LOS ANGELES (Court TV) — A singer charged with murder and sex crimes after a dismembered teenager was found decomposing in his car surprised those in the courtroom on Monday when he announced he wanted a public defender appointed.
David Burke, known professionally as the singer “d4vd,” arrived in court on Monday for his arraignment. Before he could enter a plea, Judge Charlaine Olmedo said the defendant had requested an attorney from the public defender’s office.
David ‘d4vd’ Burke appears at his preliminary hearing on July 23, 2026. (Sketch by Mona Edwards)
At his preliminary hearing last month, two high-profile attorneys represented Burke: Blair Berk and Marilyn Bednarski. Berk previously represented celebrities Lindsay Lohan and Mel Gibson in prominent legal cases.
On Monday, Berk and Bednarski confirmed they wanted to withdraw. Burke responded, “Yes, Your Honor,” without emotion, when Olmedo confirmed he wanted to make the change. Walid Kandeel, a public defender, immediately moved to sit next to Burke at the counsel table.
In a statement immediately following the hearing, Berk and Bednarski said they requested to withdraw “after it was determined David qualified for appointed counsel. We continue to support David and his defense against these serious charges.”
Kandeel asked for a delay of Monday’s scheduled arraignment because he had not yet had time to review case information, but Olmedo denied the request, saying it was not particularly complicated. Burke formally entered a plea of not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, continued lewd and lascivious acts with an individual under 14 years old and mutilating a human body; he waived his right to begin the trial within 60 days.
Prosecutors have said that Burke killed 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez and dismembered her before putting her body into two body bags and leaving them in the front trunk of his Tesla. Her body was found on what would have been her 15th birthday.
Testimony from the preliminary hearing revealed that Burke and Celeste first met when she was 11; they exchanged thousands of messages throughout their relationship, which turned sexual after they met in person in November 2023, when Celeste was 12. Those messages include multiple references to sexual activities and repeated concerns about pregnancy, including one message from Burke that read, “lets let this abortion be the last one til we have the real one if u actually preg.” Celeste asked for a Balenciaga purse as an “abortion gift” in another message.
Investigators testified that Celeste was likely killed on April 23, 2025, hours after she sent messages to Burke in a jealous rage. Burke’s defense tried to argue that it was possible that Celeste took her own life.
Following the hearing, Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman said that his office still had not determined whether to seek the death penalty. Hochman said he had invited Berk and Bednarski to provide a mitigation packet to his office with reasons why prosecutors should not pursue the punishment. Hochman said nothing had been turned in, but he would give Burke’s new attorney additional time to provide mitigation to the office, should he choose.
Burke is scheduled to return to court in October for a status conference.
