D4vd’s Record Deal Paid Out $7.5 Million Before Alleged Murder
Millions Disbursed Before Murder Arrest
The 21-year-old artist, legally named David Anthony Burke, faces charges including first-degree murder in the April 2025 death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
The financial figures emerged during the second day of a preliminary hearing at a Los Angeles court, where prosecutors are laying out evidence to demonstrate whether the case should proceed to trial. According to CBS News, a finance executive from Interscope Capitol testified that the label group disbursed over $7.5 million to the “Romantic Homicide” singer over the course of their professional agreement. Interscope and its imprint Darkroom signed D4vd after his track went viral on TikTok in 2022, but subsequently dropped him in December 2025 after investigators discovered Rivas’ body in a Tesla registered to the singer.
Career Preservation Alleged as Motive
Prosecutors contend that D4vd’s motive was safeguarding his lucrative music career. Investigators allege that Rivas threatened to expose their illegal sexual relationship just days before the scheduled release of D4vd’s debut album, Withered. To substantiate the theory that the defendant stood to lose millions if public scandal derailed his ascent, the prosecution presented detailed accounts of his earnings on Wednesday.
Adding to the financial ledger, a former financial point person at D4vd’s management firm, Mogul Vision, estimated on the witness stand that the singer generated gross career earnings between $10 million and $11.5 million. Those figures encompassed revenue streams from recording, publishing, and merchandise, according to reporting by Rolling Stone.
Physical Evidence and Police Findings
The preliminary hearing, which commenced on Tuesday, July 21, and is scheduled to run for multiple days, has centered heavily on physical evidence and police testimony. Investigating officers detailed findings showing that D4vd was the last person recorded driving his Tesla and that he ordered three chainsaws following the teenager’s death. Additional testimony revealed that Rivas’ passport was recovered from a highway roadside in Santa Barbara, California, in January.
Law enforcement authorities discovered Rivas’ decomposed and dismembered remains in September 2025 after the abandoned Tesla was towed to a Hollywood lot. Following an extensive investigation, the Los Angeles County District Attorney officially charged D4vd in April with first-degree murder, child sexual abuse, and mutilating a body. Court documents outline allegations that the relationship between the singer and the victim began when she was 13 and he was 18, and that he arranged an Uber to transport her to his residence on the night of the alleged killing.
Defense Response and Legal Standards
D4vd has entered a plea of not guilty to all counts. Defense counsel has maintained that they will vigorously contest the allegations in court. In an official statement released following the arrest, the defense team asserted that the actual evidence would prove David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death.
At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, the presiding judge will determine if the prosecution has satisfied the “probable cause” threshold required to move the criminal case toward trial. This standard remains distinct from the higher burden of proof—”beyond a reasonable doubt”—that would govern a jury trial should the proceedings advance.
Scrutiny in the Los Angeles Courtroom
As the preliminary proceedings continue in Los Angeles, the courtroom testimony underscores the high stakes surrounding the financial and personal life of the accused, leaving the judge to weigh whether the state’s evidence warrants a full trial.