Death Penalty News

⚠️ Some readers may find the following content distressing LOS ANGELES — A preliminary hearing could wrap up Monday in the case of singer D4vd, who is charged in the killing of a 14-year-old girl whose dismembered remains were found last year in the trunk of his Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard. The first four days of testimony in the hearing have featured sometimes-graphic images and testimony in which prosecutors have contended that the now-21-year-old singer, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, killed Celeste Rivas Hernandez to prevent her from going public about his sexual relationship with the underage girl, potentially damaging or destroying his burgeoning music career. On Friday, Los Angeles Police Department Robbery-Homicide Detective Corey Farell testified that Burke had a series of sexually explicit photos on his cellphone of Celeste, with some images depicting him and the teen engaged in sexual activity. Farell also said he reviewed a series of text messages between the two...

Billboard is tracking developments in the singer's criminal case for allegedly killing the 14-year-old and dismembering her body. D4vd, the 21-year-old pop singer made famous by his 2022 hit “Romantic Homicide,” is facing first-degree murder charges for allegedly killing and dismembering the body of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Prosecutors claim the musician, born David Anthony Burke, was having an illegal sexual relationship with the teenager and murdered her after she “threatened to expose his criminal conduct and devastate his musical career.”

(NewsNation) — Prosecutors say they will consider several factors before determining whether they will seek the death penalty for singer D4vd, who is charged with killing 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.  The singer, whose real name is David Burke, is charged with first-degree murder with special circumstances, lewd and lascivious acts with an individual under 14 and mutilating a body. Burke has pleaded not guilty to all charges. 

HOLLYWOOD HILLS—David Anthony Burke, known by his stage name D4VD, is eligible to receive both life in prison and the death penalty for his alleged involvement in the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.  Burke is facing first-degree murder with special circumstances, lewd and lascivious acts with an individual under 14, and mutilating a body. The special circumstances include lying in wait for the victim, committing the crime for financial gain, and murdering a witness in an investigation.

LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- Attorneys told a judge Tuesday they are ready to go forward with a multi-day hearing later this month for singer D4vd, who is charged with murdering a 14-year-old girl whose dismembered body was found in the trunk of his Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard. During the hearing set to begin July 21, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo will determine if there is sufficient evidence to allow the case against the 21-year-old singer—whose real name is David Anthony Burke—to proceed to trial. One of Burke's attorneys, Blair Berk, indicated Tuesday the defense would be ready for the upcoming hearing, following a series of requested postponements.

D4vd secures another court delay in his murder case, pushing the probable cause hearing to July 21 as his legal team reviews mounting evidence. D4vd walked into the Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday in an orange jail uniform and waist shackles, his legal team already preparing for another delay in what’s becoming a pattern of postponements in his murder case. The platinum-selling “Romantic Homicide” singer, 21, received his third hearing delay after his defense team requested additional time to review evidence, pushing the probable cause hearing from June 29 to July 21 with a status conference scheduled for July 7.

⚠️ Some readers may find the following content distressing. Prosecutors have put forward worrying new details in their case against US singer D4vd. It comes after the Los Angeles Police Department arrested the 21-year-old star on 16 April in connection with the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Prosecutors allege that Burke met Celeste when she was just 11, and claim that he started sexually abusing her when she was 13 and he was 18.

Singer, 21, could face death penalty after being charged with murder of 14-year-old Video game Fortnite is approving refunds for any D4vd cosmetics after the singer, 21, was charged with the sexual abuse, murder and mutilation of a 14-year-old girl. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. The game first collaborated with D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, in 2024, initially releasing an emote to his track “Feel It” before releasing Fortnite’s first official anthem with Burke, titled “Locked and Loaded”, the following year.

OCALA, Fla. — State prosecutors announced Thursday they will seek the death penalty against a Citra man accused of the 2024 killing of a 3-year-old child, following the filing of a new capital charge. Jeroen Coombs, 37, appeared in a Marion County courtroom where the state formalized its intent to pursue the execution of the defendant. The notice of intent follows a grand jury indictment that now includes sexual battery on a child under the age of 12.  Coombs was already facing counts of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in connection with the toddler's death. Court records do not explicitly state whether the supplemental sexual battery charge involves the deceased victim or a separate individual. Under Florida’s current capital sentencing statutes, the presence of certain aggravating factors—including the age of the victim and the commission of a felony such as sexual battery during a homicide—allows the state to seek the highest penalty under the law. The case has mo...

US musician D4vd has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder in the death of a teenage girl who vanished last year. The singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, is accused of murdering 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose remains were found in September in a Tesla registered to his Texas address. Burke, 21, also was charged with murder for "financial gain" and with murder of a witness to an investigation, the Los Angeles district attorney said. He did not speak during his arraignment on Monday – his first court appearance since his arrest last week. His lawyers entered his plea on his behalf.

LOS ANGELES —Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced today that musician David Anthony Burke, professionally known as "d4vd," has been charged with the murder of 14-year-old Celeste R. The victim’s decomposed and dismembered remains were discovered in Burke's impounded vehicle in September 2025. “Celeste was just a child when David Burke allegedly engaged in repeated lewd and lascivious sexual relations with her,” Hochman said. “But Burke’s actions did not allegedly stop there. When she threatened to expose his criminal conduct and devastate his musical career, Burke allegedly murdered her, dismembered her body, and placed the remains in two bags in the front trunk of his car.”

A Lincoln County man pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of murder in the killings of his father and uncle, forgoing a trial where he planned to argue that years of childhood sexual abuse by the victims contributed to his actions. Brandon Mullins, 27, of Eubank, Ky., entered the plea in Lincoln Circuit Court as part of an agreement with prosecutors. He will serve 40 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced in April. The bodies of Mullins' father, Dennis “Ed” Mullins, 57, and uncle, Anthony Mullins, 55, were discovered inside a trailer on Sandidge Spur Road in Eubank in what authorities described as a double homicide. Mullins faced additional charges including tampering with physical evidence.

Senate bill would reinstate death penalty in West Virginia  A bill moving in the West Virginia Senate would reinstate the death penalty for people convicted of 1t-degree murder and 1t-degree sexual abuse of children in the same proceeding.  The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Senate Bill 1037 Thursday afternoon.  The committee heard the testimony of Jackson County Sheriff Ross Mellinger about the 2016 sexual assault and murder of nine-month-old Emmaleigh Barringer. 

Florida executes suspected serial killer once eyed for possible link to the OJ Simpson case  A suspected serial killer once scrutinized for a possible link to the O.J. Simpson case that riveted the nation in the 1990s was executed Thursday in Florida for the murder of a woman found dead in a Tampa motel room.  Glen Rogers, 62, received a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke and was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m., authorities said. He was convicted in Florida of the 1995 murder of Tina Marie Cribbs, a 34-year-old mother of 2 he had met at a bar.

Widely supported in the Idaho Legislature, the bill is likely to face a constitutional challenge, lawmakers acknowledge. But they are hopeful law will prevail. Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed into law a bill to make people who sexually abuse young children in Idaho eligible for the death penalty.  House Bill 380 will allow the death penalty in a new criminal charge the bill creates: aggravated lewd conduct with children age 12 and younger. The bill also would add mandatory minimum prison sentences for cases of aggravated lewd conduct with minors that don’t meet the bill’s proposed criteria for death penalty eligibility. The new crime would only apply to abuse of children age 16 and below. 

Decades after they were sentenced to life without parole for murdering their parents, the Menendez brothers may have a route to freedom. But what is their case, is there new evidence and why has a decision been delayed? The Menendez brothers, who were convicted of killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989, will soon find out if they can be released from prison. Lyle Menendez, 56, and his 53-year-old brother Erik are serving life in prison without parole for the shotgun murders of their father and mother - Jose and Kitty Menendez.

More than three decades after Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted of the murders of their parents and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the brothers now see a path to their potential release. Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón on Friday will recommend that a judge resentence the siblings – a decision that was the culmination of a review that came after defense attorneys said in 2023 they had new evidence pointing to abuse by their father.

The convictions of Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were jailed more than three decades ago for the murder of their parents in the US, are set to be reviewed. The brothers shot Jose and Kitty Menendez at their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989, in what prosecutors said was a plot to inherit their father's fortune. On Thursday, LA County district attorney George Gascon said there was "a moral and an ethical obligation" to review evidence submitted by the brothers last year, which claimed they were sexually abused by their father and acted in self-defence.

Texas executed Ramiro Gonzales on Wednesday despite a stunning reversal from a psychiatrist who helped send him to death row 17 years ago.  Gonzales, 41, was killed by lethal injection as punishment for kidnapping, raping and murdering Bridget Townsend when they were both 18. At the time, Gonzales was struggling with drug addiction. He killed Townsend, his drug dealer’s girlfriend, while trying to steal drugs. He had turned 18 two months before the killing, making him barely old enough to be legally eligible to be sentenced to death.

Ramiro Gonzales is due to be executed by Texas on June 26 In 2006, Ramiro Gonzales was sentenced to death in Texas as punishment for kidnapping, raping and killing Bridget Townsend when they were both 18 years old. There were indications that Gonzales did not represent the “worst of the worst” kind of criminal that the death penalty is supposedly reserved for. Like many on death row, he endured horrific abuse and neglect as a child. He turned to drugs and alcohol as a teen to cope; he killed Townsend, his drug dealer’s girlfriend, while trying to steal drugs.