A judge ruled Monday, July 27, that prosecutors had shown enough evidence to send D4vd‘s murder case to trial. For Celeste Rivas Hernandez‘s family, the decision closed a difficult chapter.
The five-day preliminary hearing ended with the family choosing to speak through their attorney rather than face cameras themselves.
Relief for Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s family as D4vd is ordered to stand trial
“The family’s relieved that it’s done with,” attorney Patrick Steinfeld told reporters outside the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, People reported. He said they planned to take a break and wanted to recognize the work of the district attorney’s office and LAPD investigations.
Steinfeld added that the Hernandez family also thanked reporters. They are “private individuals, and so they hope that you understand that even though they haven’t appeared before the media, that they’re grateful for the media’s continued coverage and keeping Celeste’s name in the news,” he said.
The court case ruling followed testimony about the singer, whose real name is David Anthony Burke. Prosecutors accused him of fatally stabbing the 14-year-old from Lake Elsinore, California, on April 23, 2025, alleging she had threatened to expose their relationship.
Investigators later found her remains in the front trunk of his Tesla on Sept. 8, 2025, days after the vehicle was impounded near his Hollywood Hills home. Burke, 21, was arrested in April 2026. He faces first-degree murder with special circumstances, along with charges involving sexual acts with a child and mutilating human remains.
Prosecutors allege the two began communicating in August 2022, when Rivas was 11. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said his office is still weighing whether to seek the death penalty. Burke could otherwise face life without parole.
“This has been a parent’s worst nightmare, hearing the ghoulish details of how their child was killed, dismembered and left as trash,” Hochman said.
Burke has pleaded not guilty and remains held without bail. His arraignment is set for Aug. 31, with the D4vd trial expected within 60 days.
TELL US WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS ARE FOR CELESTE’S FAMILY AS THIS CASE MOVES FORWARD?
Originally reported by Ashna Gaur for Mandatory
