Prosecutors detail grisly evidence in murder case against musician D4vd
Courthouse News • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Prosecutors allege singer David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd, murdered 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, with whom he had a sexual relationship starting when she was 13, and later dismembered her body.
- Hernandez was reported missing in February 2024, and despite her parents' efforts to limit contact, Burke continued to pursue her, including paying a classmate to provide her a phone for communication.
- Evidence includes explicit texts and photos, surveillance footage, DNA matching blood stains in Burke’s garage, and items ordered by Burke linked to dismemberment and concealment of the body.
- Burke’s defense requested the prosecution’s memo be kept under seal to avoid prejudicing the jury pool, but the judge denied the request, and the memo was released publicly.
- Burke’s preliminary hearing, initially set for April, has been postponed to May 26 as the case proceeds.
