D4vd murder case in United States

On July 21 2026, Los Angeles County Superior Court held a multi‑day preliminary evidentiary hearing for singer‑songwriter David Anthony Burke (stage name D4vd). Prosecutors presented graphic crime‑scene photographs, DNA matches, text‑message transcripts, surveillance video and purchase records for chainsaws, a shovel, an inflatable pool and body‑bag supplies obtained under an alias. They reiterated that Burke, who had a sexual relationship with 14‑year‑old Celeste Rivas Hernández that began when she was 11, stabbed the teen after she threatened to expose the affair and then used chainsaws to dismember her; the torso and head were recovered inside a body bag placed in the trunk of his Tesla. Burke appeared in an orange jumpsuit, handcuffed to a chair, and has pleaded not guilty. The judge will decide whether probable cause exists to move the case to trial, where Burke faces first‑degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains, punishable by life‑without‑parole or death. The same hearing added further forensic evidence: blood stains and DNA matches were found on garage mats, cleaning tools and inside Burke’s Tesla Model X, which also emitted a strong odor of decay that prosecutors said was masked with air‑fresheners. The victim’s remains were located in two body bags in the vehicle’s front trunk. Prosecutors again highlighted Burke’s more than $10 million earnings between 2023 and 2025 as a financial motive, noting that Interscope Records delayed terminating his contract until the investigation became public. Celeste’s family described their anguish in court, and a forensic pathologist is expected to testify on the condition of the body. Additional forensic items presented included eleven air‑fresheners found in the Tesla, fragments of the inflatable pool and the chainsaws recovered from the garage. The defense objected, asking why DNA testing had not been performed on those items.