Defense filed two motions ahead of the prelim. Judge Olmedo DENIED the request that Burke be permitted to dress in civilian attire (dress pants + button-down) for the hearing. She GRANTED the order directing the LA County Sheriff's Department to schedule a haircut prior to the prelim. Both orders signed Apr 27, 2026 by the Honorable Charlaine F. Olmedo. Civilian-attire order (DENIED) → · Haircut order (GRANTED) →
SF Investigates / Steve Fischer reports 54 sealed search warrants in the case to date — the most recent issued on Apr 20, the same day charges were filed. Defense told the court they're ready for prelim but had not (as of that date) filed a motion to unseal. Olmedo indicated she'd be willing to unseal upon a defense request.
- Prelim postponed twice: May 1 → May 26 → June 29, 2026. Latest status hearing May 12 set next status for June 17. Per prosecutor Beth Silverman, only 10 of ~40 TB of evidence has been turned over to defense to date.
- Defense seal motion DENIED: Blair Berk argued the brief was "one-sided" and warned of "an extreme amount of media attention" tainting the jury pool. Olmedo refused to seal it — the case is, in her words, "no different from countless other high-profile cases in Los Angeles County that often involve celebrities."
- What's in the brief: Prosecutors allege Burke sent a ride-share driver to pick up Celeste in Lake Elsinore and route her to his Hollywood Hills residence the night of Apr 23, 2025, where he fatally stabbed her. In the days following, Burke allegedly ordered a shovel, two chainsaws, a body bag, a heavy-duty laundry bag, and a blue inflatable pool. Read the filing: 📑 Prosecution Pre-Prelim Brief (PDF) → · via Courthouse News.
Celeste Rivas Hernandez, 14, was reported missing from Lake Elsinore, CA in April 2024. On September 8, 2025, her dismembered remains were found inside the front trunk of d4vd's Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard. Officers found two cadaver bags. Her head and torso were in one, her arms and legs in another. She weighed just 71 pounds when found. The body had decomposed significantly.
A grand jury was convened in November 2025. Court documents unsealed in February 2026 formally identified d4vd as the target. Prosecutors subpoenaed his parents and brother in Texas; his friend Neo Langston was arrested in Montana for failing to comply with his subpoena.
🚨 APRIL 20, 2026 - CHARGES FILED: DA Nathan Hochman formally charged d4vd with first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and mutilation of human remains. The complaint alleges d4vd was in a sexual relationship with Rivas beginning when she was 13 (on or between Sept 7, 2023 and Sept 7, 2024) and murdered her on April 23, 2025 - two days before his debut album Withered dropped - because she "threatened to expose his criminal conduct and devastate his musical career." Prosecutors allege he used a "sharp instrument" and dismembered her body around May 5, 2025.
Three Special Circumstance Allegations: (1) lying in wait, (2) murder for financial gain, (3) killing a witness in a criminal investigation. Any one of these makes the case death-penalty eligible under California law. Hochman has NOT yet decided whether to seek the death penalty - that determination will be made at a later date. Even without death, d4vd faces life in prison without parole if convicted.
D4vd pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on April 20. He stood stone-faced behind a glass partition in a black hoodie. Defense attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski, and Regina Peter say: "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." He's been transferred to Twin Towers Correctional Facility - the same facility holding Nick Reiner.
April 22-23 Developments: The LA County Medical Examiner's report was released on April 22. Cause of death: "multiple penetrating injuries caused by object(s)." Manner: homicide. Two stab wounds - one to the right abdomen penetrating the liver, another to the left chest. On April 23 at a follow-up hearing, prosecutors revealed D4vd's iPhone contained a "significant amount of child sexual abuse material" that will be reviewed by forensic experts. Prosecutors disclosed over 40 terabytes of discovery to turn over - phones, computers, tablets, and about 3 TB from iCloud.
- 01First-degree murder - with three special circumstance allegations (lying in wait, murder for financial gain, killing a witness). Death penalty eligible.
- 02Continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 (Sept 7, 2023 - Sept 7, 2024) - alleged sexual relationship while Celeste was 13, beginning on her 13th birthday.
- 03Mutilation of human remains - allegedly dismembered the body around May 5, 2025.
- 04Special allegation: Use of a deadly and dangerous weapon (sharp instrument).
- 05Medical Examiner ruled homicide. Cause of death: "multiple penetrating injuries caused by object(s)" - two stab wounds (liver and left chest).
- 06D4vd's iPhone contained "significant amount of child sexual abuse material" per April 23 hearing disclosures.
One of the most disturbing celebrity criminal cases in recent memory. After months of grand jury work that became public through subpoena disputes, the DA ultimately proceeded by criminal complaint - meaning a preliminary hearing, not a closed-door indictment, will test the evidence. With three special-circumstance allegations on the table, this is among the highest-profile death-penalty-eligible cases in the music industry, and the discovery fight (40+ TB across phones, computers, tablets, and iCloud) will shape the trajectory.
Beth Silverman, nicknamed "The Sniper," is the LA County Deputy DA assigned to this case. She has built a near-flawless murder-conviction record in the Major Crimes Division - including the April 2025 Monica Sementilli conviction and special-circumstance convictions of serial killers Lonnie Franklin Jr. (the Grim Sleeper), Michael Hughes (the Southside Slayer), Chester Turner, and Samuel Little. She has obtained the death penalty in multiple capital cases. See her full profile →