Singer D4vd lost his high-profile private lawyers Monday at a hearing where he entered a new not guilty plea to charges that he killed, sexually abused and dismembered 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
It’s not clear why Blair Berk and her colleagues Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter parted ways with the indie-pop singer whose legal name is David Anthony Burke. They were replaced by a lawyer from the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office.
The defence lawyers said in a statement only that the judge granted their request to withdraw after finding that Burke qualified for a court-appointed lawyer.
“We continue to support David and his defence against these serious charges,” the statement said. The lawyers would not answer specific questions about their departure outside the courtroom.
Burke earned at least US$10 million through his music from 2023 through 2025, according to testimony from his money handlers at a previous hearing. It’s not clear how he financially qualifies for a public defender whose job is to defend clients who lack the money for a lawyer.
Without providing details, the Public Defender’s Office said in an email that it had completed a thorough financial evaluation and found he was eligible.
Deputy Public Defender Walid Kandeel took over the defence. Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo denied his first request as the singer’s lawyer to delay the arraignment. Olmedo demanded a plea Monday instead, and scheduled a status conference for October. No trial date has been set.
Olmedo ruled after a five-day evidentiary hearing in July that there was enough evidence for Burke to stand trial on charges of murder, continuous lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains.
A second arraignment and plea, like Burke gave Monday, is standard practice after such a hearing and finding. He is eligible for the death penalty, but District Attorney Nathan Hochman said after Monday’s hearing that his office is still deciding whether to pursue it.
Hochman said the new lawyers will make no difference in how his office pursues the case, though the switch may delay the process. He said regardless of the timing, his office is “ready to prove all three charges beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Outgoing lawyer Berk has for years been among the go-to lawyers for A-list clients. They’ve included Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Harvey Weinstein and the late Ozzy Osbourne.
New lawyer Kandeel said in a statement that “We recognize the loss of life underlying the allegations and extend our sympathies to those who are grieving. At the same time, David Burke is entitled to a defence that takes his circumstances seriously and carefully examines the evidence.”
Nick Reiner, charged with killing his parents, the director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, recently lost a similarly prominent private lawyer in favour of a public defender because his source of money was cut off. He’s now seeking access to a trust so he can rehire the lawyer, Alan Jackson.
Authorities allege Burke stabbed Rivas Hernandez to death in April of last year after she threatened to expose sexual abuse that began when she was 13 and crater his rising career just days before his debut album dropped.
“i will end ur career and ur life,” she told him in a text message sent the night before her death.
