The family of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who would have turned 16 this week, has named D4vd in a wrongful death lawsuit.
The Withered artist was ordered to stand trial in Celeste’s murder back in July, with prosecutors accusing him of “brutally killing [the 14-year-old] because he feared their illicit sexual relationship would ruin his aspiring career.” In addition to the murder, D4vd, born David Burke, is charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child and unlawful mutilation of human remains.
Separately, per this report from Los Angeles Times, Celeste’s parents, Mercedes Martinez and Jesus Rivas, have now hit D4vd with a wrongful death lawsuit. The suit finds the family seeking damages from the singer, who has pleaded not guilty in the criminal case. Also named are managers, his mother, and others close to him.
Complex has reached out to a rep for Celeste’s family for comment on the lawsuit. This story may be updated.
Notably, news of the family’s legal action comes after their attorney, Patrick Steinfeld, called D4vd’s claim of being indigent “unfathomable.” As Steinfeld argued in a statement previously shared with Complex, D4vd is a “millionaire” whose assets are “protected by his companies,” with the attorney further alleging that the singer “fraudulently transferred assets” to his mother, Colleen Burke.
Last month, word came that D4vd’s lawyer had withdrawn as counsel, meaning the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office had assumed representation. Celeste’s family has since expressed support for the death penalty, which remains a possibility in D4vd’s criminal case.
“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,” the Rivas Hernandez family said in a statement shared with Complex earlier this week. “But that’s not in our hands, but rather in God’s, and the California justice system.”
