The D4vd singer’s lawyers insisted on Thursday that prosecutors be forced to show the evidence they have, and the judge set a hearing next week to publicly explain the murder and dismemberment of Celeste Rivas Hernandez.The 21-year-old, whose legal name is David Burke, appeared in a small Los Angeles courtroom in orange prison jumpsuits sitting next to his attorney, exactly a year after authorities said Rivas Hernandez, a 14-year-old from Lake Elsinore, California, was last known to be alive.
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D4vd case explodes: Celeste Rivas’ family collapses in first statement
D4vd appears in court
Burke was brought into court wearing handcuffs, which were removed when he sat down. He spoke only to say “yes, ma’am” to a procedural question from Superior Court Judge Charlene F.
Olmedo, who set a four- to five-day preliminary hearing to begin May 1. It will determine whether probable cause exists to send Burke to trial.
Child pornography was found on D4vd’s phone
Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman said a search of Burke’s iPhone revealed “a large amount of child pornography.” She did not provide details about the photos, including whether they were of the dead girl. It will take time for the prosecution to share child sexual abuse images taken from Burke’s phone with a warrant that must be handled sensitively.
“I can’t deliver that kind of material,” Silverman said.Evidence includes the contents of his phone and iCloud accounts, seized items from numerous search warrants and a vast amount of forensic material, Silverman said. It includes witness testimony given before three different grand juries, which publicly confirmed their existence for the first time on Thursday.
D4vd hearing must be advanced
But she said prosecutors are fine with working to a very tight schedule for hearings, which typically come several months after defendants are arrested and charged.“We will be ready,” she said.“Today is exactly one year since Celeste died,” the prosecutor said. “We are eager to bring this case to trial.”Burke was arrested April 16 and pleaded not guilty Monday to first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14 and mutilation of a corpse.
D4vd team is confident that the evidence will prove innocence
His lawyers spoke only about the exchange of evidence at Thursday’s hearing and declined to comment outside court.
But defense attorney Blair Burke told the judge during his arraignment: “We believe the actual evidence will show that David Burke did not kill Celeste Rivas Hernandez.”In a rare move, the singer is exercising his right in California to have a preliminary evidentiary hearing within 10 court days of being charged. It’s not entirely clear why his attorney followed this strategy. Burke previously said in court that with all the secret evidence collected in the case, they simply wanted to see it.
Celeste Rivas dies
Rivas Hernandez’s body, with his head and arms severed, was found in two bags in an apparently abandoned Tesla registered to Burke that had been towed from the Hollywood Hills while he was on tour.In an autopsy report released Wednesday, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner determined that she died from two penetrating wounds to her upper body. The decomposing body made examination difficult. Investigators did not determine how she sustained her injuries, and no weapon was found, the report said.Prosecutors allege that Burke was sexually abusing Rivas-Hernandez for at least a year when she was 13; He killed her on or about April 23, 2025, after she threatened to report the affair; They dismembered her body about two weeks later.
Celeste Rivas’ parents issue a statement
The girl’s parents, Jesus Rivas and Mercedes Martinez, made their first public statement in the case on Tuesday, describing their daughter as a “beautiful, strong girl who loves to sing and dance” and saying “all we want is justice for Celeste.”D4vd, pronounced “David”, has gained popularity among young fans for its mix of indie rock, R&B, and lo-fi pop. He went viral on TikTok in 2022 with the song “Romantic Homicide,” which peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. He released his debut album “Petals to Thorns” and a follow-up titled “The Lost Petals” in 2023. His debut full-length album “Withered” was released in 2025.
