Judge reviews forensic evidence in D4vd murder case

A Los Angeles judge is considering whether to send singer D4vd to trial for murder after prosecutors presented extensive forensic evidence during a multi-day preliminary hearing this week. The 21-year-old artist, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, is accused of killing and dismembering 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez in April 2025.

Prosecutors allege Burke stabbed Rivas Hernandez at his Hollywood Hills rental home on April 23, 2025, and later dismembered her body in his garage before concealing her remains in the front trunk of his Tesla. Her badly decomposed body was discovered in the vehicle after it was towed in September 2025. Burke has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains.

During the hearing, which concluded on Thursday, July 23, 2026, a series of police criminalists testified about evidence collected from Burke's home and car. Lauren Wallace of the Los Angeles Police Department testified that a chemical spray revealed apparent bloodstains on rubber floor mats, a rowing machine, a Tesla charger, and brick flooring in the garage. She said the mats had linear cuts consistent...