, adding special circumstances of murder for financial gain and murder of a witness.
More than four months after she went missing, decomposing remains were discovered inside a Tesla registered to Burke that had been towed to an impoundment lot from the Hollywood Hills.
Defense Arguments and Cross-Examination Strategy
Defense attorneys challenged the sufficiency of the prosecution’s case, arguing that the evidence failed to establish homicidal intent.
During cross-examination by defense counsel Blair Berk, Detective Farell acknowledged that messages showed Hernandez had previously threatened to harm Burke, damage his career, and contact his mother and friends. The defense also pointed out that the messages contained no direct threats from the victim to go to law enforcement or pursue legal action, portraying her as the party expressing volatility in the days leading up to her death.
Prosecution lawyers pushed back against the defense’s characterization of the victim.
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