The family of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the teenage singer D4vd is accused of sexually abusing and murdering, has demanded justice as the artist’s claim of indigence to secure a public defender faces scrutiny in a Los Angeles Court, per hollywoodreporter.com.
The Rivas Hernandez family said in a statement on September 1 that they want whoever is responsible to face the full force of the law and thanked supporters of their daughter, following a pretrial hearing in the case against the singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke.
Burke stunned the courtroom on September 1 when it was announced he was dismissing his private legal team of Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Pete and would be represented by public defender Walid Fouad Kandeel. Attorneys said the move was because the singer qualifies as indigent.
The claim is being contested by the family’s attorney, Patrick Steinfeld, who said Burke owns and directs three limited liability companies covering entertainment, merchandising and publishing, and controls distribution of funds. Steinfeld said he sent documents from the state of Texas as evidence and argued Burke should direct one of his companies to fund his defence rather than have taxpayers pay.
The indigence claim has drawn particular attention because Burke signed to Darkroom/Interscope in a deal reported to be worth $11 million. The label has since dropped him.
Prosecutors allege Burke was in an illegal sexual relationship with Rivas Hernandez, whom he met when she was 11, and killed her after she threatened to expose the relationship and end his career. The alleged murder occurred on April 23, 2025, two days before the release of his debut album Withered.
According to a report of his arraignment on April 20, 2026 at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, Rivas Hernandez left her family’s home in Lake Elsinore via rideshare and arrived at Burke’s Hollywood Hills residence at 10:10pm. About an hour and 20 minutes later his phone and car departed north toward Santa Barbara County.
Dismembered remains were later found in the trunk of a Tesla registered to Burke in Hollywood and identified through dental records and a matching “shhh…” finger tattoo the victim shared with the singer. The Los Angeles Police Department served a warrant at his home and found evidence in the garage consistent with dismemberment, while a worker later found the victim’s passport off a highway in Santa Barbara County.
Burke was arrested in April 2026 and charged with first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse and mutilation of a body. He has pleaded not guilty. He cancelled the remainder of his tour after the allegations.
A five-day preliminary hearing in July heard graphic disclosures, including testimony about blood stains on items in his garage, chainsaw purchases and explicit text messages with the victim when she was allegedly 13. A judge ruled there was sufficient evidence to send the case to trial.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said after the July hearing his office had not decided whether to seek the death penalty, noting two of Burke’s previous attorneys had been invited to submit a mitigation packet but had not done so.
Burke’s next court date is in October.