Singer D4vd (born David Burke) pleaded not guilty during an arraignment hearing in the downtown Los Angeles courthouse on Monday.
The courthouse was cleared by a bomb squad after someone called in a bomb threat. D4vd was brought into court wearing a black hoodie. He pled not guilty.
The judge denied his request for a bond, but granted his lawyer’s request for a preliminary hearing within 10 days.
His legal team also requested the prosecutor’s office provide witnesses for questioning and evidence within 10 days.
The judge could dismiss the case outright if the D.A.’s office doesn’t have the witnesses and evidence ready in that time.
D4vd is being held without bond at the 77th Street Station Jail. His official mugshot was posted on the jail’s website on Monday.
During a press conference on Monday morning, the L.A. district attorney announced D4vd is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
The charges include the special circumstances of lying in wait, committing the crime for financial gain, and murdering a witness to an investigation. He is also charged with lewd and lascivious acts with a minor person under 14 and mutilating a body.
Prosecutors said D4vd did unlawfully engage in three or more acts of “substantial sexual conduct” with the then-12-year-old minor in 2023 and 2024. He allegedly killed her when she threatened to expose their relationship.
The D.A. said D4vd killed Celeste with a “sharp instrument” on April 23, 2025, and mutilated her body on May 5, 2025. She was placed in 2 bags in the trunk of a 2023 Tesla Y registered to D4vd.
The car was parked around the corner from D4vd’s rental house in the Hollywood Hills.
Prosecutors said Celeste’s body remained in the Tesla trunk from May until September when it was towed to the police impound lot.
The badly decomposed remains were discovered at the police impound lot on September 8, 2025.
