The family of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose decomposing, dismembered body was found in singer D4vd’s Tesla in Los Angeles last year, will speak publicly for the first time on Monday, their lawyer has confirmed. The statement is expected outside court in Los Angeles following the district attorney’s press conference and the potential arraignment of D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke.
The news came after Burke, a 21-year-old recording artist known professionally as D4vd, was arrested on Thursday in connection with Celeste’s killing and ordered held without bail. Prosecutors have not yet publicly confirmed what specific charges, if any, will be filed, and no indictment has been announced, so all claims about his alleged role in the teenager’s death should still be treated with a degree of caution until the district attorney sets out the case.
According to the family’s attorney, Celeste’s parents and sister will travel to the courthouse on Monday and plan to attend any arraignment hearing if charges are formally brought. They are also expected to be present at the district attorney’s press conference before giving their own statement through counsel on the courthouse steps.
It will be the first time the family has addressed the public since the discovery of Celeste’s body and the subsequent arrest of D4vd. Until now, relatives have stayed out of the spotlight, speaking only through intermediaries while investigators tried to piece together the circumstances of the killing.
The lawyer did not preview what Celeste’s family intends to say, or whether they will take questions. For now, they appear to be channelling their response through the formal process of the criminal courts and the district attorney’s office rather than engaging directly with the intense media interest in the case.
D4vd Held Without Bail As Defence Insists On Innocence
For context, Burke was taken into custody on Thursday on suspicion of involvement in the death of Rivas Hernandez, who was 14 and from Lake Elsinore, California. He is being held without bail, according to local reports, pending a decision from the DA’s office on charges.
In an initial statement, attorneys for the singer maintained that D4vd is innocent. The defence team has not elaborated publicly on that position or laid out an alternative account of how Celeste’s body came to be found in his vehicle. Without a formal charging document or probable cause affidavit released to the public, key details about the prosecution’s theory remain unavailable and should not be assumed.
The case has drawn particular scrutiny because of who owns the car at the centre of the investigation. In September 2025, authorities discovered the decomposing, dismembered remains of Rivas Hernandez in the boot of a Tesla that had been towed and was registered to Burke. The vehicle had reportedly been impounded before officers made the grim discovery.
Investigators later confirmed to ABC News that Celeste had been reported missing in 2024, more than a year before her body was found. That timeline, with such a long gap between the missing person report and the discovery of her remains, is one of several unresolved questions that Monday’s press conference may begin to address.
Family Poised To Face D4vd In Court For The First Time
In case you missed it, Monday will mark the first time Celeste’s immediate family comes face-to-face with the man accused in connection with her death in an open court setting, if prosecutors move ahead with an arraignment. The family’s lawyer has said they not only plan to sit in on the hearing but also to stand alongside the district attorney’s office by physically attending the DA’s briefing.
ABC7 reported that Celeste’s parents and her sister will all be present, though their lawyer will be the one delivering the prepared statement afterwards. That choice is common in high-profile homicide cases, where relatives are often advised to filter their words through legal counsel to avoid prejudicing a future trial.
The district attorney’s office has not yet released a schedule for Monday’s events, nor has it outlined what evidence it is prepared to discuss publicly. Typically, an arraignment would see Burke formally informed of any charges and asked to enter a plea, while the DA would use a press conference to sketch out the broad contours of the case without disclosing sensitive investigative material.
Nothing in the publicly available reporting so far confirms how Celeste died beyond the description of her body as decomposing and dismembered when it was recovered from the Tesla’s boot. There is also no verified information yet on when prosecutors believe she was killed, who else might be implicated or what digital and forensic evidence links Burke to the alleged crime, if indeed that is the prosecution’s position.
Given the scarcity of officially released detail, much of the narrative around the D4vd case remains speculative. Until the district attorney lays out a charge sheet and supporting allegations on Monday, and until defence lawyers have an opportunity to challenge those claims in court, any definitive judgments about what happened to Celeste Rivas Hernandez should be taken with a grain of salt.
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