Singer D4vd loses prominent lawyers defending him in killing of
14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez
[September 01, 2026]
By ANDREW DALTON
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Singer D4vd lost his high-profile private lawyers
Monday at a hearing where he entered a new not guilty plea to charges
that he killed, sexually abused and dismembered 14-year-old Celeste
Rivas Hernandez.
It's not clear why Blair Berk and her colleagues Marilyn Bednarski and
Regina Peter parted ways with the indie-pop singer whose legal name is
David Anthony Burke. They were replaced by a lawyer from the Los Angeles
County Public Defender's Office.
The defense attorneys said in a statement only that the judge granted
their request to withdraw after finding that Burke qualified for a
court-appointed lawyer.
“We continue to support David and his defense against these serious
charges,” the statement said. The lawyers would not answer specific
questions about their departure outside the courtroom.
Burke earned at least $10 million through his music from 2023 through
2025, according to testimony from his money handlers at a previous
hearing. It’s not clear how he financially qualifies for a public
defender whose job is to defend clients who lack the money for a lawyer.
Without providing details, the Public Defender's Office said in an email
that it had completed a thorough financial evaluation and found he was
eligible.
Deputy Public Defender Walid Kandeel took over the defense. Judge
Charlaine F. Olmedo denied his first request as the singer's lawyer to
delay the arraignment. Olmedo demanded a plea Monday instead, and
scheduled a status conference for October. No trial date has been set.
Olmedo ruled after a five-day evidentiary hearing in July that there was
enough evidence for Burke to stand trial on charges of murder,
continuous lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 and unlawful
mutilation of human remains.
A second arraignment and plea, like Burke gave Monday, is standard
practice after such a hearing and finding. He is eligible for the death
penalty, but District Attorney Nathan Hochman said after Monday's
hearing that his office is still deciding whether to pursue it.
Hochman said the new lawyers will make no difference in how his office
pursues the case, though the switch may delay the process. He said
regardless of the timing, his office is “ready to prove all three
charges beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Outgoing attorney Berk has for years been among the go-to lawyers for
A-list clients. They’ve included Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Aniston,
Reese Witherspoon, Harvey Weinstein and the late Ozzy Osbourne.
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David Anthony Burke, whose stage name is D4vd, is arraigned in Los
Angeles, April 20, 2026, on charges of killing a 14-year-old girl
whose dismembered body was found in his car. (Ted Soqui/Pool Photo
via AP, File)
 New attorney Kandeel said in a
statement that “We recognize the loss of life underlying the
allegations and extend our sympathies to those who are grieving. At
the same time, David Burke is entitled to a defense that takes his
circumstances seriously and carefully examines the evidence.”
Nick Reiner, charged with killing his parents, the director Rob
Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, recently lost a similarly
prominent private lawyer in favor of a public defender because his
source of money was cut off. He’s now seeking access to a trust so
he can rehire the attorney, Alan Jackson.
Authorities allege Burke stabbed Rivas Hernandez to death in April
of last year after she threatened to expose sexual abuse that began
when she was 13 and crater his rising career just days before his
debut album dropped.
“i will end ur career and ur life,” she told him in a text message
sent the night before her death.
Prosecutors said the following night Burke sent an Uber for her and
stabbed her when she entered his house. They presented evidence that
her phone went permanently silent at that moment.
Rivas Hernandez’s dismembered and decomposing body was found in the
trunk of Burke’s Tesla in the Hollywood Hills in September while he
was on tour.
Prosecutors argued at the July hearing that the “mountains of
evidence” they presented were overwhelming. Burke’s lawyers argued
that the evidence of murder was insufficient.
D4vd (pronounced “David”) became an online musical phenomenon as a
teen with a blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. He had huge
followings on TikTok, SoundCloud and Spotify, where his top songs,
including his 2022 breakthrough “Romantic Homicide,” have more than
a billion plays.
In 2024, he played the Coachella music festival and released his
first full-length album, “Withered,” two days after authorities say
Rivas Hernandez was killed.
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