D4vd Pleads Not Guilty in Murder Case Involving Celeste Rivas Hernandez

R&B singer D4vd (David Burke) pleaded not guilty in a Los Angeles court to the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, plus charges of sexual abuse with a minor under 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains. A judge ordered him held without bail. The case includes special-circumstance allegations—murder of a witness, murder for financial gain, and lying in wait—and, if convicted, could yield life without parole, with the death penalty under consideration later. The investigation followed the discovery of Rivas Hernandez’s dismembered body in the front trunk of Burke’s impounded Tesla, and authorities say she was a witness in a prior probe into Burke’s alleged lewd acts with a minor. Burke’s attorney denied guilt and requested a speedy evidentiary hearing.