D4vd Faces a Wrongful Death Lawsuit From Celeste Rivas Hernández’s Family as They Urge Los Angeles Prosecutors to Seek the Death Penalty
LOS ANGELES, CA — The family of Celeste Rivas Hernández has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against singer D4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, adding a civil case to the criminal allegations already facing him. The teenager’s parents say Burke killed their daughter and then tried to hide what happened.
In a public statement, the family also said they want Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman to seek the death penalty if Burke is convicted. Burke has pleaded not guilty to murder charges and has denied wrongdoing through his attorneys. A trial is scheduled for next year.
The complaint says Burke was involved in a yearslong sexual relationship with Celeste that began when she was 13, before her death in April 2025. The family’s filing seeks damages from Burke and several people and companies around him.
Parents say their daughter was killed in Hollywood Hills and hidden in plain sight
The lawsuit says Burke killed the 14-year-old on April 23, 2025, inside his Hollywood Hills home. That timeline mirrors allegations prosecutors have made in court filings and during a preliminary hearing in the case.
Her dismembered and decomposed remains were found months later, on Sept. 8, 2025, in the trunk of Burke’s Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard. Authorities said the car had been sitting on a street near the singer’s home for weeks before it was towed.
The filing describes the death as part of an effort to conceal the alleged abuse, and it accuses Burke of repeatedly sexually assaulting the girl before killing her. Those claims are at the center of both the criminal case and the family’s civil suit.
Lawsuit lays out allegations of texts, photos and a relationship that began at 13
According to the complaint, Burke began what it calls a “continuous sexual relationship” with Celeste in November 2023, when she was 13 years old. The family says that relationship continued into 2025 and was documented through thousands of messages, many of them sexual in nature.
The suit also says the pair discussed a possible pregnancy in 2024, including the use of Plan B. Prosecutors have alleged that Burke pressured Celeste to get an abortion, a point echoed by the family’s lawyer, Patrick Steinfeld.
Another claim in the filing is that Burke took photos of the teen having sex with him in his Doheny Place home. The suit further alleges that the relationship continued even after a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy told Burke that Celeste was underage.
Prosecutors say Burke texted 'gates open' before the killing
The night before prosecutors believe Celeste died, the complaint says she and Burke had an argument. The lawsuit says she later texted, “I will end ur career and ur life.”
According to the civil filing and the criminal allegations, Burke then messaged her, “gates open, door’s unlocked,” at 10:10 p.m. About 20 minutes later, prosecutors say, he stabbed her twice and left her to bleed to death. The lawsuit says that process may have taken only a few minutes or as long as an hour.
The family’s filing also repeats the accusations that Burke used a chainsaw in his garage to cut off the girl’s limbs and tried to collect blood in a kiddie pool. He is also accused of amputating two fingers to hide matching tattoos they had gotten together.
Family members target people around the singer in search of damages
The lawsuit does not focus only on Burke. It names his companies, managers, his mother, and a live-in security guard, arguing they knew or should have known about his behavior and his relationship with Celeste.
The complaint says the management company Mogul Vision leased the home and hired the in-house guard. It also alleges that Burke’s mother, Colleen Burke, ran his firm and that finance manager Robert Mogenroth approved payments that helped fund his conduct.
Mogul Vision and Mogenroth have previously denied knowing about the singer and the teen. The bodyguard named in the suit, Sheldon Jacques, allegedly lived in the house during the abuse and helped transport Celeste. He could not be reached for comment.
A birthday statement, a death penalty request and a legal team change
On Monday, which would have been Celeste’s 16th birthday, her family again pressed Hochman to pursue capital punishment. In their statement, they described Burke as someone they say showed no conscience and caused lasting pain to their daughter and their family.
The family said that whether the death penalty is pursued is not up to them, but to the California justice system and to God. Hochman has said he has not yet decided whether to seek capital punishment in the case.
Burke also changed legal representation last week, leaving a private team for the Los Angeles County public defender’s office. No public explanation has been given for the switch. Steinfeld, the family’s attorney, questioned the move and suggested Burke was using his companies to shield money from his music career.
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