The family of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez has officially moved forward with its civil case against singer D4vd, with the lawsuit now filed, accepted and stamped by the court.
The civil complaint also names members of D4vd’s family, along with several business associates connected to the artist.
D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, is facing a murder charge in criminal court and is accused of having an unlawful sexual relationship with Rivas-Hernandez while she was a minor. Authorities allege he killed the teenager, allowed her to bleed out and later dismembered her body in an effort to keep their alleged relationship from becoming public and damaging his fast-rising music career last year.
On Sunday, one day before what would have been Celeste’s 16th birthday, her family shared a new photo of her and issued an emotional statement, saying in part that the death penalty for D4vd “would be perfect for this kind of human being, devoid of feelings and emptiness inside, and without conscience.”
“But that’s not in our hands, but rather in God’s, and the California justice system,” the family’s statement continued.
The last execution in the state of California happened two decades ago.
Singer D4vd is now being represented by a public defender after his previous lawyers withdrew from his murder case last week.
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Celeste was just 14 when prosecutors say her then-boyfriend, David Anthony Burke, murdered her and left her dismembered body in his car in 2025.
Burke is behind bars and has been ordered to stand trial on a murder charge in her death. The 21-year-old has pleaded not guilty and is due back in court next month.
In July, a judge ordered him to stand trial after hearing evidence and days of testimony during a preliminary hearing. In the hearing, photos of Celeste’s decomposing remains were shown to the court.
After D4vd was dropped by his attorneys and assigned a public defender, Celeste’s family issued a statement, claiming he is not indigent (cannot afford to pay for a private lawyer), but is instead hiding his money in various corporations.
The family expressed doubt about his financial situation, citing his billions of streams and monthly listeners on music streaming platforms.
“The residents of Los Angeles County should be outraged because it will be the taxpayers that are picking the tab to defend this millionaire…,” the family’s statement read, in part. “Perhaps he would have money if he just asked one of his corporations, or if he had not fraudulently transferred assets to his mother/manager Colleen Burke.”
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