A preliminary hearing began in Los Angeles on Tuesday in the murder case against singer D4vd (David Anthony Burke, 21), opening with photographs of the dismembered remains of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Prosecutors allege the singer stabbed Rivas to death in April 2025 and later dismembered her body after she threatened to expose their illegal sexual relationship, which allegedly began when she was 13. The hearing matters because it is the first formal test of the prosecution's evidence, with a judge deciding whether there is sufficient probable cause for D4vd to stand trial on charges including first-degree murder, child sexual abuse and mutilating a body.

Prosecutors said Rivas' remains were found in September in a bag in the boot of an impounded Tesla registered to D4vd, in such a decomposed state that a detective could not identify her face. They allege D4vd met Rivas when she was 11, began a sexual relationship with her at 13, and killed her after an argument, before buying chainsaws to dismember her body in his garage; his debut album was released two days after the alleged killing. The week-long hearing, which continues Wednesday, will feature more than ten witnesses, according to District Attorney Nathan Hochman. D4vd has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers say the evidence will show he was not responsible for her death; the charges carry a possible sentence of death or life imprisonment due to a "special circumstances" enhancement.