Prosecutor focuses on who knew about singer D4vd’s relationship with teen girl before her killing
Jul 22, 2026, 11:28 AM | Updated: 12:28 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A money manager for D4vd testified Wednesday that he had heard only the first name of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the 14-year-old girl the singer is charged with killing, before her dismembered body was found in the trunk of a car.
The testimony from Benjamin Gregor came on the second day of a preliminary hearing in a Los Angeles court to determine whether there is enough evidence to put D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, on trial on charges of murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14 and mutilation of a body.
“I knew her first name,” Gregor said.
The prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman, later asked Gregor where he had heard the name Celeste. He said from Rob Morgenroth, D4vd’s manager.
“Did he tell you she was his girlfriend?” Silverman asked, but objections prevented an answer.
Burke’s lawyers have said he did not cause Rivas Hernandez’s death, and he has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Prosecutors allege Burke fatally stabbed Rivas Hernandez to prevent her from revealing their relationship and ruining his career.
Gregor was one of two witnesses called to discuss Burke’s finances, to indicate how much he had to lose, and whether the killing could have meant financial gain.
But the questioning, which got increasingly heated, swerved into who among the people around Burke knew he was in a sexual relationship with the teen.
Silverman asked Gregor if he knew Burke had taken Rivas Hernandez to London with him, and to Texas to meet his family. He said he had heard about the London trip.
The prosecutor asked if he had heard about Burke taking Rivas Hernandez to nightclubs, with both of them using fake IDs. Burke only recently turned 21.
This drew angry objections from Burke’s attorney, Marilyn Bednarski.
“Counsel is testifying!” she said.
Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo, who will decide whether there is probable cause for trial, cut off the line of questioning.
Prosecutors are seeking to prove that Burke, an indie-pop singer whose music and online presence brought him a huge following, met Rivas Hernandez when she was 11 and began a sexual relationship with her when she was 13 and he was 18.
They said in a court filing that she had grown jealous of his relationships with other women and threatened to expose him.
The court filing said Burke sent a car to pick up Rivas Hernandez on April 23, 2025, from her hometown of Lake Elsinore, California, some 80 miles (129 km) outside Los Angeles. They exchanged messages until she arrived at his home, after which her phone went dead. Prosecutors say he stabbed her when she arrived.
Tuesday’s first day of the preliminary hearing focused largely on what came after her death.
The lead investigator, Los Angeles police homicide detective Joshua Byers, testified that records showed Burke had ordered a body bag, chain saws, an inflatable pool and a shovel online, and most of the items were found in Burke’s garage when a search warrant was served.
Prosecutors say he dismembered her body in the garage, and kept it in the front trunk of his Tesla, where it was found after the car was towed 4 1/2 months later in September.
Byers testified that when he was called to the Hollywood tow yard, a body bag matching the one Burke had ordered contained a head and torso, with arms and legs underneath in garbage bags.
Photos of the body in the open trunk were shown in court as her parents, Jesus Rivas and Mercedes Martinez, sat in the audience. The two were back in the courtroom on Wednesday. They are not expected to testify at the hearing.
The defendant, who has been held without bail since his arrest, appeared in court in his orange jail clothes and glasses.
The financial witnesses testified that Burke’s music had earned him at least $10 million between 2023 and 2025.
Under the name D4vd (pronounced “David”), he began writing and recording songs for YouTube videos he created of the video game Fortnite as a teen.
The music was a blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. The music made him a phenomenon on TikTok, Soundcloud and Spotify, where his top songs, including his 2022 breakthrough “Romantic Homicide,” have more than a billion plays.
In 2023, he released two EPs and opened for SZA on tour. Last year, he performed at the Coachella music festival and released a full album that he was on tour promoting when the body was discovered.
