D4vd's Lawyer Called Celeste's Wounds WHAT?!
The preliminary hearing for David Anthony Burke, the musician performing as d4vd, has turned into a fight over what actually happened to fourteen-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez in the final minutes of her life — and how far a defense team will go to reframe it.
Attorney Blair Berk isn't disputing that Celeste died. She's disputing when her wounds happened, pressing the LA County medical examiner on whether the injuries could have occurred after she was already dead, then having a detective read text messages in which Celeste referenced hurting herself. It's a strategy built entirely around reasonable doubt, aimed squarely at a girl who has no way to respond to any of it.
The backdrop makes it harder to watch. A notarized consent form let Celeste travel internationally with Burke. Her family reportedly knew about the relationship, attending concerts and even church together. Her father has since denied any contact ever happened, a denial that contradicts sworn detective testimony.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, have built their own timeline: a twenty-one-minute gap between Celeste's Uber arrival and her phone going permanently silent. Three chainsaws recovered from Burke's home tested negative for blood and were never collected as evidence by LAPD. Burke's Interscope deal was worth as much as nineteen million dollars.
Burke has been held to answer on first-degree murder with special circumstances and additional charges tied to illegal conduct with Celeste and unlawful mutilation of her remains. He faces the death penalty and has pleaded not guilty. Arraignment is set for August 31st, and the legal maneuvering is only getting sharper from here.
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