Overview
- Court officials and both sides told a judge on July 7 that they are ready to begin a multi-day preliminary hearing on July 21 to decide if David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd, will stand trial; he remains jailed without bail and has pleaded not guilty.
- The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide from multiple penetrating injuries, and prosecutors allege Burke stabbed 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, then dismembered her and used purchased tools to dispose of her body.
- Prosecutors have produced massive digital discovery, with more than 10 terabytes already turned over and overall material possibly exceeding 40 terabytes, a volume that has driven earlier scheduling delays and required continued uploads to the defense.
- Los Angeles County’s Department of Human Resources has opened a personnel probe that orders more than a dozen Medical Examiner employees to recorded interviews to determine whether they improperly accessed or leaked sealed autopsy and case files.
- The complaint includes special‑circumstance allegations — lying in wait, murder for financial gain and killing a witness — that could expose Burke to life without parole or the death penalty and that prosecutors have not yet said whether they will seek.