Singer D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, faced a court hearing on April 23 where prosecutors alleged they found a large cache of child sexual abuse material linked to his iCloud account. According to NBC News, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman stated that investigators have discovered a "significant amount" of such images, with only one terabyte of the eight-terabyte account downloaded so far.
The hearing came three days after D4vd was formally charged with the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, along with continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains. The singer has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Prosecutors noted that because of the sensitive nature of the images, they cannot be turned over to the defense directly. Instead, D4vd's legal team will be allowed to review the evidence on a secure computer at the justice center.
D4vd's attorneys, Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski, and Regina Peter, previously issued a statement declaring their client's innocence in Hernandez's death. "The actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death," they said. "We will vigorously defend David's innocence."
Hernandez's family was absent from the court appearance. Through their attorney, they told TMZ they were suffering "profound emotional pain" after reviewing the autopsy findings released on April 22. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's office determined that the cause of death was "multiple penetrating injuries caused by object(s)" and ruled the manner a homicide. The autopsy also found traces of benzodiazepines and methamphetamine/MDMA in her system.
D4vd was arrested on April 16, seven months after Hernandez's remains were found in a Tesla registered in his name. The criminal complaint includes a special allegation that he "personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon, a sharp instrument, to commit the crime."
District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman described the case in an April 20 press release, stating that the alleged crimes began when Hernandez was under 14. "When she threatened to expose his criminal conduct and devastate his musical career, Burke allegedly murdered her, cut up her body and stuffed her body in tw..."
E! News has reached out to D4vd's attorneys for comment but has not received a response.