A Los Angeles judge ruled on July 27, 2026 that the murder case against D4vd — whose legal name is David Anthony Burke — will head to trial, following a dayslong preliminary hearing with at-times graphic testimony from investigators.

He pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, sexual abuse of a child, and unlawful mutilation of human remains. A post-preliminary arraignment was scheduled for Aug.

31, with a trial expected within 90 days of that date, and he remains held without bail.

The case is shocking because of who stands accused and why prosecutors say the killing happened.

According to ABC News, prosecutors allege D4vd began a sexual relationship with Rivas Hernandez in 2023, when he was 18 and she was 13, and that he killed her for financial gain to protect his career after she threatened to expose the relationship.

His financial manager testified that Burke generated about $11 million between 2023 and 2025 through merchandise and music publishing advances.

The singer, who had nearly 4 million TikTok followers, was arrested in April 2026 after a monthslong investigation that began with a gruesome discovery at a Hollywood impound lot.

Over five days, prosecutors called a dozen witnesses to establish probable cause.

An LAPD detective testified that items including chainsaws, a mop system, cadaver bags and a blue inflatable pool were ordered to D4vd's home under the alias "Travion Davis" days after Rivas Hernandez was last seen alive, per ABC News.

A criminalist said a garage mat had cuts and red marks testing positive for blood matching the teen's DNA, and blue plastic fragments embedded in her right knee physically fit the damaged pool.

The deputy medical examiner testified the dismemberment was potentially consistent with a power tool such as a chainsaw, and prosecutors said her left ring finger — tattooed with D4vd's name — had been amputated.

Prosecutors allege D4vd ordered an Uber that brought Rivas Hernandez to his Hollywood Hills home on April 23, 2025 — the last day she was seen alive. ABC News reports her last text message read, "almost there open ur door if u are home," to which D4vd reportedly replied "got uuu."

She never sent another message. The detective testified her phone and his Tesla traveled to and from a desolate road in Santa Barbara County three times — once that night and twice in May — and her passport was later found on the side of that road in January 2026.

According to ABC11's timeline, the investigation accelerated on Sept. 8, 2025, a day after what would have been Rivas Hernandez's 15th birthday, when her decomposed, dismembered remains were found in two bags in the front trunk of D4vd's impounded Tesla after officers responded for a foul odor.

The medical examiner identified her on Sept. 17, and three investigative grand juries reviewed the case between November 2025 and February 2026.

D4vd was arrested April 16, 2026 and formally charged four days later. ABC11 reports the medical examiner's report, released April 22, 2026, found she died of multiple penetrating injuries and listed the manner of death as homicide.

District Attorney Nathan Hochman said outside the courthouse that prosecutors presented only a "small fraction" of their evidence at the hearing and predicted it would be "overwhelming" at trial on all three charges, though his office has not decided whether to seek the death penalty, according to ABC News.

D4vd's attorneys maintain his innocence, saying the evidence will show he did not murder Rivas Hernandez and was not the cause of her death, and his parents say they support and stand by him one hundred percent.

An attorney for the teen's family said they are relieved the case is moving toward trial, and that the family wants justice for Celeste.