{"id":5678,"date":"2026-07-23T22:22:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T22:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/07\/23\/d4vd-lawyers-challenge-police-testing-of-evidence-found-in-singers-home\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T22:22:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T22:22:29","slug":"d4vd-lawyers-challenge-police-testing-of-evidence-found-in-singers-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=5678","title":{"rendered":"D4vd lawyers challenge police testing of evidence found in singer\u2019s home"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"919b29b4-e3d8-4be9-b2ca-0bd1d6b19d3c\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A courtroom sketch shows David Anthony Burke in an orange jail uniform wearing glasses\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/d33c4e4e4368ef99aa0d772654bde452382330a0\/0_0_6000_4000\/master\/6000.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"310\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd, has been charged with the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez.<\/span> Photograph: Bill Robles\/AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"919b29b4-e3d8-4be9-b2ca-0bd1d6b19d3c\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd, has been charged with the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez.<\/span> Photograph: Bill Robles\/AP<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">D4vd lawyers challenge police testing of evidence found in singer\u2019s home<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>Defense attorneys question LAPD criminalist on third day of hearing to decide whether singer will stand trial<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Attorneys for the singer D4vd scrutinized how law enforcement officials chose to test evidence found in his home during the third day of a hearing to determine whether he will stand trial for murder and child sexual abuse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Prosecutors say D4vd, born David Anthony Burke, fatally stabbed 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez last year to prevent her from exposing the sexual nature of their relationship amid his rising profile in the music world.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Burke has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, \u201clewd and lascivious acts\u201d with a child under 14, and mutilation of human remains.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Earlier in the week, prosecutors presented evidence that possible traces of blood were detected in areas of Burke\u2019s former Hollywood Hills residence and his Tesla.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">On Thursday, defense attorney Blair Berk questioned Lauren Wallace, a criminalist for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/los-angeles\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Los Angeles<\/a> police department, about why certain items, including chainsaws located in the musician\u2019s garage, were not tested.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Berk appeared to suggest that another individual\u2019s DNA could have been detected.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cYou were aware that multiple people lived at this residence, right?\u201d she asked Wallace, in reference to the Hollywood Hills address, where the singer resided.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cYes, we were aware,\u201d Wallace said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The exchange previewed how Burke\u2019s lawyers might aim to poke holes in the prosecution\u2019s case should it proceed to trial.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">On Wednesday, Sean Buenrostro, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/california\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">California<\/a> highway patrol officer, testified about a Caltrans worker finding a passport bearing Rivas Hernandez\u2019s name and photograph in January 2026 on a dirt embankment off State Route 154 in Santa Barbara. Buenrostro arrived on scene after the worker called law enforcement about the identification card.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">During cross-examination, defense attorney Regina Peter appeared to cast doubt on possible theories of how the passport landed there: \u201cDid you do anything to rule out the possibility that the card arrived there by means of some sort of storm or weather issue?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Prosecutors brought a detective to the stand on Thursday who testified that cellular data and a Tesla system showed Burke traveled to the area where Rivas Hernandez\u2019s passport was discovered.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The hearing is expected to conclude by early next week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\"><em>The Associated Press contributed reporting<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/los-angeles\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Los Angeles<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/california\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">California<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/west-coast\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">West Coast<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=D4vd%20lawyers%20challenge%20police%20testing%20of%20evidence%20found%20in%20singer%E2%80%99s%20home&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jul\/23\/d4vd-singer-police-evidence-hearing?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fjul%2F23%2Fd4vd-singer-police-evidence-hearing&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/jul\/23\/d4vd-singer-police-evidence-hearing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1kq7f60\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd, has been charged with the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Photograph: Bill<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}