Preliminary Hearing in D4vd Murder Case Postponed Again to Late July
A preliminary hearing in the murder case against singer D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, has been postponed once again. During a court hearing on Wednesday in Los Angeles, the judge pushed the proceedings to July 21 after Burke’s defense team requested additional time to review the evidence.
According to NBC Los Angeles and Rolling Stone, another status conference has been scheduled for July 7. The preliminary hearing itself is expected to last approximately five days once it begins. The judge said she found “good reason” to continue the hearing after reading a sealed statement from lead defense attorney Marilyn Bednarski.
Mounting Digital Evidence
This is the latest in a series of delays in the high-profile case. Last month, the hearing was postponed to the end of June due to the sheer volume of new evidence. It had previously been pushed from May 1 to May 26 before that.
Assistant District Attorney Beth Silverman told the court that prosecutors have already turned over more than 10 terabytes of digital evidence, including materials recovered from search warrants executed on the 21-year-old singer’s phone and iCloud account. Silverman added that the total amount of evidence recovered could exceed 40 terabytes as prosecutors continue to upload materials.
Charges and Allegations
Burke has been charged with first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts on a person under 14 years of age, and mutilation of a corpse in the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Her decomposed body was discovered in September 2025 in the trunk of a Tesla registered to the singer, parked in the Hollywood Hills. She had been reported missing by her family in 2024 when she was 13 years old, and authorities say she was 14 at the time of her death.
Court documents obtained by The Associated Press contain the first detailed allegations about the case. Prosecutors allege that Burke began a sexual relationship with Rivas when she was 13 and he was 18, and that he killed her when she threatened to expose their inappropriate relationship.
“Knowing that the defendant needed to silence the victim before she ruined his music career as she had threatened to do, the defendant stabbed the victim multiple times shortly after she arrived at his home and stood by while she bled to death,” the files state.
Autopsy Findings
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Rivas’ death a homicide. The autopsy, which was limited by extensive postmortem changes to the body, revealed two penetrating wounds on the torso with smooth edges consistent with sharp force injuries. A wound to the upper abdomen penetrated the liver, and another injured her ribs on her left breast. The tube top she was wearing appeared to be cut in three places. Her body was found dismembered and decomposed in two bags.
The autopsy report had been sealed for months at law enforcement’s request before prosecutors agreed to its release in April.
Potential Death Penalty
The murder charges include special circumstances — lying in wait, committing a crime for financial gain, and murdering a witness during the investigation — which could carry the death penalty. However, prosecutors have not yet announced whether they will pursue capital punishment.
Burke pleaded not guilty in April and is being held without bail as he awaits trial.
