Singer D4vd is due to return to court next week for a preliminary hearing in the case of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose dismembered remains were found in a car registered to him.
The 21-year-old musician, whose legal name is David Burke, appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom on Thursday, where Judge Charlaine F Olmedo set a four-to-five-day preliminary evidentiary hearing to begin on 1 May.
Burke has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14, and mutilating a dead body.
The hearing will determine whether there is probable cause for the case to proceed to trial.
Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman told the court that prosecutors have a large volume of evidence, including material taken from Burke's phone under warrant, items seized during searches, forensic material and witness testimony given to three grand juries.
She said some material, including alleged child sexual abuse images, would have to be handled sensitively.
"I cannot turn that type of materials over," Ms Silverman said.
Burke’s lawyers spoke only about the exchange of evidence during Thursday’s hearing and declined to comment outside court.
At his arraignment, defence lawyer Blair Berk told a judge: "We believe the actual evidence will show David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez."
In a rare move, Burke is exercising his right under California law to have a preliminary evidence hearing within 10 court days of his arraignment.
Rivas Hernandez, from Lake Elsinore, California, was last known to be alive on 23 April 2025, prosecutors have said.
Her remains were found in September in a Tesla registered to Burke, which had been towed from the Hollywood Hills while he was on tour.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said this week that Rivas Hernandez died from multiple penetrating injuries caused by object or objects, and that the manner of death was homicide.
Prosecutors allege Burke had been sexually abusing Rivas Hernandez for at least a year, starting when she was 13, and that he killed her after she threatened to report the relationship.
The allegations have not been tested at trial.
The girl’s parents, Jesus Rivas and Mercedes Martinez, made their first public statement in the case earlier this week, describing their daughter as "a beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance".
"All we want is justice for Celeste," they said.
D4vd, pronounced David, rose to prominence on TikTok in 2022 with the song Romantic Homicide. His debut album, Withered, was released in 2025.
Source: AP
