Musician d4vd is being held instrict isolationat aLos Angeles jailthis week, after prosecutors charged him with first-degree murder and sexual offences over the death of 14-year-old fanCeleste Rivas Hernandez, and alleged he killed her to protect his rising career.
The news came after the 21-year-old American artist, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, was arraigned on Monday and entered a plea of not guilty to multiple counts, including first-degree murder and unlawful sexual activity with a minor. Hernandez, 14, was found dead earlier this month, and prosecutors say Burke's relationship with the teenager and the circumstances of her death will be at the centre of a trial that is likely to attract intense media scrutiny.
Court officials have confirmed Burke is facing a murder charge with 'special circumstances' attached, a legal designation used when prosecutors believe there was planning or particular aggravating factors. In this case, they are pointing to what they say was lying in wait, a financial motive and the killing of a potential witness — all of which, if upheld at trial, could dramatically increase the potential sentence.
D4vd appeared in court, and pled not guilty to first-degree murder charges in the tragic death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandezpic.twitter.com/qVxUsi7Mqk
According to material cited by TMZ, prosecutors claim Burke fatally attacked Hernandez with a sharp object after she allegedly threatened to reveal their relationship. Investigators reportedly believe that public exposure of that relationship could have damaged his career and opened the door to further criminal investigation into his conduct with a minor. None of these claims has been tested in court, and Burke's legal team has not yet laid out a detailed defence in public.
What is clear, though, is that authorities are treating this as a case involving a young, high-profile defendant whose image and fanbase form part of the story. Burke, known professionally as d4vd, broke out in recent years with melancholic tracks that travelled quickly across social media platforms, gaining him a devoted teenage following. That context is not lost on prosecutors as they talk about a possible 'career-saving' motive for the killing.
In case you missed it, TMZ reports that Burke has been classified by jail officials as a 'noteworthy' inmate because of the profile of the case. That label has practical consequences. Rather than being housed in the general prison population, he has been moved into a segregated unit and is kept entirely alone in a single cell.
His day-to-day existence, as described in those reports, is heavily regimented. He leaves his cell only under escort. Showers are permitted every other day, and on those same days he's allowed to make phone calls. On paper, that might sound bureaucratic. In practice, it means long stretches of near-total solitude broken only by brief, monitored contact with the outside world.
D4vd is reportedly being held in a segregated single cell with no TV, no visitors, and limited time outsideHe also has no money in his jail account, according to TMZpic.twitter.com/LEZkVFZ8B4
Recreation is sparse. Burke is said to receive just three hours of recreation time per week, and even then he is physically separated from other inmates and has no direct interaction with them. There is no television in his cell, no family visits for now, and no money sitting in his prison account to pay for small extras from the commissary. For a 21-year-old who, weeks ago, was touring and recording, it is a stark reversal of fortunes.
Source: International Business Times UK
