Texts recovered from singer David Anthony Burke’s phone and displayed in court show that Celeste Rivas Hernandez once demanded ten thousand dollars from him with the exact message “Give me 10 bands right now,” after which he transferred nine thousand dollars through Apple Cash.
The details surfaced during detective testimony on Friday July 24 2026 as part of the ongoing preliminary hearing in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Prosecutors and an LAPD detective presented the digital records extracted from Burke’s iPhone and iCloud data, including the full text exchange and the accompanying Apple Cash interface that confirmed the nine thousand dollar transfer. Screenshots of those messages and the payment confirmation were shown in open court and later circulated widely after the session.
Burke, known professionally as D4vd and now twenty one years old, has been charged with first degree murder along with continuous sexual abuse of a child under fourteen and related counts stemming from the death of fourteen year old Celeste Abigail Rivas Hernandez of Lake Elsinore. He has pleaded not guilty. The recovered messages form one portion of a larger set of communications spanning from late 2023 through early 2025 that also include discussions of a pregnancy and an abortion that took place when Rivas Hernandez was thirteen, plans for shared living arrangements, and expressions of frustration about the relationship itself.
Financial transfers of this scale appear against the backdrop of Burke’s rising career, which court testimony from money managers placed in the range of more than ten million dollars in earnings between 2023 and 2025 from streaming deals and performances. Prosecutors maintain that the overall relationship threatened that success once concerns about publicity arose, supplying the alleged motive connected to the events of April 2025. The nine thousand dollar payment therefore supplies a concrete illustration of the economic exchanges that occurred alongside the personal messages.
The presentation of these specific records highlights the power imbalance visible in the digital trail between an established adult artist and a minor who repeatedly requested substantial sums. While the defense continues to contest the broader narrative and the weight of other evidence, the authenticated phone data offers a direct window into the pattern of contact and support that prosecutors say lasted for years. Full context of the phone extractions and hearing exhibits can be examined through public case summaries and detailed testimony accounts, with additional career background available in standard biographical references and investigation timelines compiled in procedural overviews.
The preliminary hearing is expected to wrap within days, after which the judge will rule on whether the evidence meets the threshold to proceed to a full trial. All allegations remain unproven until a final adjudication occurs.
