US prosecutors weigh death penalty for singer D4vd in teen murder case

By Tolulope Oke

Los Angeles prosecutors are considering seeking the death penalty against US singer D4vd after a judge ordered him to stand trial for the alleged murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said his office had not decided whether to pursue capital punishment against the 21-year-old musician.

Hochman spoke after a five-day preliminary hearing during which Judge Charlaine Olmedo ruled that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial.

D4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, has pleaded not guilty to murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains.

Judge Olmedo also allowed prosecutors to proceed with special-circumstance allegations, including lying in wait, killing for financial gain and eliminating a witness.

“The people have met their burden on all counts,” she ruled.

Hochman said prosecutors presented only a fraction of the evidence gathered against Burke during the preliminary hearing and would disclose the full case at trial.

Prosecutors alleged that Burke stabbed Hernandez after she arrived at his Hollywood home in April 2025 and subsequently dismembered her body.

They claimed he killed the teenager after she threatened to expose his alleged relationship with a minor and damage his multi-million-dollar music career.

Hernandez’s remains were found in September 2025 inside a Tesla registered to Burke’s address.

A homicide detective told the court that Burke ordered a body bag, chainsaws, an inflatable pool and a shovel in the days following the teenager’s death.

His lawyers, however, argued that prosecutors had failed to present sufficient evidence directly linking him to the killing.

The defence said the medical examiner could not establish how two penetrating wounds on Hernandez’s body were inflicted, while no surveillance footage placed Burke at his residence on the night of the alleged murder.

Chainsaws recovered from his garage also tested negative for blood, the court heard.

Burke is expected to return to court on August 31, with his trial scheduled to begin within 90 days.