Singer D4vd is now facing murder charges after authorities arrested him in connection with the killing of teenager Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
On Monday, April 20, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced that the 21-year-old singer-songwriter, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, will face charges of first-degree murder with special circumstances, continuous lewd acts involving an individual under 14, and mutilation of human remains.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman stated during a press conference that the special circumstances tied to the first-degree murder charge include “lying in wait, committing this crime for financial gain or murdering a witness in an investigation.”
“She was never heard from again,” Hochman said. He added that Rivas Hernandez’s “dismembered and decomposed remains were found in two bags” inside a car registered to Burke. “The investigation was to determine who killed, who murdered, Celeste months and months before.”
The murder charge, including the special circumstances, carries a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole and the death penalty. Hochman said that a determination about the death penalty will be made at a later time.
Hours after the press conference, Burke pleaded not guilty to all charges.
In a statement to USA TODAY on Monday, Burke’s attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski, and Regina Peter asserted the singer’s innocence.
“The actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death,” the attorneys said, repeating an earlier statement. “We will vigorously defend David’s innocence.”
Authorities filed criminal charges against Burke just days after officers arrested him in Los Angeles at around 5 p.m. on April 16. Officials have held him without bail, and he is set to be arraigned in court Monday afternoon, according to the DA’s office.
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