Singer D4vd’s phone allegedly contained a “significant” amount of child pornography, prosecutors told a court on Thursday, as the 21-year-old spoke publicly for the first time since being charged with the murder of a 14-year-old girl.
D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, has been charged with first-degree murder over the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. He appeared in court wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, shackled to his chair.
During the hearing, his lawyer Marilyn Bednarski requested that preliminary proceedings begin, prompting the singer to briefly address the court.
“Yes ma’am,” D4vd said after Judge Charlaine F Olmedo outlined his right to continue with the hearing and asked whether he was comfortable with his lawyer handling other cases at the same time.
Prosecutor Beth Silverman told the court that investigators had uncovered disturbing material on the singer’s phone.
“He had an iPhone and it contained a significant amount of child pornography and, under the law, child porn cannot be obtained without certain precautions in place,” she said.
It remains unclear whether the alleged material is connected to the victim.
Ms Silverman added that the content could not simply be handed over to the defence, explaining: “I cannot turn that type of material over.”
His lawyer, Ms Bednarski, said the defence was not expecting immediate access to all evidence but wanted key material disclosed without delay.
“We are asking for the basic physical evidence. We believe the court has inherent authority to control the process of the prelim and proceed without delay. … They arrested Mr. Burke last Thursday, and he is still in custody. We don’t see a reason for them not to produce it,” she said.
Prosecutors told the court they expect the preliminary hearing to take four to five days.
Court documents filed earlier this week allege Burke killed Ms Rivas Hernandez for financial gain and used a “sharp instrument”. Authorities also claim he acted to protect his music career from being damaged by the exposure of an alleged relationship with the teenager.
According to the Daily Mail, the documents further allege the 14-year-old was a potential witness in an investigation and “was intentionally killed because of that fact”.
Rivas Hernandez’s body was found in the front trunk of a Tesla that had been towed from the Hollywood Hills in September last year. The vehicle was reportedly registered to Burke’s address in Texas.
An autopsy found she suffered knife wounds to her chest and liver, and that parts of her body had been mutilated.
Burke has also been charged with continuous lewd acts with a person under 14 and mutilating human remains. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts and is being held without bail.
Prosecutors allege the teenager had been subjected to ongoing sexual abuse for at least a year, from September 2023 to September 2024.
The case carries the possibility of life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty if he is convicted.
D4vd rose to fame after going viral on TikTok in 2022, later collaborating with major artists and launching a tour that was cancelled following the discovery of the teenager’s body.
He is due back in court on April 29.
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