The timing of this lawsuit is not accidental. Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s family filed a wrongful death suit against D4vd on September 8, 2026, exactly one year after her dismembered remains were found inside his Tesla Model X, and just one day after what would have been her 16th birthday.
Celeste was 14 years old when she died. Prosecutors believe D4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, killed her around April 23, 2025, then dismembered her body with a chainsaw in an inflatable pool at his Hollywood Hills home.
Her head and torso were placed in a body bag, her limbs in a garbage bag, and both were loaded into the front trunk of his Tesla.
The vehicle sat through months of summer heat before authorities discovered it, and by then, Celeste’s decomposed body weighed just 71 pounds.
The wrongful death suit does not stop at D4vd. It names his manager Josh Marshall, his mother Colleen Burke, security guard Sheldon Jacques, and company Mogul Vision as co-defendants, bringing 12 causes of action against everyone in his orbit who allegedly failed to protect her.
Attorney Patrick Steinfeld, leading the family’s legal team, is pushing the argument that the people and companies surrounding D4vd knew or should have known about the alleged sexual exploitation of a minor and did nothing.
According to court documents, D4vd arranged for Celeste to be transported to and from his Hollywood Hills residence starting in early 2024, enlisting Sheldon Jacques to help remove her from her family home and bring her to his.
That detail matters because it suggests a pattern, not a single incident. The family’s case is built on the idea that this was an operation with multiple adults present, and that Celeste’s abuse did not happen in isolation.
On the criminal side, D4vd is charged with first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, and mutilation of a body.
A judge ordered him to stand trial in July following a five-day preliminary hearing, and prosecutors have kept the death penalty on the table.
The family has already made their position on that clear. They have publicly stated they support capital punishment in this case, calling D4vd someone “without conscience.”
That kind of language from a grieving family is raw and deliberate, and it signals they are not looking for a quiet resolution.
The civil lawsuit arrives at a complicated financial moment for D4vd. He transferred two Texas homes to his mother in October 2025 and has since switched from private legal representation to a public defender after his original team withdrew.
His attorneys have claimed he is broke, which raises real questions about what the family can actually recover even if the civil case goes their way.
Whether those property transfers will face legal scrutiny as the civil case develops is something Steinfeld’s team will almost certainly pursue.
The medical examiner confirmed Celeste died from multiple penetrating injuries, and the criminal trial still lies ahead.
