D4vd murder case: Singer to stand trial on charges over 14-year-old girl's death

He was charged with the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.

A judge ruled that the murder case against the singer D4vd will head to trial, following at-times graphic testimony from investigators during a dayslong preliminary hearing in Los Angeles.

D4vd -- whose legal name is David Burke -- was arrested and charged in April with the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez following a monthslong investigation. He has pleaded not guilty to charges that include first-degree murder, sexual abuse of a child and unlawful mutilation of human remains.

He continues to face those three charges, with a post-preliminary arraignment scheduled for Aug. 31. A trial is expected to take place within 90 days of that date. He remains held without bail.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who had expressed confidence that his office would meet the evidentiary burden of probable cause on the three felony charges, said prosecutors presented a "small fraction of our evidence" during the preliminary hearing.

"We believe that the evidence at trial will be overwhelming to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt on the three charges with which Mr. Burke will be charged," Hochman told reporters outside the Los Angeles courthouse on Monday following the judge's decision.

"You got a small preview of some of that evidence, including the text messages and the video and photographic evidence that was also presented directly to the judge. This was difficult evidence to even hear, but also the crime that we are dealing with is incredibly horrific and barbaric," Hochman added.

He said his office has not yet decided whether they will seek the death penalty.

Prosecutors allege that D4vd and Rivas Hernandez began a sexual relationship in 2023, when he was 18 and she was 13, and that she was threatening to expose their illegal relationship and ruin his career if he would not be exclusive to her.

Just as tickets for his world tour were set to go on sale, it is alleged that the "Romantic Homicide" singer ordered an Uber that brought Rivas Hernandez to his Hollywood Hills home on April 23, 2025, prosecutors said. That was the last time she was seen alive, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors allege that D4vd stabbed the teen multiple times, watching her bleed out, and then undertook a series of events to dismember her body and get rid of evidence. Her badly decomposed remains were found in two body bags in the front trunk of D4vd's impounded Tesla in September 2025, according to prosecutors. Her passport was found on the side of a rural road in Santa Bar