Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s Family Sues Singer D4vd After the Teen’s Remains Were Found in His Tesla and Prosecutors Filed Murder Charges

LOS ANGELES, CA — The family of Celeste Rivas Hernandez has filed a civil lawsuit against singer D4vd, adding a new legal front to the case surrounding the teenager’s death. The complaint was accepted and stamped by Los Angeles County Superior Court, and ABC News confirmed the filing.

The suit accuses the artist, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, of a long list of abuses, including wrongful death, fatal stabbing, sexual battery, childhood assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and human trafficking. It also seeks damages for the family’s losses and for the harm they say Rivas Hernandez suffered.

The complaint does not set a dollar amount. Instead, it asks that damages be determined at trial, along with punitive damages.

Lawsuit expands beyond the singer to family members and business associates

The civil case does not stop with D4vd. It also names several people connected to him professionally and personally, including his mother, Colleen Burke, along with family members and business associates.

According to the complaint, Colleen Burke served as her son’s personal finance director. The suit also names the head of the music-management company that represented the singer and acted as his personal manager, his day-to-day manager who lived at the Hollywood Hills home, and a live-in security guard.

D4vd’s principal recording and entertainment company and his music-publishing company are also listed. An attorney for Colleen Burke declined to comment, and attempts by ABC News to reach the other individuals and businesses were unsuccessful.

From missing teen to homicide case in Los Angeles

The lawsuit lands against the backdrop of a criminal case that has already drawn national attention. In September 2025, badly decomposed and dismembered remains were found in the trunk of a Tesla registered to D4vd at an impound lot in Hollywood.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner identified the body as Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Prosecutors later said the teen had been killed after a months-long investigation into her disappearance and death.

A vigil was held Sept. 7 to honor the teenager, and the filing came just days after what would have been her 16th birthday. The timing gives the civil case added emotional weight for a family still grieving publicly.

What prosecutors say happened before her death

In the criminal case, prosecutors have alleged that D4vd and Rivas Hernandez began a sexual relationship in 2023, when he was 18 and she was 13. They say he killed her after she threatened to reveal the illegal relationship and damage his career.

Prosecutors also allege that an Uber brought Rivas Hernandez to the singer’s Hollywood Hills home on April 23, 2025, just as tickets for his world tour were about to go on sale. They say that was the last time she was seen alive.

According to prosecutors, the singer then took what they described as “ghoulish” steps to dismember her body. Those allegations remain part of the ongoing criminal case.

D4vd faces murder and abuse charges while pleading not guilty

D4vd was arrested and charged in criminal court in April in connection with Rivas Hernandez’s death. He is now being represented by a public defender.

He has pleaded not guilty to charges that include first-degree murder, sexual abuse of a child and unlawful mutilation of human remains. The criminal case and the civil lawsuit are proceeding on separate tracks, but both are centered on the same devastating allegations.

The civil complaint also says the family is seeking damages for the emotional distress they say they experienced after Rivas Hernandez’s death. By naming people around the singer as well as the companies tied to his career, the suit suggests the family intends to press a broad accountability claim.

Why the civil filing matters in a closely watched case

Civil lawsuits can move differently from criminal prosecutions, and this filing could open another path for testimony, records and financial claims tied to the case. For the family, it is also a formal way to seek compensation for what they describe as abuse, loss and trauma.

Because the complaint leaves damages to be decided at trial, the size of any potential award is still unknown. The case also keeps public attention on the broader circle around D4vd, including the managers and companies now named in court papers.

As the criminal case continues, the civil lawsuit adds another layer to a story that has already unfolded through arrest records, medical examiner findings and prosecutors’ allegations. For Rivas Hernandez’s family, it marks another step in a painful legal fight that began after her death and continues to widen.

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