D4vd Key Hearing Delayed as Singer’s Lawyers Ask for More Time

A Los Angeles judge postponed a key preliminary hearing in D4vd’s criminal case after the singer’s legal team requested more time to prepare.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo handed down the ruling on Wednesday, June 17, after meeting with the attorneys in the case, according to Rolling Stone.

The judge said there was “good cause” to move the hearing to July 21, at which time the court will determine if there is enough evidence for the singer to stand trial. The hearing is expected to include witness testimony and last multiple days. The judge rescheduled a status conference for July 7 ahead of the hearing.

The singer, born David Anthony Burke, was in court Wednesday and told the judge, “Thank you, Your Honor.”

This is the third time the hearing has been moved, after the defense requested delays to get through the “40 terabytes” of data prosecutors said LAPD detectives collected during their months-long investigation.

Related: Celeste Rivas’ Family Declines D4vd Documentary Requests

The “Romantic Homicide” singer is charged with first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14, and mutilating a body in connection with the killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.

The murder charge includes special-circumstance allegations. Burke could face the death penalty if convicted as charged, although there is a moratorium on executions in California.

Prosecutors said the singer allegedly invited Rivas Hernandez to his Hollywood Hills home on April 23, 2025. She was never heard from again. The LAPD said ride-share records showed the teen was dropped off at the house.

Burke was arrested on Thursday, April 16, nearly a year after Rivas Hernandez vanished. He remains jailed without bail.

The alt-pop singer pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on April 20. His attorneys told the court, “The actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death.”

Rivas Hernandez’s dismembered and decomposed body was found in the front trunk of a Tesla registered to the singer in September 2025.

Prosecutors alleged the 21-year-old performer killed the teen to prevent her from revealing they had been having sex, to protect his lucrative music career.

The 26-page autopsy report said Rivas Hernandez died from “multiple penetrating injuries.” The medical examiner said she was stabbed in the “right abdomen” causing an injury to her liver. There was a second stab wound on her “left chest.”

In an April court filing, prosecutors said the teen’s body was dismembered with a chainsaw inside a kiddie pool in Burke’s garage.

The filing alleged Burke “purchased tools to carry out his plot to dismember and dispose of the victim’s body,” including a shovel, two chainsaws, a body bag, heavy-duty laundry bags, and a blue inflatable pool — that were delivered to his home under an alias.

The prosecution previously said Burke met Rivas Hernandez when she was 11 years old in January 2022. Detectives alleged the two later started having sex when she was 13 and he was 18, according to court filings.