Overview
- The 21-year-old singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, was arraigned Monday in Los Angeles, pleaded not guilty through counsel, and was ordered held without bail.
- Charges include first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains, according to the felony complaint.
- Investigators say Celeste Rivas Hernandez was last known alive on April 23, 2025 at Burke’s Hollywood Hills home, and that her dismembered remains were found September 8, 2025 in two bags in the front trunk of a Tesla registered to him.
- Prosecutors filed special-circumstance allegations of lying in wait, killing a witness, and murder for financial gain, which make Burke eligible for life without parole or a possible death sentence if convicted.
- Defense lawyers deny Burke killed Celeste and seek a swift evidentiary hearing, while authorities say decomposition and a sealed grand jury probe explain the months it took to assemble forensic and digital evidence.