Following a five-day preliminary hearing in Los Angeles that included at-times graphic testimony from investigators, a judge ruled that the murder case against the singer D4vd will head to trial, according to ABC News.

D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, was arrested and charged in April with the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez after a monthslong investigation.

He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, sexual abuse of a child and unlawful mutilation of human remains, and he remains held without bail.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said prosecutors presented only a "small fraction of our evidence" at the hearing, calling the alleged crime "incredibly horrific and barbaric."

ABC News reports that Burke's financial manager testified he generated roughly $11 million between 2023 and 2025 through merchandise and music publishing advances, and a finance employee from his former label, Interscope Records, testified about his earnings as his tour tickets were set to go on sale.

The hearing also laid out prosecutors' allegation that Burke and Rivas Hernandez began a sexual relationship in 2023, when he was 18 and she was 13, and that she threatened to expose it.

His attorneys say they plan to "vigorously defend" his innocence and that the evidence will show he did not murder her.

According to ABC News, prosecutors called a dozen witnesses over five days. An LAPD criminologist described at least 11 air fresheners in the Tesla where the teen's decomposed remains were found in two body bags in September 2025.

A detective testified that chainsaws, cadaver bags, a mop system and a blue inflatable pool were ordered to Burke's home under the alias "Travion Davis" days after Rivas Hernandez was last seen alive.

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

Phone records showed his phone and Tesla traveled three times to a desolate Santa Barbara County road where her passport was found.

ABC News reports that an LAPD detective testified to matching tattoos: Burke had a "Shhh..." tattoo on his right index finger and "Celeste" on his left ring finger, while the teen had the same "Shhh..." tattoo and a tattoo of his name on the left ring finger that was missing from her remains.

The deputy medical examiner testified the ring and pinky fingers on her left hand had been amputated and that dismemberment was potentially consistent with a power tool such as a chainsaw.

Text messages shown in court captured her final night on April 23, 2025 — she texted she was "almost there open ur door if u are home," and Burke reportedly replied "got uuu." She never messaged again; his last message came April 26.

Per ABC News, a post-preliminary arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 31, with a trial expected within 90 days of that date, and the district attorney's office has not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty.

Burke remains held without bail while his attorneys — Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter, per ABC News — maintain the evidence will show he was not the cause of Rivas Hernandez's death.

An attorney for the teen's family said they are "relieved" the case moves forward and thanked prosecutors and the LAPD.

The ruling lands as other closely watched murder trials grind on: jurors in the Lindsay Clancy case in Plymouth, Massachusetts, were beginning a sixth day of deliberations on three first-degree murder counts, per SiriusXM's Law&Crime coverage.