D4vd arrest updates: Singer charged with murder of Celeste Rivas could face the death penalty – UK Times

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said Monday that investigators learned Celeste Rivas Hernandez was involved in a sexual relationship with d4vd.

Rivas Hernandez was last known to be alive on April 23, 2025, when she arrived at d4vd’s Hollywood Hills home, the chief said. Her body wasn’t found until September.

Officials have said it appeared she had been dead for an extended period before she was found given the state of her remains.

“The substantial amount of time that passed between her death and the discovery meant that crucial evidence had degraded or disappeared, and as detectives worked to uncover the truth, they also had to sift through and debunk a great deal of false information circulating publicly,” McDonnell said.

Her cause of death was not made public.

The singer has been charged with first-degree murder; lewd and lascivious acts with an individual under 14; and mutilating a body in the killing of Celeste Rivas Hernandez.

The murder charges included special circumstances — lying in wait, committing crime for financial gain and murdering the witness in an investigation — that could carry the death penalty.

Hochman said d4vd murdered the 14-year-old to maintain his musical career and “that Celeste was threatening on that particular night.”

He explained the three sets of charges – one of which is murdering a witness to an investigation. Evidence to be shown in court shows Celeste was a witness into an investigation of sexual acts committed by d4vd.

Hochman described the crime as a “brutal and horrific murder.”

“A parent’s nightmare is a situation where your daughter goes out one night and never comes back,” he says.

Hochman said the DA’s office could eventually seek the death penalty in the case.

D4vd is officially charged with murder, sexually abusing a child and mutilating a body in the killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez

The mugshot of singer d4vd was revealed at the presser Monday

The press conference on the arrest and possible charges of singer d4vd has started.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is expected to announce charges today against the singer for the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez whose body was found in the trunk of a Tesla owned by the musician.

D4vd was arrested last week and is currently being held without bail.

Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s family is expected to attend the presser and court hearing, their attorney said.

“The Rivas Hernandez family is committed to ensuring that Celeste’s voice is heard and her memory is honored throughout this process,” the attorney, Patrick Steinfeld, said in a statement.

A neighbor created a memorial of pictures, candles and flowers dedicated to Celeste Rivas Hernandez in front of the slain teen’s Lake Elsinore home.

Kayleigh Cortez added lights spelling the teen’s name after getting news that there was an arrest in her murder, ABC7 reported.

“I was sitting down at my table, and I jumped up and I’m like, ‘Let’s go, let’s get this justice,'” Cortez told the outlet.

Cortez started the memorial soon after Rivas Hernandez’s body was found last September.

“It broke my heart. I have a 14-year-old daughter, and they would have gone to high school together,” Cortez said.

D4vd was taken into custody after officers breached a Hollywood Hills home using a ramming device, according to police.

The home is just over a mile from the tow yard where the teen’s body was found in his car.

Defense attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter stressed that D4vd has only been detained under suspicion, no indictment had been returned and no criminal complaint has been filed.

“Let us be clear — the actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death,” the defense lawyers said.

“We will vigorously defend David’s innocence.”