Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo has set another status conference for January 11 in the murder case against singer David Anthony Burke, also known as D4vd. Burke, 21, is charged with the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, a 14-year-old girl whose dismembered and decomposing remains were found in the trunk of his Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard.
Burke pleaded not guilty on August 31 to murder and other charges stemming from Celeste Rivas Hernandez's death. He was arrested on April 16 by Los Angeles Police Department officers and remains held without bail. On April 20, Burke was charged with capital murder in Celeste's 2025 death, along with special circumstance allegations of lying in wait, murder for financial gain, and killing a witness in a criminal investigation. Additionally, he faces one count each of continuous sexual abuse of a child under age 14 and mutilation of human remains.
The case moved forward after Judge Olmedo, following more than four days of testimony during a preliminary hearing in July, found sufficient evidence to allow the charges against Burke to proceed to trial.
Prosecutors from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office contend that Burke killed the underage girl to prevent her from publicizing their lengthy sexual relationship, which they allege threatened his burgeoning music career. District Attorney Nathan Hochman stated that the lying-in-wait allegation arises from Burke inviting the teen to his Hollywood Hills home on April 23, 2025. The financial gain allegation is linked to Burke's efforts to protect his lucrative music career. Celeste was considered the key witness in the investigation into Burke's alleged sexual activity with her, forming the basis for the allegation of murdering a witness.
The teen's body was discovered on September 8, 2025, days after what would have been her 15th birthday. According to a prosecution court filing, Burke's vehicle had been towed three days earlier from a location approximately 400 feet from his Hollywood Hills home.
During the preliminary hearing, Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman argued that there was "nothing about this case that sounds like an accident" and asserted that the teen was deceased within 20 minutes of being dropped off by an Uber driver at Burke’s rented Hollywood Hills home on April 23, 2025. Silverman also stated that the defense had attempted to portray the girl unfavorably.
Prosecution presented graphic photos of Celeste Rivas Hernandez's remains, sexually explicit photos of the two from Burke’s cell phone, and text messages stored on an iCloud account where an abortion was discussed, suggesting Celeste had been impregnated by the singer when she was 13. LAPD Robbery-Homicide Detective Corey Farell testified in July that data from Burke’s iCloud account showed communications with the girl beginning in 2022 when she was 11 and concluding on April 23, 2025. Sex-related content in their text messages was exchanged between November 2023 and March 2025, according to Farell.
Detective Farell also testified that on the evening of April 22, 2025, the teen sent Burke a text message threatening to strangle him, tell her father “lies” about the singer, and to "end ur career and ur life." A prosecution court filing alleged that the two had a lengthy argument the night before, detailed in their text messages, revealing the victim's jealousy over Burke's relationships with other women as he had led her to believe they had a future. The filing noted that the teen became extremely upset and threatened to disclose damaging information to end his career and destroy his life, just days before his first studio album was set for release.
Prosecutors alleged in an April court filing that Burke sent an Uber to bring the girl from her Lake Elsinore home to his Hollywood Hills residence, then sent text messages inquiring about her location after she was dropped off. The prosecution contended these messages were part of Burke's premeditated plan to cover up the murder, as she was already dead by then. Prosecutors allege Burke stabbed the girl multiple times shortly after she arrived at his home, then dismembered her body and concealed the remains in his Tesla.
Dr. Grant Ho, a deputy county medical examiner, testified in July that the teen sustained two life-threatening penetrating wounds—one to her right abdomen and one to her left chest—and concluded her death was a homicide. Dr. Ho noted that the severely decomposed state of her remains made it extremely difficult to pinpoint how long she had been dead before discovery.
Burke is currently represented by attorneys from the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office. He was previously represented by private attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski, and Regina Peter, who withdrew from the case on August 31. Defense lawyer Marilyn Bednarski had argued during the preliminary hearing that there was insufficient evidence to support any of the charges against Burke. She stated that Burke had repeatedly expressed his love and care for the girl even after they broke up and that there was no evidence Burke intended to harm her or that there was advance planning. Bednarski also contended that prosecutors lacked evidence the girl intended to inform police about their relationship. Under cross-examination, Detective Farell acknowledged that the teen’s parents had consented for her to travel to London with Burke and that her adult sister was aware she had traveled to Las Vegas with the singer.
In a statement released last month, marking what would have been her 16th birthday, the Rivas Hernandez family called for Burke to face a death sentence, describing him as “devoid of feelings and emptiness inside, and without conscience.” The family also objected to Burke being represented by the Public Defender’s Office, maintaining that he is not indigent. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has not yet announced whether it will seek the death penalty against Burke.