Family of killed teen call for death penalty in D4vd trial

The family of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez has lobbied for the death penalty if D4vd is found guilty murdering their daughter.

D4vd, who was born David Anthony Burke, is charged with killing the teenager, whose dismembered body was found in the trunk of a Tesla car registered to his address on 8 September 2025. Burke has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The death penalty is under a temporary ban in California, where Burke is due to stand trial, but in a statement Hernandez' family said execution "would be perfect" if the singer was convicted of murder.

In a related development, Hernandez's parents filed a civil lawsuit against Burke on Friday, seeking monetary damages including burial and funeral expenses.

The lawsuit, lodged at Los Angeles Superior Court and reported by multiple , external US media outlets , external , makes similar claims to those raised by prosecutors in the criminal case against the singer.

Mercedes Martinez and Jesus Rivas allege that Burke caused the wrongful death, false imprisonment and childhood sexual assault of their daughter.

In the court documents, they say Burke and Hernandez first met in November 2023, when she was 13 years old.

Over the next 16 months, they claim, the pair would exchange almost 10,000 texts and have sex several times.