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Singer D4vd continued to profit off of his record deal in the months after he allegedly killed Celeste Rivas.
D4vd, real name David Burke, was back in court Wednesday for a preliminary hearing in Rivas’ brutal murder.
The singer’s finances, specifically related to his music deal with Interscope, were laid out in the courtroom by Lewis Poimiroo, the senior vice president, finance for Interscope.
D4vd had multiple LLCs setup for his merchandising and publishing, according to Poimiroo, who stated the singer generated the following each year:
2022: $950K
2023: $3.869M
2024: $186K
2025: $2.77M
2026: No payments
Prosecutors claimed Burke killed Rivas in April 2025, stabbing her to death in his Hollywood home and cutting her body into pieces with a saw he purchased online.
Benjamin Greger, a member of Burke’s management team, was also on the stand Wednesday. Greger revealed plane tickets were bought by Burke to take Rivas to London and Texas. The prosecution also alleged the singer had a security guard who drove the pair to clubs where Rivas used a fake ID.
Burke’s preliminary hearing started Tuesday with dramatic testimony from a detective who was one of the first on the scene when Rivas’ dismembered body was found in Burke’s Tesla at a Hollywood tow lot.
“There were maggots, there were flies,” recalled Detective Joshua Byers. “I don’t know how to describe the other liquid matter.”
Several photos showed the young girl’s dismembered body, including arms and legs in a trash bag, a head and torso in a body bag, and severed hands with missing fingers.
“The trunk was open and there was a partially unzipped body bag with torso and head,” Byers told the court. “Missing extremities at the time.”
Rivas’ parents sat only feet from D4vd as the evidence was displayed. Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman also looked on from the front row. He later addressed the media outside the courthouse where he made it clear that the death penalty was still on the table for Burke.
Burke has been charged with first-degree murder with special circumstances — lying in wait, murder of a witness to an investigation and murder for financial gain.
Additionally, he was also charged with lewd and lascivious sexual acts with an individual under 14 years old, and for mutilating the human remains of a body.
According to legal documents obtained by The California Post, D4vd ordered an Uber to deliver Rivas from her family home in Lake Elsinore to his Hollywood Hills home on the night of April 23, 2025.
He then stabbed her and stood by while she bled to death, prosecutors claim.
The preliminary hearing is expected to last from three to five days and will determine whether Burke will face a trial possible next year.
English (US)