D4vd murder case: Dayslong preliminary hearing underway in Los Angeles
The singer has pleaded not guilty to charges that include first-degree murder.
A highly anticipated dayslong preliminary hearing in the murder case against the singer D4vd is underway in Los Angeles, with evidence and testimony to be presented in court for the first time.
D4vd -- whose legal name is David Burke -- was arrested and charged in April with the murder of 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.
D4vd, 21, appeared in court in an orange jail uniform and shackles. His attorneys requested that the shackles be removed, arguing that they are undignified and unnecessary. The court denied the request, though his handcuffs were removed.
The hearing, which kicked off Tuesday morning, has so far included graphic testimony from a police detective who responded to a Hollywood tow yard and found Rivas Hernandez's decomposing, dismembered body in D4vd's impounded vehicle. Her family members could be seen getting emotional as the detective described the horrific scene.
After seeing news coverage of the unidentified body in D4vd's vehicle, the teen's father called the Los Angeles Police Department concerned that it was his daughter who was in the trunk, the detective said. Dental records were provided, and the medical examiner identified the remains on Sept. 16, 2025. The following day, a search warrant was served at D4vd's residence, according to the detective.
Following D4vd's arrest in April, the detective said he observed a "Shhh..." tattoo on the singer's right index finger and a "Celeste" tattoo on his left ring finger. Rivas Hernandez also had a "Shhh..." tattoo on her right index finger, and her left hand's ring and pinky fingers were missing, the detective said.
The preliminary hearing is expected to last three to five days, with prosecutors seeking to establish probable cause to move forward with a trial. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, whose office is prosecuting the case, said they plan to call over 10 witnesses, including police and coroner testimony.
"We believe we will more than accomplish the evidentiary burden of probable cause at this point to hold D4vd to answer on these three felony charges," Hochman said outside the courthouse on Tuesday.
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 in a nine-page brief filed days after D4vd's arrest. That was the last time she was seen alive, according to prosecutors. Â
Prosecutors allege that D4vd stabbed the teen multiple times, watching her bleed out, and then undertook a series of events to dismember her body, including ordering two chainsaws on Amazon.
"In order to distance himself from the victim, he amputated her left ring and pinky fingers because her ring finger contained a tattoo of his name," prosecutors wrote in their brief, noting that her fingers have not been found.
Her badly decomposed remains were found in two body bags in the front trunk of D4vd's Tesla four months later, in September 2025, according to prosecutors.
The brief was filed to "assist the court in understanding the scope and relevance of evidence the prosecution intends to present at the preliminary hearing," prosecutors wrote.
During his arraignment in April, D4vd's attorney, Blair Berk, asked for a preliminary hearing as soon as possible, saying she believes the evidence will show that he did not murder Rivas Hernandez and that they would "like to be able to have the evidence come into the light of day at the earliest opportunity."
D4vd has been held on no bail since his arrest.
His attorneys said they plan to "vigorously defend David's innocence."
"The actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death," his attorneys -- Berk, as well as Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter -- said in a statement following his arrest.
An attorney for Rivas Hernandez's family said in April that the family has decided not to make any future statements "in light of the gruesome details emerging almost daily."
"There are no words to express the indescribable pain the family is experiencing right now," the attorney, Patrick Steinfeld, said in a statement. "They still have bills to pay and jobs they go to every day. All they want is time to grieve and heal."
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