Photo Credit: LAPD
Singer D4vd pleads not guilty to first-degree murder and a laundry list of other charges linked to the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
The 21-year-old singer-songwriter D4vd, whose real name is David Burke, has pleaded not guilty after he was charged with murder in the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose dismembered body was found in the trunk of his Tesla last year. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced the charges at a press conference this week.
Burke was charged with first-degree murder with special circumstances, including lying in wait, murder committed for financial gain, and murder of a witness to an investigation. He was also charged with lewd and lascivious sexual acts with a person under 14 years old (Rivas Hernandez was 13 when she disappeared) and the mutilation of a human body.
Hochman said that Burke engaged in a sexual relationship with Rivas Hernandez, which had long been speculated, and murdered her to maintain his music career when she threatened to expose him. The charges also include an allegation that Burke personally used “a sharp instrument” in the crime.
Late Monday afternoon, Burke pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance since being charged. He was denied bail and ordered to remain in custody. Another hearing is scheduled for April 23.
Burke could face a death penalty sentence or life without the possibility of parole should he be convicted. Hochman said his office had not yet decided whether to pursue the death penalty.
The LAPD said that Burke was arrested on Thursday at a home in the Hollywood Hills. According to the DA’s office, it took months to develop “physical, forensic, and digital” evidence that tied Burke to Rivas Hernandez’s death.
Police served a search warrant at the home where Burke had been staying back in September. At the time, it was reported that LAPD detectives left the home with a computer and several evidence bags.
Early on in the investigation, a spokesman for Burke said he was “fully cooperating with authorities.” But by November, he reportedly had stopped cooperating. He had been under investigation by an LA County grand jury since at least February, though he wasn’t officially named as a suspect until his arrest last week.
Now, the Hollywood Hills home where D4vd was living before his arrest has been placed back on the market. The apartment is available to rent fully furnished with a private pool for a whopping $23,950 a month.
