The family of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez has released its first statement following singer D4vd pleading not guilty to a murder charge in the death of their missing daughter, whose decomposed body was found in the trunk of a Tesla registered to him last year.

“We would like to thank the Los Angeles Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office for their hard work,” a statement by Jesus Rivas and Mercedes Martinez, Rivas’s parents, said. “We would also like to thank the people of Lake Elsinore for all their support.”

“Celeste was a beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance,” her parents said in a statement released by their lawyer, Patrick Steinfeld, to NBC 4 Los Angeles. “Every Friday night was movie night and we spent wonderful times together.”

“We love her very much and she always told us that she loved us. We miss her deeply. All we want is justice for Celeste.”

Rivas’s parents appeared at D4vd’s hearing on Monday. They looked down as they entered the courtroom and sat in the audience. They did not speak to reporters outside court.

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Relatives of Celeste Rivas Hernandez arrive in court Monday, April 20, 2026, in Los Angeles for the arraignment of singer D4vd. AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

Steinfeld said the family planned to deliver the statement Monday following the first court appearance for D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke. But for their safety after a bomb threat was reportedly received, the family was not able to speak.

“They were intimidated by the onslaught of reporters and the aggressiveness of some camerapeople,” Steinfeld said, noting that Rivas’ relatives are “very private individuals.”

“They were devastated after hearing the gruesome details that came out in David Burke’s arraignment.”

Rivas died from penetrating wounds to her upper body, according to an autopsy report released Wednesday.

Her death was ruled a homicide in the report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office that had been blocked from release for months.

 

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The autopsy was limited by “extensive postmortem changes” to the body that was dismembered and decomposing when it was found in two bags in the trunk of a Tesla parked in the Hollywood Hills in September.

The examination revealed “two penetrating wounds of the torso with smooth edges that may represent sharp force injuries.” One wound on the upper abdomen penetrated the liver. Another, on the left chest, damaged her ribs. A tube top she was wearing appeared to be cut in three places.

A judge had ordered the report sealed late last year at the request of law enforcement, but prosecutors agreed this week to allow its release.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Monday that Burke was charged with first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with an individual under 14 and mutilating a body in the killing of Rivas. She was reported missing by her family in 2024, when she was 13. Authorities say she was 14 when she died.

The murder charges included special circumstances — lying in wait, committing a crime for financial gain and murdering the witness in an investigation — that could carry the death penalty. Prosecutors haven’t announced whether they will seek it.

After Burke pleaded not guilty, his lead defence lawyer, Blair Berk, told the court that their team believes “actual evidence will show David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez.”

“We would like to have the evidence come into the light of day,” Berk added.

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David Anthony Burke, whose stage name is D4vd, centre, is arraigned Monday, April 20, 2026, in Los Angeles. Ted Soqui/Pool Photo via AP

Berk told the judge that after media reports of months of secret grand jury proceedings, she would like a public preliminary hearing to take place as soon as possible so a judge can decide whether there is enough evidence for trial.

 

Burke is entitled under California law to have the evidentiary hearing within 10 court days of his arraignment. A hearing to work out what will happen next was scheduled for Thursday.

“We’ll be very happy to put on the evidence that we’ve collected,” said Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman, the lead prosecutor.

 

1:35Decomposed body of missing teen found in singer D4vd’s impounded Tesla

Authorities allege the Houston-born alt-pop singer killed Rivas to protect a career on the rise after she threatened to report their sexual relationship. His debut album, Withered, was released just two days after authorities said she was last known to be alive.

Authorities, who described Rivas on Monday as a “runaway,” said she was 14 when she was killed with a sharp object on or around April 23, 2025, a day she was at Burke’s house in the Hollywood Hills.

Prosecutors allege Burke mutilated her body about two weeks later.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Rivas was last heard from on April 23, 2025 after she went to Burke’s home and “she was never heard from again.”

“A parent’s nightmare is a situation where your daughter goes out one night and never comes back,” Hochman said on Monday.

“Celeste was just a child, under 14 years old, when David Burke allegedly engaged in repeated lewd and lascivious sexual relations with her,” Hochman continued. “But Burke’s actions did not allegedly stop there. When she threatened to expose his criminal conduct and devastate his musical career, Burke allegedly murdered her, cut up her body and stuffed her body in two bags that were placed in the front trunk of his car.

“There the dismembered body sat for over four months decomposing until it was found at a tow yard on Sept. 8, 2025. This horrific and gruesome murder committed by the charged sexual predator is shocking and appalling. To Celeste’s loved ones, we will get the justice you seek and deserve.”

During the news conference, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell acknowledged the criticism his department has faced for not releasing details of the investigation sooner.

“I want to be clear about something. My duty is not to fuel speculation. It’s to deliver justice, and that requires patience and discipline on everybody’s part,” McDonnell said.

“This investigation was driven by a single purpose to secure justice for Celeste Rivas and for those who loved her. We had to be certain that nothing we did or said would ever jeopardize this case.”

— With files from The Associated Press