The story

A Los Angeles judge ruled Monday that there is enough evidence to put singer D4vd on trial in the killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez after a five-day preliminary hearing. Judge Charlaine Olmedo of Los Angeles County Superior Court said prosecutors presented probable cause for trial on charges of first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains. D4vd, whose real name is David Burke, 21, has pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail. He showed no emotion when the judge issued her ruling.

Prosecutors said Burke met Rivas Hernandez when she was 11, began a sexual relationship with her when she was 13 and he was 18, and killed her on April 23, 2025, when she was 14. Her severely decomposed, dismembered remains were found on September 8, 2025, in the front trunk of a Tesla registered to Burke at a Hollywood tow yard. Prosecutors allege Burke stabbed her to death when she threatened to expose their relationship and ruin his career. Text messages from April 22, 2025, showed Rivas Hernandez wrote "i will end ur career and ur life." Her final text on April 23, sent as she arrived at his Hollywood home in an Uber he had arranged, read "girly pop i'm almost there open ur door if ur home."

Prosecutors said Burke ordered chain saws and cut up her body in his garage. The murder charge came with special circumstances, making Burke eligible for a maximum sentence of life without parole or the death penalty. Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman said prosecutors are still weighing whether to seek the death penalty. Burke is to be arraigned August 31. Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman said "all of the allegations have been proved way beyond the standard required." Judge Olmedo emphasized that the probable cause standard for a preliminary hearing is much lower than the threshold at trial.