After five days of gruesome testimony, the preliminary hearing in the D4vd case concluded Monday in Los Angeles, with the singer ordered to stand trial for the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
“It appears to me, for the purposes of preliminary hearing, the people have met their burden of proof on all charges,” Judge Charlaine Olmedo ruled July 27. “I order that Mr. Burke be held to answer.”
District Attorney Reacts
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman spoke to reporters outside the courthouse and described the killing as a “brutal and horrific murder.”
“We believe that the evidence at trial will be overwhelming to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” Hochman said.
Burke was arrested on April 16, 2026, and charged with murder, lewd acts with a child under 14, and mutilation of human remains. The criminal complaint included special circumstance allegations of murder of a witness, murder for financial gain and lying in wait. He pleaded not guilty on all counts.
Defense Argues for Dismissal
Before the judge issued her ruling, attorneys for the 21-year-old singer, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, argued the case should be dismissed.
“There was not evidence of a killing with malice,” Marilyn Bednarski, one of singer’s attorneys, told the judge.
Urban Hollywood 411 was in the packed courtroom as Bednarski said the evidence against Burke is circumstantial.
“The medical examiner couldn’t tell us what instrument was used,” the attorney said, adding that the autopsy did not determine “when, where or how” Rivas Hernandez died.
Related: Detective Reveals Alleged Pregnancy at D4vd Hearing
Related: D4vd Hearing Shifts Focus to Celeste’s ‘Heavily Soiled’ Clothing
In testimony Friday, Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Grant Ho said the teenager had likely been dead for weeks or “possibly months,” when her body was discovered in the front trunk of a Tesla registered to Burke in September 2025.
Ho testified that it was “extremely difficult” to determine the day Rivas Hernandez died because her dismembered remains were “severely decomposed.”
Detective Testifies About Family
LAPD Robbery-Homicide Detective Corey Farrell returned to the stand Monday. Farrell said Rivas Hernandez and Burke exchanged “tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands” of text messages between 2023 and 2025.
In bombshell testimony, he read back texts between the two from April 22, 2025, the day before investigators believe the teenager was killed.
The exchange showed the two had a falling out over Burke spending time with a girl named Aysia Collins. Rivas Hernandez was upset after spotting pictures on social media of Collins attending Coachella with Burke.
“Oh my f–ken god I swear to GOD I will kil u she was in my dam seat I will strangle u to f–ken death bro I will tell my dad so many f–ken lies about u dead ass I will end ur career and ur life I will damage anything,” the teenager wrote in a text displayed on a courtroom monitor.
Rivas Hernandez and Burke exchanged approximately 1,200 texts over the next 24 hours, Farrell testified.
On April 23, 2025 Burke ordered an Uber to drive the teenager about an hour from her home in Lake Elsinore, to his mansion in the Hollywood Hills.
“I’m almost there,” Rivas Hernandez texted at 10:02 p.m.
“Gate open, door unlocked,” Burke replied at 10:10 p.m.
Rivas Hernandez was never heard from again. Her remains were found on Sept. 8, 2025.
During cross-examination, lead defense attorney Blair Berk asked the detective if the teenager’s parents knew she had been spending time with Burke after they reported her missing in 2024. The detective said “yes.”
Farrell the said evidence showed Burke attended church with Rivas Hernandez, her aunt and cousins. The singer also visited Six Flags with the teen’s family.
Attorney Berk then displayed a notarized travel consent form on the screen, showing the teenager’s parents had given permission for her to travel with Burke to London in September 2024. Rivas Hernandez would have been 13 years old at the time.
Her parents were in the courtroom as the detective testified. The teen’s mother bowed her head when the document was shown.
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