Singer D4vd loses prominent lawyers defending him in killing of 14-year-old

Singer D4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, has lost his high-profile private lawyers. At a hearing, he entered a not guilty plea to charges that he killed, sexually abused, and dismembered 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.

D4vd's lawyers, Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski, and Regina Peter, parted ways with him and were replaced by a lawyer from the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office. According to a statement from the lawyers, the judge granted their request to withdraw after finding that Burke qualified for a court-appointed lawyer.

The Associated Press reports that D4vd earned at least $10 million through his music from 2023 through 2025. It is unclear how he financially qualifies for a public defender. The Public Defender's Office did not provide details on this matter.

Brief written by urgent.news from PBS NewsHour, Associated Press — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.