A Los Angeles judge has confirmed that the murder case against singer D4vd, real name David Burke, will proceed to trial, with his arraignment now scheduled for 31 August. Judge Charlaine Olmedo ruled on Monday that prosecutors had "met their burden of proof on all charges" at the preliminary hearing, ordering Burke to be held to answer for the killing and sexual abuse of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Deputy attorney Beth Silverman told the court Hernandez had been "groomed" and "gaslit" over many months, while Burke's defence attorney, Marilyn Bednarski, argued there was "no evidence of a deliberate intention to kill" and that the messages between the pair reflected "the opposite of homicidal animus."

Prosecutors allege Burke, 21, stabbed Hernandez to death at his Hollywood Hills home in April 2025 before dismembering her body with a chainsaw; her remains were found in a Tesla registered to him the following September after police responded to reports of a foul smell. Evidence shown in court included graphic photographs, references to an alleged 2024 abortion, and a heated text exchange shortly before her death in which Hernandez threatened to expose Burke. He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, sexual abuse of a child and mutilation of a body. Once a fast-rising bedroom pop artist signed to Interscope Records, Burke has since been dropped by the label.