Entertainment
D4vd replaces private legal team with public defender in murder case
A Los Angeles judge approved the shift to court-appointed counsel for the 21-year-old singer, who faces first-degree murder charges.
The short version
- Pop singer D4vd, legally named David Anthony Burke, replaced his team of private defense attorneys with the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office.
- A Los Angeles judge granted the legal team's withdrawal after determining the 21-year-old musician qualified for court-appointed counsel.
- Burke faces charges including first-degree murder, child sexual abuse, and mutilation of a body in connection with the 2025 death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
- Burke's new public defender entered a procedural not-guilty plea on his behalf, with the next court hearing scheduled for October 19.
Key facts
- Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo granted a motion allowing private attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski, and Regina Peter to withdraw from representing David Anthony Burke.[Variety · Billboard]
- The former defense team stated that Burke qualified for court-appointed counsel, and public defender Walid Kandeel took over his representation.[Billboard]
- Burke faces charges of first-degree murder, child sexual abuse, and body dismemberment stemming from the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.[Billboard · Variety · Billboard]
- Prosecutors allege Burke killed Rivas on April 23, 2025, after she threatened to expose an illegal sexual relationship, and police later found her remains inside an impounded Tesla registered to him.[Billboard · Billboard]
- Burke has maintained his innocence, and his new counsel entered a procedural not-guilty plea on his behalf following a preliminary hearing that deemed the evidence sufficient for trial.[Billboard · Billboard]
- Burke is next scheduled to appear in court on October 19, 2026.[Variety · Billboard]