D4vd, the singer now potentially facing the death penalty in the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, is being held at the same jail as Nick Reiner, who could meet the same fate after authorities say he killed his parents Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner in cold blood.
The 21-year-old “Romantic Homicide” singer, born David Anthony Burke, was transferred Wednesday to Twin Towers Correctional Facility, where he is being held without bail, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office’s online records. Burke, who was initially placed in segregation at Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail due to his celebrity, is scheduled to appear in court Thursday at 8:30 a.m. local time.
Rivas’ dismembered and decomposing remains were found in a car registered to the Queens-born internet star back in September, months after authorities say she was murdered.
Burke pleaded not guilty Monday when he was formally charged with first degree murder with special circumstances of “lying in wait, committing this crime for financial gain, or murdering a witness in an investigation,” said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman. The D.A.’s Office also referred to a special allegation of Burke having personally used “a deadly and dangerous weapon, a sharp instrument” in the slaying of the young runaway.
Burke faces a maximum penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole, or — if the D.A.’s office decides to seek it — the death penalty.
In mid-December, 32-year-old Reiner was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, with a special allegation he used a dangerous weapon to murder the beloved director, 78, and 70-year-old photographer at their Los Angeles home. He was promptly put in solitary confinement and on suicide watch at the downtown L.A. jail. Reiner has since pleaded not guilty, as Hochman’s office decides whether to seek the death penalty.