LOS ANGELES (AP) — Singer and songwriter D4vd has been charged with murder, sexual abuse and dismemberment in the killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
His lawyers said he is not guilty and did not cause the death of the girl whose body, authorities said, was found in his towed Tesla SUV in Hollywood in September.
The music of D4vd, pronounced “David,” became an online phenomenon when he was a teenager before he found more traditional success.
In a Los Angeles public hearing set to start Friday that will look much like a trial, prosecutors will present evidence against the 21-year-old whose legal name is David Anthony Burke. It's expected to last about five days before a judge will decide whether he should go to trial on charges of first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14, and mutilating a dead body.
Here are a few things to know about the case:
Prosecutors will present evidence that the decomposing body of Rivas Hernandez was found cut into pieces in two bags in the trunk of a Tesla SUV registered in Burke's name at the Houston address of his parents' house. The vehicle was found seemingly abandoned in the Hollywood Hills near a home where he'd been living. They will likely introduce a medical examiner's report that said she died from two penetrating wounds.
Lead prosecutor Beth Silverman said the evidence includes child sexual abuse imagery taken from Burke's phone and iCloud accounts. But the vast majority of evidence remains secret. It was collected by police who served more than 50 search warrants and via three separate investigative grand juries.
Burke's attorneys have demanded that the evidence be revealed as quickly as possible by making the unusual move of exercising his right to have a preliminary hearing within 10 court days of his arraignment.
“We believe the actual evidence will show David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez,” lead defense attorney Blair Berk said in court last week.
At a preliminary hearing, used in California and many other jurisdictions, witnesses are called and cross-examined and evidence is introduced in the same way they are at trial. But a judge, not a jury, makes the decision whether the evidence is sufficient for the case to move to trial. The standard used is probable cause, as opposed to the standard to convict: guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Prosecutors generally provide only as much evidence as they think they need to clear that bar, which they usually do. The hearings can last several days but are usually far shorter than trials.
D4vd, an online moniker that became Burke's stage name, was raised and homeschooled in Houston. He began making music for YouTube videos he made of the video game Fortnite.
For the most part written and recorded alone on his phone, his songs were a blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. The music made him a phenomenon on TikTok, Instagram, Soundcloud and Spotify, where his top songs, including his 2022 breakthrough “Romantic Homicide,” have more than a billion plays. In 2023, he released two EPs and opened for SZA on tour.
“It grew past Fortnite, it grew past YouTube, past everything like that, and it became such a music focused thing and the real artist in me came out,” he told The Associated Press at last year's Coachella festival.
His first full-length album, “Withered,” was released last year just two days after the date authorities estimate Rivas Hernandez was killed.
Rivas Hernandez was a 13-year-old seventh grader when her family reported her missing in 2024 from her hometown of Lake Elsinore, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) outside Los Angeles. Her body was discovered a day after she would have turned 15.
Prosecutors allege she was sexually abused in a relationship with Burke that lasted at least a year before she turned 14, the age at which they say she was killed. She was last known to be alive on April 23, 2025, when she went to his Hollywood Hills house, they said.
Her parents described her in a statement as “a beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance.”
Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo is best known for presiding over the two trials of actor Danny Masterson. The first ended in a mistrial and the second resulted in two rape convictions in 2023. Olmedo sentenced him to 30 years to life in prison.
Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman, the lead prosecutor, is known for getting a Los Angeles serial killer who became known as the “Grim Sleeper” convicted and sentenced to death in 2016 for the murders of nine women and a teenage girl that went unsolved for years.
Blair Berk, who is representing Burke, has for many years been among the go-to lawyers for A-list clients. They've included Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Ozzy Osbourne, and Harvey Weinstein.
FILE - American singer-songwriter, David Anthony Burke, aka D4vd, performs on the Casino stage during the 58th Montreux Jazz Festival (MJF), in Montreux, Switzerland, July 19, 2024. (Cyril Zingaro/Keystone via AP, File)
Singer-songwriter, David Burke aka D4vd sits in artist space at Coachella music festival on April 18, 2025 in Indio, Calif. (AP Photo)
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — When Hampus Lindholm got the puck inside Boston's blue line after teammate Fraser Minten broke up the Buffalo Sabres' rush, and the Bruins defenseman knew immediately who to look for.
Sure enough, there was David Pastrnak already heading toward Buffalo’s zone.
Set up by Lindholm, Pastrnak scored on a breakaway 9:14 into overtime, and the Bruins avoided elimination with a 2-1 win in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night.
“He’s pretty special when it comes to those opportunities, too, so it was fun to see it go in,” Lindholm said.
Pastrnak said the chemistry he has with Lindholm is a result of them being neighbors.
“We always call it the neighbor connection,” Pastrnak said. “Seems like anytime he has the puck and I have an opening, I have the confidence that he’s gonna find me.”
The series shifts back to Boston for Game 6 on Friday night, with Buffalo still seeking to clinch its first playoff series victory since eliminating the New York Rangers in six games of a 2007 second-round series. The Sabres are in the playoffs for only the third time since, and after snapping an NHL record 14-season playoff drought this year.
Elias Lindholm also scored for Boston which overcame a 1-0 deficit. Jeremy Swayman stopped 25 shots, including foiling Jason Zucker set up in front 3:30 into the extra period.
Rasmus Dahlin scored for Buffalo and Alex Lyon stopped 27 shots.
“He’s always lurking,” Lyon said of Pastrnak, whom the goalie robbed on several chances. “Obviously, he’s one of the best players in the league,” Lyon added of a player who reached the 100-point mark for a fourth straight season. “It’s just one play at the end from a really good player. That’s usually how these things go. And now it’s just incumbent on us to move forward.”
The Sabres were caught up ice, and the Bruins jumped into making a line change, with Pastrnak coming off the bench as the turnover occurred.
Accepting Lindholm’s pass in stride as he crossed Buffalo’s blue line, Pastrnak drove in on net a step ahead of Buffalo’s Mattias Samuelsson. He faked cutting across the front and nearly lost his balance before slipping the puck inside the right post.
“He always gets it done. And what a nice finish from him,” coach Marco Sturm said of the 12th-year player. “I’m just very happy because this guy puts a lot of pressure on himself and he wants to be the difference. And today he was.”
The goal was the 41st of Pastrnak’s playoff career, and second in overtime. He scored Boston’s last overtime goal, also coming in an elimination game, to seal the Bruins’ 2-1 win over Toronto in Game 7 of their 2024 first-round series.
Lindholm tied it 9:24 into the second period after his bad-angle shot bounced into the slot. Lindholm got to the loose puck first and, with his back to the net, spun around and fired in a low shot through a crowd.
Dahlin opened the scoring at 3:35 with his first playoff goal, and Buffalo’s first power-play goal in nearly a month. Driving up the left wing, Zucker’s initial pass attempt was blocked before recovering the puck and feeding Dahlin for a one-timer in the right circle.
The Sabres had gone 0-of-17 with the man advantage this series, and entered the playoffs failing to convert 22 straight chances, dating to a 4-3 win over the New York Islanders on March 31.
The Bruins played without second-line forward Viktor Arvidsson, who was hurt in the first period of Game 4 on Sunday.
Buffalo lost rookie forward Noah Ostlund to a lower-body injury in the first period.
Coach Lindy Ruff didn’t reveal what the injury was, but said, “it doesn’t look good.” Ostlund had just returned to the lineup from an upper-body injury in Game 3, in which he had a goal and assist.
The Bruins have won back-to-back outings in Buffalo after squandering a 2-0 lead in the final 7:58 of a 4-3 loss in Game 1. The Sabres won both outings in Buffalo, and were coming off a 6-1 win on Sunday.
“We’re in a good spot. We should be ready for the next one,” Dahlin said. “It’s a tight game and stuff happens, so we’re ready for going to Boston.”
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) puts the puck past Buffalo Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon (34) during the overtime period in Game 5 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) celebrates his goal during the overtime period in Game 5 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Buffalo Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon (34) makes a save during the third period in Game 5 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Boston Bruins Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) stops a shot by Buffalo Sabres left wing Jason Zucker (17) during the first period in Game 5 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Buffalo Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon (34) makes a save during the second period in Game 5 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Boston Bruins Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Boston Bruins center Elias Lindholm (28) celebrates his goal with defenseman Charlie McAvoy (73)during the second period in Game 5 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Buffalo Sabres teammates celebrate a goal by defenseman Rasmus Dahlin (26) during the first period in Game 5 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Boston Bruins Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
