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A Los Angeles judge, Charlaine Olmedo, has ordered American singer D4vd to stand trial over the killing of a 14-year-old girl whose body was later found in the trunk of a car registered in his name.
Judge Olmedo ruled on Monday that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence to proceed with the case after a five-day preliminary hearing.
The 21-year-old singer, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, is accused of murdering and dismembering Celeste Rivas Hernandez after she allegedly threatened to expose what prosecutors described as an illegal sexual relationship between them.
According to prosecutors, Burke allegedly began a sexual relationship with Hernandez when she was 13, and he was 18.
They told the court that the teenager became jealous over another woman and, in April 2025, threatened to expose the relationship just days before the release of Burke’s debut album.
Prosecutors presented text messages in which Hernandez allegedly threatened to ruin the singer’s career and life.
“I swear to GOD I will kill u she was in my dam seat i will strangle u…i will end ur career and ur life I will damage anything,” Hernandez wrote in profanity-laced texts presented by prosecutors.
They further alleged that Burke paid for an Uber to bring the teenager to his home before fatally stabbing her.
According to prosecutors, Burke’s Amazon receipts show he purchased chainsaws and an inflatable pool, as well as a portable “burn box” incinerator that turned out to be too small to destroy her body.
Hernandez’s decomposing body was discovered in September 2025 inside the trunk of a Tesla registered to Burke after the vehicle had been towed to a Hollywood impound lot.
Defence lawyer Blair Berk argued there was no evidence showing Burke intended to kill the teenager.
However, prosecutor Beth Silverman maintained there was nothing to suggest the death was accidental.
D4vd rose to prominence in 2022 after his song Romantic Homicide became a viral hit on TikTok.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains. If convicted, he could face life imprisonment or the death penalty.
