RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from Billboard — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 15 sources
A judge has decided that prosecutors have enough evidence to take D4vd to trial for the alleged murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
According to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman , Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo ruled Monday (July 27) that prosecutors have met their burden of showing “probable cause” for the charges that the 21-year-old “Romantic Homicide” singer (David Anthony Burke) stabbed and dismembered 14-year-old Rivas. The judge thus sustained the case and allowed it to move forward toward trial. In order to actually convict D4vd of the alleged murder, prosecutors will have to meet a higher standard of convincing a jury that the singer killed Rivas “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Related
D4vd Murder Hearing Begins With Grisly Photos of Dismembered Celeste Rivas Hernandez
Chris Brown Pleads Guilty to Lesser Charge of 'Affray' in 2023 London Club Assault Case
Soulja Boy Requests DNA Test for Son With Ex Jackilyn Martinez
Judge Olmedo reached the decision following a five-day preliminary hearing that laid out the evidence in the case. Prosecutors allege D4vd murdered Rivas in April 2025 after the 14-year-old threatened to derail his music career by telling the world that they’d been having an illegal sexual relationship. D4vd is then accused of chopping up Rivas’ body with a chainsaw. Her body parts were later discovered in the front trunk of a Tesla registered to D4vd.
During the preliminary hearing, the judge saw grisly photos of Rivas’ partially decomposed body parts, heard testimony from a medical examiner and saw text messages between her and D4vd. According to Rolling Stone , these texts revealed that Rivas had an abortion at the age of 13. An executive at Interscope also took the stand to testify that D4vd made millions of dollars from his music, supporting the prosecution’s theory that he stood to lose a lucrative career if Rivas came forward.
In September, officers discovered Rivas’ dismembered and decomposed body after D4vd’s abandoned Tesla was brought to a Hollywood tow lot. Following months of investigation, the singer was arrested and charged this April with first-degree murder, child sexual abuse and mutilating a body.
Related
D4vd Made Millions From His Interscope Record Deal Before Murder Investigation, Court Hears
D4vd pleaded not guilty to all charges, and his attorneys have said they will “vigorously defend” him in court. “Let us be clear,” said the singer’s defense lawyers in a statement following his arrest, “the actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death.”
A trial date has not yet been set. D4vd is next expected to appear in court on Aug. 31 for arraignment. In a Monday afternoon press conference on the courthouse steps, Hochman said his office “will be ready” to go to trial whenever the defense requests. He said the DA’s Office is still weighing whether to seek the death penalty against D4vd.
“What was presented by our office over the course of the last week is a small but illustrative fraction of the evidence investigators have accumulated that proves defendant Burke is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the brutal murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez,” added Hochman in a written statement. “This has been a parent’s worst nightmare, hearing the ghoulish details of how their child was killed, dismembered and left as trash. D4vd allegedly squandered his fame and fortune by brutally killing a young girl because he feared their illicit sexual relationship would ruin his aspiring career. The only headlines that will accompany his stage name from here forward will be about the vicious murder of a young girl.”
D4vd’s legal team did not immediately return a request for comment on Monday’s outcome.
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.