D4vd pleads not guilty in murder case as his high-profile lawyers pull out of defending him

D4vd has pleaded not guilty to murdering 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, and his high-profile lawyers have withdrawn from defending him.

The singer, real name David Anthony Burke has been accused by prosecutors of killing Hernandez and dismembering her body with a chainsaw in his garage after buying tools online .

On April 20, he was charged with her murder .

He previously pleaded not guilty to murdering and sexually abusing the teen, whose remains had been found severely decomposed in the front boot of a Tesla registered to Burke last September .

After a five-day preliminary hearing at the end of July, where Los Angeles prosecutors questioned a dozen witnesses and displayed photographic evidence as the teenager’s family attended court, a judge ruled that Burke would go on trial for the murder.

Now, appearing in a Los Angeles court on Monday (August 31), Burke pleaded not guilty to the murder charges.

His high-profile lawyers, Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter, have also confirmed that they will no longer be representing the singer, as they have had their request to withdraw from the case approved by the court.

TMZ reports D4vd's attorneys have withdrawn from his case ahead of his October 19 court date.

A public defender has since been appointed, citing indigent status. (lack of funds) pic.twitter.com/6T9DQ4T12y — Pop Base (@PopBase) August 31, 2026 A lawyer from the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office will now be representing Burke, the statement from the lawyers clarified, and they added that they will “continue to support David and his defence against these serious charges”.

“We are grateful that the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office has taken over the representation and that David has a highly capable and committed team of attorneys and investigators behind him,” the statement continued (as per BBC News ).

Rolling Stone reported that, after the hearing, Bednarski shared that there “is no conflict” and that the decision was made by Burke.

Blair Berk, who led the legal team, has previously represented big names including Lindsay Lohan , Mel Gibson , Britney Spears and Harvey Weinstein .

Los Angeles County Public Defender Walid Kandeel, Burke’s new lawyer, has requested to delay the singer’s arraignment so that he could review transcripts in the case, although this was denied by Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo.

The judge shared that the three counts in the new charging document are the “same [as the] three in the complaint” and that the case is “not particularly complicated”.