Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo ruled that evidence presented during the preliminary hearing provided probable cause for a trial.
Burke is charged with murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains.
“The people have met their burden on all counts,” Judge Olmedo said.
She found that prosecutors met the threshold for the charge of murder with special circumstances, including lying in wait, motive for financial gain and eliminating a witness.
Following the hearing, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said his office only presented a fraction of the evidence it had against Burke, and that it would present everything in the coming trial.
Hochman also said his office had not yet determined if it would pursue the death penalty against Burke.
Gruesome images of the girl’s dismembered corpse were shown in court during the preliminary hearing.
A homicide detective testified that Burke had ordered a body bag, chainsaws, an inflatable pool and a shovel online in the days after Celeste’s death.
Prosecutors highlighted records that revealed Burke ordered chainsaws and a shovel to his residence after April 23. They allege he used a chainsaw to dismember Hernadez’s body.
However, Los Angeles Police Department criminalist Lauren Wallace testified that the chainsaws found in his garage tested negative for the presence of blood and were not tested for DNA thereafter, a point the defence highlighted in their attempt to prove the evidence presented was inconclusive.
However, investigators were unable to locate a third, 10-inch Makita chainsaw, which prosecutors claim Burke also ordered following Hernandez’s death.
The BBC’s Fame Under Fire podcast brings you the latest from inside the Los Angeles courtroom at the D4vd preliminary hearing.
