Rapper D4vd has been charged with the teen’s murder and is set to stand trial
Credit: BACKGRID
NEED TO KNOW
- The family of Celeste Rivas Hernandez said they would support the death penalty for rapper D4vd if he is convicted of her killing, according to a new statement released by the family
- The family released the statement on Sept. 6, one day before what would have been the teen’s 16th birthday
- Rivas’ remains were found in the trunk of a Tesla belonging to D4vd in September 2025, and a judge ruled in July that there was enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial
The family of Celeste Rivas Hernandez has shared that they would like to see their daughter’s alleged killer, rapper D4vd, receive the death penalty should he be convicted.
“If the death penalty were activated, it would be perfect for this kind of human being, devoid of feelings and emptiness inside, and without conscience, who only caused pain to our daughter, our family, and the world that supports our precious daughter,” Rivas’ family said in a statement shared with the California Post.
“But that’s not in our hands, but rather in God’s, and the California justice system,” the family added.
They shared their statement on Sept. 6, one day before what would have been the teen’s 16th birthday.
While speaking to reporters outside a downtown courthouse on Aug. 31, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said he has not yet decided if D4vd, 21 — whose real name is David Anthony Burke — will face the death penalty should he be convicted.
Credit: Mona Shafer Edwards / BACKGRID
Rivas’ decomposing remains were found inside the trunk of a Tesla belonging to the rapper in an impound lot in Los Angeles on Sept. 8, 2025.
D4vd was arrested in April 2026 and charged with Rivas’ murder, with prosecutors alleging that the singer fatally stabbed the teen after she threatened to expose their illegal sexual relationship and ruin his music career.
Prosecutors further allege the pair began communicating in 2022, when Rivas was just 11 years old, and began a sexual relationship when she was 13 and he was 18.
D4vd is charged with first-degree murder with the special circumstances of lying in wait, committing the crime for financial gain and murdering a witness to an investigation. He is also accused of lewd and lascivious sexual acts with an individual under 14 years of age and mutilating human remains.
Credit: GoFundMe; Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty
A judge officially ruled that prosecutors had presented enough evidence to move D4vd’s murder case to trial on July 27.
At the time, Rivas’ family had said they were “relieved” by news of the ruling.
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“The family’s relieved that it’s done with,” the family’s attorney Patrick Steinfeld told reporters outside the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center at the conclusion of the five-day preliminary hearing. “They’re going to take a break and they appreciate the hard work the district attorney’s office has done, as well as the investigation by LAPD investigators.”
A trial date has not been formally set yet.
An attorney for D4vd did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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