Singer D4vd threatened to reveal their relationship and destroy his career, a judge ruled Monday that there was enough evidence to stand trial in the killing and dismemberment of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
D4vd to stand trial for Celeste Rivas murder
Los Angeles Judge Charlaine Olmedo found evidence prosecutors presented during a five-day preliminary hearing provided the basis for a possible trial on charges of murder, persistent sexual abuse of a child under 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains.D4vd is a 21-year-old singer, born David Burke, whose career was on the rise before the charges emerged, to which he has pleaded not guilty.“The people have shouldered their burden in every way,” Olmedo said, ordering Burke to remain jailed without bail.Olmedo emphasized that the probable cause standard for a preliminary hearing like this is well below the threshold for a trial. However, prosecutors claimed the evidence was overwhelming.“Based on the overwhelming evidence presented,” said District Attorney Beth Silverman, “all of the charges have been proven to far exceed the required standards.”Burke had no visible reaction to the decision. The defense declined to comment outside court.Prosecutors closed their case Monday, detailing what happened to Rivas Hernandez last night, showing that after a series of text messages with Burke, her phone was permanently on silent when she arrived at Burke’s home.Just after 10 a.m. on April 23, 2025, as she approached his home in Hollywood in the Uber car he sent to pick her up, she sent her last text message: “Girls, if you’re home, I’m almost there, open the door.”Prosecutors said Burke stabbed her to death as she entered.The pair had argued over text messages the night before about his relationship with a woman. She sent him an angry and profane text message, saying she would tell her dad a lot of lies about him and “I would end your career and your life.”Detective Corey Farrell of the Los Angeles Police Department read texts obtained from search warrants on Burke’s iPhone and iCloud account during an interview with prosecutors.Defense argued there was insufficient evidence of murderAfter the last witness came forward on Monday, the defense argued there was insufficient evidence and the murder charge should be dismissed.“There is no evidence that Mr. Burke intended to murder Miss Hernandez,” said Burke’s attorney, Marilyn Bednarski.She said communications between Burke and Rivas-Hernandez showed “no threats, no evidence of a history of violence” and that he had “malice contrary to homicidal intent” toward her.She argued that the medical examiner’s ruling that her death was a homicide from two stab wounds was too vague and uncertain to be evidence of foul play. The defense did not directly offer an alternative theory as to the cause of her death, nor was it necessary to do so.The defense also showed several other text messages from Rivas-Hernandez threatening his relationship with Burke and saying she would go to Burke’s mother, talk to his friends and “leak” information about them.Under questioning from defense lawyer Blair Burke, Farrell said he had seen nothing to suggest she had threatened to call the police or take any legal action against him.The defense also testified that she asked to see him seven times in the days before her death, to which he reluctantly agreed and that she threatened to kill Burke and dismember him.The defense argued that all the malice came from her.Silverman told the judge that “the defense attempted multiple times throughout this proceeding to taint the victim” even though she was a child.Detectives also said under questioning from Burke that both Burke and Rivas-Hernandez’s parents were aware of their relationship, that he attended church with her family and that her parents agreed that she would go to London with him for a week.Prosecutors allege D4vd immediately began covering up the killingWhen her phone went silent, Burke sent her several messages that night asking where she was and expressing concern. Prosecutors said the messages were sent as a cover after he killed her.Prosecutors allege Burke dismembered the body in his garage. A police analyst testified earlier at the hearing that samples taken from apparent blood stains there matched her DNA.Nearly five months later, her body was found in a Tesla registered to him.Detective documents sex abuseIn earlier testimony, Farrell recounted dozens of sexually explicit photos of Burke and Rivas Hernandez, as well as text messages over the years describing the same content, as well as conversations indicating she had an abortion in 2024 when she was 13.Farrell described the photos, which cannot be shown in court, as so vivid that they brought Rivas Hernandez’s mother to tears and prompted both parents to leave the courtroom on Friday. They are back in court Monday.D4vd’s career is reaching new heightsD4vd (pronounced “David”) became an internet music phenomenon in their teens, blending indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. He has a massive following on TikTok, Soundcloud, and Spotify, and his hit songs, including his 2022 breakthrough “Romantic Killing,” have been played more than 1 billion times.In 2024, two days after authorities said Rivas Hernandez was killed, he performed at the Coachella music festival and released his first full-length album, “Withered.”