To determine if there’s sufficient evidence to sustain the counts of first-degree murder and other crimes against him, D4vd is facing a week-long preliminary hearing.
Born David Anthony Burke, in April the musician was charged with killing Celeste Rivas after she threatened to derail his music career by exposing their illegal relationship.
On Tuesday (7.21,) state prosecutors introduced the proceedings with gruesome photos of the crime scene. Claiming the musician first met Rivas when she was 11 years old, and that they began having a sexual relationship when she was 13 and the singer was 18. On April 23, 2025, the musician allegedly sent an Uber to bring the now-deceased to his Los Angeles home and killed her that night.
Pleading not guilty to all charges, in a statement following his April arrest, the singer’s attorneys said “Let us be clear, 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.”
The preliminary hearing will continue on Wednesday when a judge is tasked with testing the prosecution’s evidence and determining whether there’s probable cause to believe the accused could be guilty.
On Tuesday (7.21) during a news conference, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said his team will present more than ten witnesses during the hearing, including police officers and coroners, adding
“At the end of the presentation of all this evidence, the question will be, will D4vd be held to answer on the three felony charges.” “We believe we will more than accomplish the evidentiary burden of probable cause at this point.”
D4vd’s murder charge includes a “special circumstances” enhancement, which makes the maximum sentence life in prison without parole, or the death penalty.
Two days following the alleged murder, D4vd’s debut LP Withered, was released.
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Author: Al Dente
Photo: AskeeaeWiki