Prosecutors told a Los Angeles court Thursday morning that singer D4vd's cellphone contained a "significant amount" of child pornography, a claim that surfaced amid an already grim first-degree murder case involving the dismembered remains of a 14-year-old girl found decomposing in the trunk of his Tesla.

The allegation, reported by the Daily Caller, adds another layer to a case that has already shocked even hardened observers of Los Angeles crime. D4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, is 21 years old. The victim, Celeste Rivas Hernandez, was 14.

Burke faces charges of first-degree murder, sexual abuse of a child under 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains. He has pleaded not guilty on all counts. His preliminary hearing is set for May 1, and prosecutors told the court they want to go to trial within 60 days.

The case against D4vd: what prosecutors allege

The prosecution's theory, as laid out across multiple court appearances and press statements, paints a disturbing picture. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced the charges and described the alleged motive in stark terms. As Fox News reported, Hochman said:

"When she threatened to expose his criminal conduct and devastate his musical career, Burke allegedly murdered her, cut up her body and stuffed her body in two bags that were placed in the front trunk of his car."

The district attorney alleged that Burke was sexually involved with Hernandez when she was under the age of 14. Prosecutors recently added a charge of lewd and lascivious sexual acts with a person under 14. They allege Burke invited Hernandez to his Hollywood Hills home on April 23, after she threatened to expose their alleged sexual relationship, and killed her with a "sharp instrument."

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner concluded that Hernandez died from multiple penetrating injuries. Her arms, legs, and two fingers had been amputated. Prosecutors allege Burke then stored her remains in the trunk of his vehicle for more than four months while the body decomposed.

The remains were discovered in September, within days of what would have been Hernandez's 15th birthday, inside a 2023 Tesla Model Y registered in Burke's name. Newsmax reported that the Tesla had been impounded after being reported abandoned in the Hollywood Hills, and Hernandez's dismembered and decomposed remains were found in the trunk on September 8.

Forty terabytes of evidence and a wire tap

The scope of the investigation is considerable. Prosecutors said investigators collected 40 terabytes of evidence over a months-long probe. They also revealed that a wire tap was used during the 2025 investigation, a tool that typically requires judicial authorization and suggests law enforcement had been building this case long before the arrest.

LAPD arrested Burke on April 16 on a probable cause warrant. He is being held without bail. The arraignment took place April 20 at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, where he entered his not-guilty plea.

Prosecutors have also filed special circumstance allegations, including murder for financial gain and murder of a witness. Those designations matter. In California, special circumstances can carry a sentence of life without parole, or, potentially, the death penalty. As of the article's publication, prosecutors had not revealed whether they would seek capital punishment.

The child pornography allegation involving digital devices is part of a broader pattern of cases in which investigators have uncovered illegal material during probes into other crimes. A Washington Post video editor recently pleaded guilty to a federal child pornography charge after digital evidence led to his prosecution, a reminder that phones and hard drives often tell investigators more than suspects intend.

The defense pushes back

Burke's defense team, led by attorney Blair Berk, has mounted an aggressive response. Berk told the judge that the prosecution had not handed over its evidence in the case and requested an immediate preliminary hearing. The defense's core position is unequivocal. As Fox News reported, Berk stated:

"We believe the actual evidence will show David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez."

Defense attorneys Berk and Marilyn Bednarski appeared at the arraignment. In a statement reported by multiple outlets, Burke's legal team said plainly that he "was not the cause of her death." Breitbart reported the same defense statement, noting Burke's attorneys maintain his innocence.

It remains unclear what specific evidence the prosecution has not yet turned over, or whether the alleged child pornography on the phone included images or video of Hernandez herself. Those are questions the preliminary hearing and discovery process may begin to answer.

A family's grief

The Rivas Hernandez family has spoken through their attorney, Patrick Steinfeld. As the New York Post reported, Steinfeld released a statement on the family's behalf after the medical examiner's findings became public:

"The Rivas Hernandez family is absolutely devastated by the findings contained in the Medical Examiner's Report involving the horrible and gruesome death of their beloved daughter."

The victim's father, Jesus Rivas, offered a shorter reaction when Burke was arrested. "Thank God... justice for Celeste," he said through the family attorney.

This is a family that waited seven months between their daughter's disappearance and an arrest. The remains sat in an impounded car. The investigation ground forward. And now, even after charges, the case continues to produce new and disturbing allegations.

Celebrity, accountability, and what comes next

D4vd rose to fame in part on the strength of a 2022 song titled "Romantic Homicide." He performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2025 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, the same month prosecutors allege Hernandez was killed. The juxtaposition requires no editorial commentary.

The entertainment industry has seen a string of high-profile criminal cases in recent years. Sean "Diddy" Combs is currently fighting his conviction in appeals court, challenging his sentencing as unconstitutional. The pattern is not that celebrities commit more crimes. It is that fame creates a shield of delay, access to elite legal representation, and a public willing to extend the benefit of the doubt long past the point where ordinary defendants would face full scrutiny.

Burke has that elite representation. Blair Berk is one of Los Angeles's most prominent defense attorneys. The defense team's strategy, demanding immediate hearings, challenging evidence disclosure, and issuing firm public denials, is textbook high-profile criminal defense. Whether it will hold up against 40 terabytes of evidence, a wire tap, and a medical examiner's report detailing dismemberment remains to be seen.

Other recent cases involving child exploitation material have drawn significant sentences. A Lutheran church official was charged with producing child pornography in a case that underscored how digital evidence has become central to these prosecutions. The allegations against Burke, if proven, would place him in a category of offenders that the justice system treats with particular severity, and rightly so.

Prosecutors told the court Thursday they are ready for the preliminary hearing and want a fast track to trial. The defense wants the evidence first. The judge will sort that out on May 1.

Cases involving child pornography possession and violent crime demand the justice system's full weight. A 14-year-old girl is dead. Her family is shattered. The man charged with her murder sits in a cell without bail. And now prosecutors say his phone held exactly the kind of material you would expect to find on the phone of someone accused of sexually abusing a child.

The court will determine guilt or innocence. But the facts already on the record leave little room for sympathy toward the accused, and every reason to demand that the system move swiftly for a girl who can no longer speak for herself.