The family of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against singer D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, exactly one year after the teenager's dismembered remains were discovered in the trunk of his Tesla.
The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by Rivas Hernandez's parents, Mercedes Martinez and Jesus Rivas, largely mirrors claims made by prosecutors who have charged the 21-year-old musician with murder, continuous sexual abuse of a minor under 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains. Burke has pleaded not guilty to these charges.
The suit also targets entities connected to Burke, including his manager Mogul Vision, which the family states leased his Los Angeles home, as well as his live-in security guard and his mother. According to the lawsuit and prosecutors, Burke allegedly began a sexual relationship with Rivas Hernandez in November 2023, when she was 13 years old. The lawsuit claims they exchanged between 8,000 to 9,000 explicit text messages over their relationship, and discussed contraception and pregnancy.
It is further alleged that Burke took explicit photos of Rivas Hernandez and that the sexual relationship continued even after a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy informed Burke that the girl was underage. The suit states that in April 2025, Rivas Hernandez texted Burke threatening his career and life, after which he allegedly stabbed her twice, causing her to bleed to death. The family's lawyers suggest this process could have taken between a few minutes to an hour.
Prosecutors and the lawsuit allege that Burke then used a chainsaw to dismember the teenager's body in his garage, attempting to collect the blood in a kiddie pool. He is also accused of amputating two of Rivas Hernandez's fingers to remove matching tattoos they shared.
The lawsuit contends that others "enabled Burke to isolate the decedent" and "facilitated his travel, housing and security." Mogul Vision allegedly leased Burke's Hollywood Hills residence and hired his security guard, Sheldon Jacques. Burke's mother, Colleen Burke, reportedly ran the firm, and his finance manager, Robert Morganroth, is accused of approving payments and funding his behavior. Jacques is alleged to have helped transport Rivas Hernandez to Burke's home in early 2024 as she repeatedly left her family's residence.
The suit claims that these individuals and entities "knew or should have known of Burke's dangerous propensities toward, and sexual exploitation of Decedent, a minor, and failed to take reasonable steps to protect her, to supervise Burke or to prevent the continued abuse." It also alleges a conspiracy in a "coordinated effort to hide evidence relating to the sexual abuse, the killing, including the concealment, dismemberment and disposal of Decedent's remains and the destruction and concealment of evidence."
The family is seeking unspecified damages for the loss of Rivas Hernandez's love, companionship, comfort, care, and support, along with funeral and burial expenses.
Mogul Vision has previously denied any knowledge of Burke's alleged illegal behavior. Contact information for Jacques was not immediately available.
This lawsuit emerges shortly after Rivas Hernandez's family publicly advocated for the death penalty should Burke be convicted of her murder. The family stated in a message to the New York Post that the death penalty would be fitting 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."
The decision on whether to pursue the death penalty rests with Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
In other legal developments, Burke's defense attorneys withdrew from his case last week. The legal team, which included Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski, and Regina Peter, stated they could no longer represent the singer. The court granted their request to withdraw, and the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office was appointed to represent Burke, who qualified for appointed counsel. The former attorneys expressed continued support for Burke's defense, and the Public Defender's Office acknowledged the gravity of the case while vowing to provide a thorough defense.
