D4vd’s murder case took a shocking turn Monday when the singer dismissed his legal team.
The musician returned to court in downtown Los Angeles for a re-arraignment hearing following five days of testimony in July, in connection with the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
D4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, entered the courtroom on Aug. 31 wearing an orange jail-issued jumpsuit. After taking a seat at the defense table, he politely greeted the judge by saying, “Good morning, Your Honor.”
Urban Hollywood 411 was in the courtroom as the 21-year-old singer pleaded not guilty to three felony counts: first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains.
Before the “Romantic Homicide” singer entered his plea, defense attorney Blair Berk stunned the courtroom when she told Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo there was a change in Burke’s “attorney status.”
The defense lawyer said she and co-counsel Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter were leaving the case after the platinum-selling singer asked to instead be represented by a public defender.
Burke’s former attorneys said he had qualified for publicly funded legal representation, although they did not explain why.
Related: D4vd Preliminary Hearing Leaves Celeste Rivas’ Parents ‘Horrified’
The announcement caught many in the courtroom off guard, considering Burke’s financial advisor testified during the preliminary hearing that the singer earned “between $10 million and $11.5 million from 2023 to 2025,” and was expected to make much more.
Monday’s court appearance came a month after Judge Olmedo found probable cause to order the musician to stand trial at the end of his five-day preliminary hearing.
Prosecutors allege Burke killed Rivas Hernandez to prevent the underage girl from damaging his growing music career by going public about their sexual relationship.
Rivas Hernandez’s decomposed body was found on Sept. 8, 2025, after LAPD officers were called to a tow yard in Hollywood about a strong odor coming from an impounded Tesla registered to Burke. Officers found her dismembered remains inside plastic bags in the front trunk.
During the preliminary hearing, the prosecution introduced gruesome crime scene photos of the teen’s remains.
At another point in the hearing, LAPD Robbery-Homicide Det. Corey Farrell said he had reviewed hundreds of text messages between Burke and Rivas Hernandez. The detective testified that the two had discussed a pregnancy and an appointment for an abortion. Rivas Hernandez was 13 years old at the time.
The singer-songwriter’s attorneys previously said the evidence “will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death.”
His new public defenders were in court Monday, with Walid Kandeel of the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office taking the lead.
Kandeel asked for the plea hearing to be delayed while he got up to speed on the case, but the judge rejected his request.
Outside court, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman spoke to reporters and said the D.A.’s office had not yet decided if it would pursue the death penalty.
Meanwhile, the singer’s former defense team released a statement confirming they were moving on from the case.
“This morning the court granted our request to withdraw as counsel and appoint the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office, after it was determined D4vd qualified for appointed counsel,” the statement read. “We continue to support D4vd in his defense against these serious charges. We are grateful that the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office has taken over the representation and that D4vd has a highly capable and committed team of attorneys and investigators behind him.”
Burke remains jailed without bail. He is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 19 for a status conference.
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