The cell phone of David Anthony Burke, known as the singer D4vd, contained “numerous indecent images of children,” a prosecutor said in court Thursday morning.
Los Angeles County deputy. He said. Beth Silverman said as the court scheduled a first-degree murder trial for the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, 14. The photos were revealed as part of a broader series of search warrants used on Burke’s phone and iCloud, Silverman said.
Burke’s attorneys maintain his innocence and want a trial to begin next week, meaning testimony in the highly-publicized case could come to light on May 1. He appeared in court Thursday wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and entered the courtroom with his hands in his pockets.
A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
Burke was arrested by Los Angeles police last week and charged Monday with murder, aggravated child sexual abuse and mutilation, according to a criminal complaint. He pleaded not guilty.
The singer allegedly began sexually abusing Hernandez in September 2023, when he was only 13 years old.
Hernandez was reported missing from her Lake Elsinore home three times in 2024, and was seen at other D4vd concerts during that time.
Prosecutors say Hernandez was last seen at Burke’s Hollywood Hills residence last year, on April 23, 2025. “He threatened to expose her criminal behavior and destroy her music career,” according to LA County Dist. He said. Nathan Hochman, although the prosecutor has not yet answered questions about whether Hernandez will report Burke to the police.
Burke rose to fame after one of his tracks was featured in the wildly popular video game “Fortnite,” and has collaborated with artists such as 21 Savage. He was beginning a tour in support of his debut album, “Withered,” when reports emerged linking him to Hernandez’s death. He immediately canceled the shows.
The details of the crime echo some of the violent imagery associated with Burke’s songs. The New York-born singer appeared in a music video where a young woman with a wound to her chest was lying on a bed as the singer hovered over her, eyes closed, her white shirt soaked in blood. In another video, “One More Dance,” D4vd pulls a person — like a singer — into a car, where the couple shoves a person into the dirt.
Hernandez’s badly decomposed body was found in the trunk of a Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard in September. An autopsy report released this week revealed that he died from stab wounds to the chest and abdomen. When police arrived at the scene, they found Hernandez’s body “mutilated” and two of his fingers had been cut off, according to the coroner’s report.
Prosecutors have charged Burke with aggravated murder, including allegations that Hernandez was a witness to the crime – his sexual assault – and that Burke killed him for financial gain to protect his high-profile music career. If convicted as charged, he faces up to life in prison without parole, or the death penalty.
