Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s Family Sues D4vd, Naming Relatives, Managers and Companies in a Wrongful Death Case Tied to the Teen’s 2025 Death

LOS ANGELES, CA — The family of Celeste Rivas Hernandez has filed a civil lawsuit against singer D4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, adding a new layer to the legal fight surrounding the teenager’s death. Los Angeles County Superior Court has accepted and stamped the complaint, according to ABC News.

The suit accuses the singer of wrongful death and a long list of other claims, including fatal stabbing, sexual battery, childhood assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and human trafficking. It also seeks damages for the loss of Rivas Hernandez, the abuse her family says she suffered, and the emotional harm her parents say they have endured.

Civil complaint seeks damages without naming a dollar figure

The lawsuit does not attach a specific dollar amount to the family’s claims. Instead, it asks that damages be decided at trial, leaving the amount of any award open for a jury or judge to determine later.

Along with compensation, the complaint also seeks punitive damages. Those are meant to punish especially harmful conduct and can raise the financial stakes of a civil case well beyond ordinary compensation for losses.

By filing in civil court, the family is pursuing a separate path from the criminal case already underway against D4vd. Civil claims use a lower burden of proof than criminal charges, and they can move on their own timetable even when related criminal proceedings are still active.

Managers, relatives and companies are also named in the suit

The complaint does not stop with the singer. It also names family members and business associates, including the head of the music-management company that represented him and served as his personal manager, a day-to-day manager who lived at his Hollywood Hills home, and a live-in security guard.

D4vd’s mother, Colleen Burke, is named as well. The lawsuit says she served as his personal finance director. An attorney for Colleen Burke declined to comment on the filing.

The singer’s principal recording and entertainment company and his music-publishing company are also included in the case. ABC News said attempts to reach the businesses and other people named in the complaint were unsuccessful.

Authorities say Rivas Hernandez was found in a Tesla at an impound lot

The lawsuit follows the discovery of Rivas Hernandez’s remains in September 2025. Authorities found her badly decomposed and dismembered body in the trunk of a Tesla registered to D4vd at an impound lot in Hollywood.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner identified the remains as Rivas Hernandez. Her death shocked fans and widened scrutiny around the singer as the criminal investigation advanced.

The civil filing comes days after what would have been the teen’s 16th birthday. A vigil was held on Sept. 7 to honor her memory.

Prosecutors outline an alleged relationship that began when she was 13

D4vd was arrested and charged in criminal court in April after a months-long investigation. He is now represented by a public defender and has pleaded not guilty to charges that include first-degree murder, sexual abuse of a child and unlawful mutilation of human remains.

Prosecutors allege that he 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 expose the illegal relationship and damage his career.

According to prosecutors, the singer ordered an Uber that took Rivas Hernandez to his Hollywood Hills home on April 23, 2025, just as tickets for his world tour were set to go on sale. They say that was the last time she was seen alive.

The criminal case and civil claims now move forward side by side

The criminal charges and the new lawsuit place the case on two fronts at once. Prosecutors are seeking to prove the allegations in court, while the family is asking a civil judge or jury to hold the singer and the other named defendants financially responsible for what the complaint says happened.

The lawsuit also reflects the broader scope of the family’s allegations. In addition to the death itself, the filing describes emotional distress and a wider network of people and businesses the family believes were connected to D4vd’s life and career.

For fans, the case has become inseparable from the singer’s public image. The allegations now touch both his music career and the people who helped manage it, while the legal process continues to build around a death that investigators say began months before the remains were found.

What the filing means after a difficult month for the family

The timing of the lawsuit adds another painful chapter for Rivas Hernandez’s relatives. It arrives after her death, after the criminal arrest, and after the family marked what should have been her 16th birthday with a vigil.

In practical terms, the civil case gives the family a way to press claims beyond the criminal courtroom. It also extends potential responsibility to the singer’s circle, including managers, a security guard, his mother and the companies tied to his music work.

The allegations remain allegations in the civil case, just as they do in the criminal case, and the legal process is still unfolding. But the filing makes clear that Rivas Hernandez’s death is now part of a sprawling legal battle that reaches far beyond one defendant.

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