Cinema VinesA Los Angeles judge has cleared the indie pop star known as D4vd, real name David Anthony Burke, to stand trial on serious charges that include first‑degree murder, mutilation of human remains, and child sexual abuse. Judge Charlaine Olmedo ruled on Monday that prosecutors had presented enough evidence for a jury to decide Burke’s fate. The decision came after a five‑day preliminary hearing in which prosecutors showed graphic witness testimony and crime‑scene photographs to the court, convincing the judge that the case met the legal threshold for trial.
Burke, 21, rose to fame as a TikTok sensation in 2022, producing songs for Fortnite videos that led to a multimillion‑dollar deal with Interscope Records. His debut studio album dropped in April 2025, the same week his alleged underage girlfriend, Celeste Rivas Hernandez, went missing. Five months later, her decomposing remains were discovered inside the trunk of a Tesla sedan that prosecutors say was registered to Burke. The vehicle had been towed to an impound lot where workers detected a strong odor of decay, prompting police involvement.
According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, prosecutors claim Burke killed Hernandez after she threatened to expose their clandestine relationship, which allegedly began when she was 13. They argue that he feared the exposure would ruin his burgeoning music career. The DA’s office has not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty, a question that will be addressed later in the case.
Burke was arrested in April of this year and pleaded not guilty to all charges during an arraignment on April 20. His attorney, Blair Berk, strongly defended him, stating, “We believe the actual evidence will show David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez, nor was he the cause of her death.”
During the preliminary hearing, financial manager Benjamin Greger testified that Burke, as his sole entertainment client, had earned between $10 million and $11 million. The prosecution’s brief, filed the week after the arraignment, detailed the alleged method of killing and disposal of the body, describing a “gruesome” scenario involving chainsaws and a swimming pool, according to the DA’s office. The case now moves forward to a jury trial, where the evidence will be weighed and a verdict reached. The trial is expected to bring further scrutiny to the intersection of celebrity, social media fame, and criminal accountability.
