Family of slain teen demands death penalty for D4vd in murder trial

On what would have been their daughter's sixteenth birthday, Mercedes Martinez and Jesus Rivas released a statement calling for execution. Their daughter, Celeste Rivas Hernandez, was fourteen years old when she died. Her dismembered remains were discovered in the trunk of a Tesla registered to David Anthony Burke on September 8, 2025. Burke, a singer, has been charged with her murder and has pleaded not guilty.

The parents' demand for capital punishment carries particular weight because California's death penalty is currently under a temporary ban. Yet in their statement, released through their attorney, they made clear what they believed justice would require: "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 district attorney has indicated he is still weighing whether to pursue a death sentence if Burke is convicted.

Beyond the criminal case, the Rivas family filed a civil lawsuit on Friday at Los Angeles Superior Court, seeking monetary damages for burial and funeral expenses, as well as compensation for what they allege amounts to wrongful death, false imprisonment, and childhood sexual assault. According to the court documents, Burke and Celeste first met in November 2023, when she was thirteen. Over the following sixteen months, the parents claim the pair exchanged nearly ten thousand text messages and engaged in sexual contact multiple times. Burke, then an adult, occupied what the lawsuit describes as a position of authority over the minor, allowing him to exercise what they characterize as undue influence and control.

The parents allege that Burke killed Celeste at his Hollywood Hills home after she threatened to expose their relationship. They cite a message she allegedly sent: "I will end ur career and ur life." The civil complaint names not only Burke but also several of his companies, his managers, his mother, and a live-in security guard—all of whom, the lawsuit contends, enabled him to isolate the teenager and facilitated his movements and security arrangements. Burke's management company Mogul Vision and his finance manager have previously denied any knowledge of the relationship between Burke and Rivas Hernandez, according to reporting by the Los Angeles Times.

In July, a judge determined there was sufficient probable cause to proceed to trial on the murder charge. Burke's case has since undergone a change in legal representation. He initially retained a celebrity defense attorney but has now been assigned a public defender, Walid Kandeel, who stated that Burke is entitled to a rigorous defense that examines the evidence carefully. Kandeel's office did not immediately comment on the civil lawsuit. Burke is scheduled to return to court on October 19, with his trial moved to the following year.

The case sits at the intersection of criminal and civil accountability, with prosecutors still deliberating the ultimate penalty they will seek and the family pursuing parallel claims for damages. What remains unresolved is whether the evidence will support the charges, what sentence a jury might impose if Burke is convicted, and whether California's temporary moratorium on capital punishment will remain in effect by the time a verdict is reached.