Prosecutors Claim Singer D4vd Had Financial Motive in Teen's Murder
During a preliminary hearing, prosecutors presented evidence that the 21-year-old singer earned a multimillion-dollar deal and alleged he killed a 14-year-old to protect his rising career.
Prosecutors at a Los Angeles preliminary hearing said the singer known as D4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, received a multimillion-dollar recording contract from Interscope Records and argued that financial considerations motivated him to kill 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The teenager’s body, found last year in a car registered to Burke, was described as dismembered and decomposing. Prosecutors alleged Burke stabbed the girl to death at his residence to prevent her from revealing the sexual nature of their relationship as his career advanced.
Burke, now 21, has pleaded not guilty to charges that include first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, and mutilation of a human body. His defense maintains he was not responsible for the death. The prosecution presented photographs of the victim’s remains and evidence that Burke used his credit cards to buy a chainsaw, a body bag and a shovel.
The hearing, which is expected to last three to five days, follows Burke’s arrest in April and his continued detention without bail. If convicted, he faces either the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole.
"Celeste was a beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance," her family said in a statement released after the arrest, adding that they seek justice for her.