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LAPD: Singer D4vd, 21, Celeste Rivas Hernandez, 14, were in sexual relationship
Police and prosecutors allege 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez was last seen going to singer D4vd’s Hollywood Hills home in April 2025 before later being found dead.
LOS ANGELES - During a press conference Monday, police and prosecutors described the D4vd murder case as a "parent’s worst nightmare" and revealed more about the alleged relationship between the 21-year-old singer and the 14-year-old girl he was accused of killing.
"[Celeste Rivas Hernandez] was a reported runaway from Riverside County. During the course of our investigation, detectives learned she had been involved in a sexual relationship with [D4vd] when she was a minor and he was an adult," LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said.
Prosecutors said Rivas Hernandez was last known to be alive on April 23, 2025, when she went to the singer's Hollywood Hills home at his invitation and was not seen again until her body was discovered about four months later.
Singer D4vd pleaded not guilty in court Monday. The 21-year-old, whose real name is David Burke, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who was found dead shortly before what would have been her 15th birthday.
As for why it took more than half a year to bring charges, authorities said the case has been complex.
"The extraordinary amount of time that passed between her death and the discovery meant that crucial evidence had degraded and disappeared," McDonnell said.
"In a situation where you don’t have an eyewitness account or we can’t point to a video that shows the killer killing someone, you have to go through a very rigorous and thorough investigation to look at all the digital and forensic evidence," Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.
Hochman said he met with some of the victim’s family members.
"I had the chance to meet with some of the family members of Celeste, and their grief is incalculable," Hochman said. "What they have demanded, what we have assured them, the District Attorney’s Office along with LAPD, is to give them proof beyond a reasonable doubt on who killed their daughter, on how their daughter was killed, and bring that killer to justice."