Singer d4vd’s murder case is headed toward trial after a Los Angeles judge found Monday that prosecutors had shown enough evidence to proceed in the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
The decision followed five days of testimony about the teenager’s remains, cellphone activity, DNA results and evidence collected from a home where the musician had stayed. Celeste’s body was found inside the trunk of the singer’s Tesla at a Hollywood tow lot last September.
D4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, is accused of killing and dismembering Celeste to stop her from revealing details about their relationship before his album release, prosecutors said. The 21-year-old has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder with special circumstances, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and mutilating human remains.
His attorney has said “the actual evidence in this case” will show Burke did not kill Celeste and “was not the cause of her death.”
Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo ordered Burke held without bail and set an Aug. 31 arraignment. District Attorney Nathan Hochman said a trial date could be scheduled as soon as 60 days later.
Hochman said his team presented only “a significant but small fraction of our evidence” and expects the trial evidence to be “overwhelming.”
Celeste’s parents sat through portions of the hearing. Family attorney Patrick Steinfeld said they are grateful the case is moving forward.
“They’re going to take a break,” he said, “and they appreciate the hard work” of prosecutors and investigators.