Prosecutors in the murder case against American singer D4vd have told a Los Angeles court that his phone contained a significant amount of child pornography, as the case against the 21-year-old artist moves toward a preliminary hearing.
During a court appearance on Thursday, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman told a judge that evidence against the singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, includes a significant amount of child pornography on his iPhone, alongside a wiretap and up to 40 terabytes of data gathered by various law enforcement agencies over the course of the investigation.
Burke has been charged with first-degree murder with special circumstances, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and mutilating human remains, in connection with the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. He pleaded not guilty to all charges on Monday through his attorneys, who said the evidence will show he did not murder Rivas Hernandez and was not the cause of her death.
Burke was arrested on April 16, 2026, following a months-long investigation that began after Rivas Hernandez’s remains were discovered in September 2025 inside the front trunk of a Tesla registered to the singer, which had been impounded at a Hollywood tow yard.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office listed the cause of death as multiple penetrating injuries, ruling her death a homicide.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman alleged that Burke killed Rivas Hernandez in April 2025 after she threatened to expose his criminal conduct, including alleged repeated sexual relations with the minor. The special circumstances in the murder charge include allegations of lying in wait, murder for financial gain and murdering a witness in an investigation. If convicted as charged, Burke could face life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
The prosecution has begun turning over investigative findings to Burke’s defence team, which said Monday it had received almost no discovery related to the case. A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for May 1, with a status conference set for April 29.
Patrick Steinfeld, a lawyer for the Rivas Hernandez family, said the family is devastated by the findings in the medical examiner’s report and asked for privacy and patience as they process the information.
