On the third day of a court hearing in Los Angeles County, lawyers for the musician known as D4vd questioned police about missed steps in their evidence testing. At the same time, prosecutors kept laying out their case connecting the 19-year-old, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, to the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez (The Guardian).

Burke faces serious charges: first-degree murder, sexual acts with a child under 14, and mutilation of human remains. He has pleaded not guilty to all of them. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced the charges on April 20, 2026. They are calling the murder charge "capital murder," which means it could carry the death penalty. DA Nathan J. Hochman personally announced the charges. Prosecutors have not yet said whether they will seek the death penalty if Burke is convicted (Newsweek).

The case, filed under number 26CJCF02399, alleges that Burke stabbed Rivas Hernandez to stop her from revealing a sexual relationship between them. The prosecution's theory ties together three things: Burke's home in the Hollywood Hills, his Tesla car, and a remote road called State Route 154 in Santa Barbara County.

Prosecutors presented evidence that possible blood traces were found in Burke's former home and in his Tesla. A detective testified that Burke ordered chainsaws and body bags (Associated Press). But on day three, defense attorney Blair Berk pressed a police scientist named Lauren Wallace on a key gap: the chainsaws found in Burke's garage were never tested for evidence. The defense is trying to show that the police investigation was not thorough, rather than fighting each piece of evidence one by one.

Berk also asked Wallace if she knew that multiple people lived at the Hollywood Hills home. Wallace said yes. This matters because if several people had access to the home and garage, any evidence found there cannot be blamed on Burke alone.

Defense attorney Regina Peter took a similar approach with a highway patrol officer named Sean Buenrostro. He testified that a road worker found Celeste Rivas Hernandez's passport in January 2026 on a dirt slope off State Route 154 in Santa Barbara. Peter asked whether the officer had considered that a storm or weather could have moved the passport to that spot. The defense is questioning whether the evidence was really left there by Burke or whether nature could explain its presence.

A detective testified on Thursday that phone data and Tesla system data placed Burke near where the passport was found. This is the prosecution's way of linking Burke to the Santa Barbara location without relying only on the passport, which the defense is trying to disconnect from Burke.

Defense lawyers also questioned police analysts about their DNA testing methods (Associated Press). They suggested that the way police identified and processed possible blood traces could be challenged on several grounds: whether the evidence was properly tracked from the moment it was collected, whether it could have been contaminated, and whether the testing itself was thorough enough to be trusted.

This court event is called a preliminary hearing. Its purpose is to decide whether there is enough evidence to send Burke to a full trial on all charges. It is expected to wrap up around the week of July 27, 2026. At this stage, prosecutors only need to show "probable cause" — meaning it is more likely than not that a crime occurred and Burke is connected to it. That is a much lower bar than "beyond a reasonable doubt," which is what prosecutors must prove to get a conviction at trial.

The defense's questioning at this stage serves two purposes. First, they are testing how strong the prosecution's evidence is, which could help them file motions to throw out evidence or dismiss charges later. Second, they are locking in witnesses' statements now so that if the case goes to trial, they can use any inconsistencies to challenge those witnesses' credibility.

The charges were first announced in an April 20 press release from the LA County DA's office titled "Singer D4vd Charged With Capital Murder of 14-Year-Old Girl." The case also appeared in the office's "Inside LADA" newsletter. The Associated Press contributed reporting to The Guardian's July 23 coverage.

The broader context here matters as the hearing wraps up. The capital murder label gives prosecutors the option to pursue the death penalty. That decision usually comes after a conviction, but it can influence how both sides approach plea deals and strategy long before a trial begins. The charge of mutilating human remains, combined with testimony about ordered chainsaws and body bags, suggests prosecutors plan to argue that Burke tried to hide the body after death. That could lead to a harsher sentence if he is sent to trial and convicted. And the defense's focus on untested evidence and the fact that multiple people lived in the home suggests that if this case goes to trial, the fight will be about whether the forensic evidence is reliable enough — not about where Burke says he was at the time.