Overview
- Celeste Rivas Hernández, who was 14 when she died in April 2025, was found in a Tesla at a Hollywood tow yard in September 2025 and the musician David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd, is charged with first-degree murder with special circumstances.
- The Rivas Hernández family publicly asked prosecutors on September 6, 2026, to pursue the death penalty and released a photo and statement calling capital punishment 'perfect' if applied.
- Prosecutors allege Burke killed and dismembered Celeste, citing forensic evidence that includes ordered tools and chainsaw fragments found on the victim, and a judge ordered Burke to stand trial after a July 2026 preliminary hearing.
- Burke pleaded not guilty and his private attorneys withdrew in late August 2026, after which a public defender took the case and the DA said he is awaiting a mitigation packet while allowing time for the new defense to submit materials.
- Hochman reversed his office’s prior blanket ban on seeking the death penalty and says death-penalty decisions will be made case by case after comprehensive review, a policy change that makes the mitigation packet and family input central to whether capital charges are filed.