D4vd pleads not guilty in murder case as his high-profile lawyers pull out of defending him

D4vd has pleaded not guilty to murdering 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, and his high-profile lawyers have withdrawn from defending him.

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The singer, real name David Anthony Burke has been accused by prosecutors of killing Hernandez and dismembering her body with a chainsaw in his garage after buying tools online.

On April 20, he was charged with her murder.

He previously pleaded not guilty to murdering and sexually abusing the teen, whose remains had been found severely decomposed in the front boot of a Tesla registered to Burke last September.

After a five-day preliminary hearing at the end of July, where Los Angeles prosecutors questioned a dozen witnesses and displayed photographic evidence as the teenager’s family attended court, a judge ruled that Burke would go on trial for the murder.

Now, appearing in a Los Angeles court on Monday (August 31), Burke pleaded not guilty to the murder charges.

His high-profile lawyers, Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter, have also confirmed that they will no longer be representing the singer, as they have had their request to withdraw from the case approved by the court.

TMZ reports D4vd's attorneys have withdrawn from his case ahead of his October 19 court date.

A public defender has since been appointed, citing indigent status. (lack of funds) pic.twitter.com/6T9DQ4T12y.

A lawyer from the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office will now be representing Burke, the statement from the lawyers clarified, and they added that they will “continue to support David and his defence against these serious charges”.

Rolling Stone reported that, after the hearing, Bednarski shared that there “is no conflict” and that the decision was made by Burke.

Blair Berk, who led the legal team, has previously represented big names including Lindsay Lohan, Mel Gibson, Britney Spears and Harvey Weinstein.

Los Angeles County Public Defender Walid Kandeel, Burke’s new lawyer, has requested to delay the singer’s arraignment so that he could review transcripts in the case, although this was denied by Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo.

The judge shared that the three counts in the new charging document are the “same [as the] three in the complaint” and that the case is “not particularly complicated”.

Lawyers for David Burke, aka singer D4vd, announced in a press release they are bailing on him and he’s now represented by public defenders.

He’s to plead not guilty to Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s murder in LA again today now that the judge has found probable cause. pic.twitter.com/IbjkHxp5Z7.

The prosecutor on the case, Nathan Hochman, has shared that his office is “ready to proceed” with the case, and the next hearing has been set for October 19. No trial date has been set yet.

Burke has already entered a not guilty plea to charges of child sexual abuse, first-degree murder and mutilation of human remains, following the body of Hernandez being found in his Tesla last September.

During the opening day of a preliminary hearing in the murder case on July 21, the court was shown a series of graphic and distressing photographs relating to the case, and Hernandez’s parents were in attendance at the hearing.

On that day, a homicide detective testified that Burke had purchased a body bag, chainsaws, an inflatable pool and a shovel online in the days after the victim’s death.

Prosecutors alleged that Burke stabbed Hernandez before dismembering her body with a chainsaw to cover up the murder following years of alleged sexual abuse. It is alleged that he killed the teenager because she had threatened to speak out about his relationship with a minor and ruin his music career.

He has denied the charges, and told police that he did not know Hernandez was a minor. He also claimed to have only met the then-13-year-old once in person.

On the second day of the hearing, it was heard that at least 11 air fresheners were found in D4vd’s Tesla alongside the human remains of the 14-year-old, and also that his DNA was found on garbage bags related to the case.

Over that weekend, text messages between D4vd and Hernandez were read out, indicating she was pregnant and had an abortion more than a year before she was killed.

Evidence read in court on July 27 (via BBC News) showed threats Hernandez made to Burke on April 22, 2025, stemming from arguments about his friendship with another girl.

The following day, Hernandez went to Burke’s Hollywood home in an Uber he had sent to pick her up. Prosecutors alleged that Burke stabbed her once she arrived.

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