D4vd’s legal team is “stopping at nothing” in their efforts to discredit the evidence in the singer’s murder case, so says the attorney representing the family of the alleged teen victim, Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
Speaking to reporters outside a Los Angeles courtroom on Monday (July 27), attorney Patrick Steinfeld, representing Rivas Hernandez’s family, said his clients are “grateful” for the continued news coverage, but “horrified” by the narrative he says is being pushed by the defense.
“The defense attorneys brought up some evidence that was deemed inadmissible at this preliminary hearing,” Steinfeld said Monday, as seen in the Associated Press-shared video below. “They made allegations that didn't have any evidentiary basis, including the assertion that Celeste may have committed suicide or that Celeste was violent. I personally found that very disturbing. It seems that the defense attorneys are stopping at nothing in an attempt to discredit the prosecution's evidence.”
Steinfeld continued: “The family was horrified that the defense attorneys brought up evidence to put the blame on a 14-year-old child. I want you to remember February 17th, 2024. That is when a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy did a welfare check on the home of David Anthony Burke [D4vd], and informed David that Celeste Rivas was 13 years old. David Anthony Burke has taken the position that Celeste said she was 18 [and] he didn't know she was a child. But he knew because he was told in February of 2024 that Celeste was only 13 years old.”
As Steinfeld sees it, this case—which finds the Withered artist charged with murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains—hinges on a “strict liability” argument.
“He does not have a defense,” Steinfeld added. “However, he had direct knowledge of Celeste’s age and continued in their sexual relationship. So, I find it abhorrent that the defense attorneys are trying to put any blame whatsoever on this young child.”
Steinfeld also specifically referenced “Romantic Homicide,” a 2022 D4vd song that peaked at No. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
“Only a sick, disturbed mind like David Anthony Burke would think that a homicide is romantic,” he said.
Following a five-day preliminary hearing, D4vd has been ordered to stand trial. Next up is a post-preliminary arraignment on Aug. 31. In media comments shared Monday, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said what his office presented during the preliminary hearing phase represented merely a “small but illustrative” excerpt from a larger trove of evidence.
“This has been a parent’s worst nightmare, hearing the ghoulish details of how their child was killed, dismembered, and left as trash,” Hochman added.
