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LAW, CRIME & CRIMINAL JUSTICE

D4vd charged with murder in killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez; family urges death penalty

ABC7 compiled a timeline of the investigation; national and local outlets report the charge and family calls for capital punishment while legal steps move forward.

By Freedom News Staff • Freedom News Media • September 8, 2026

What the reporting says

Multiple local and national news outlets report that the musician known as D4vd has been charged with murder in connection with the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. ABC7 ran a detailed timeline of the investigation, and national aggregators and network affiliates picked up the charging news in the days that followed.

Outlets including ABC News (as carried by a national aggregator), NBC Los Angeles, FOX 11 Los Angeles, People, and UNILAD published accounts summarizing the charge and the family reaction. Those reports consistently identify the victim as Celeste Rivas Hernandez and describe the criminal filing as a murder charge against the performer identified in coverage as D4vd.

At this stage the case is brought as criminal charges; the person charged has not been convicted. News organizations report that the prosecution will proceed through the courts, and ABC7 assembled an on-the-record timeline of police investigative steps as part of its coverage.

Timeline and investigation (as reported)

ABC7 published a timeline of the investigation that the outlet says traces the police response and the steps that led to charging. That timeline is the most detailed chronology available in the set of summaries provided to Freedom News; other outlets summarized key developments from that reporting.

According to the coverage, law-enforcement investigators conducted an inquiry that culminated in filing murder charges. The public reporting reviewed for this article does not include the underlying charging papers, the probable-cause statement, or other court filings, so readers should understand the timeline presented here reflects the chronology and facts as summarized by ABC7 and corroborated by other outlets rather than an independent review of primary court records.

Because the available summaries do not include verbatim police reports or the district attorney's complaint, finer points of the investigative record—such as the exact evidence relied on, the dates of interviews, forensic findings, or when an arrest was executed—were not available to Freedom News for direct inspection in this assignment.

Charges, legal posture and next steps

News organizations covering the matter report that criminal charges have been filed against the musician. The distinction between an allegation and a conviction is legally important: a charge is the prosecution's formal accusation; it is not proof of guilt. At the time of the reporting summarized here, the case will proceed through standard criminal-court steps, which typically include arraignment, pretrial proceedings, discovery exchanges, and, if not resolved by plea, a trial.

One national report summarized in the source set states that the singer will stand trial on the murder charge. The available summaries do not contain a copy of the indictment or complaint, a transcript of any arraignment, or a court docket printout, so this article does not attempt to restate specific scheduling orders or the exact statutory counts alleged by prosecutors.

Readers watching the case should look for the formal charging document (often called a complaint, information, or indictment, depending on jurisdiction and prosecutorial strategy), a public docket entry listing arraignment dates and counsel appearances, and any prosecutorial filings that disclose the evidence the district attorney intends to use. Those records are the primary legal documents that will define the case as it moves forward.

Family reaction and public calls for the death penalty

Several outlets report that Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s family members have publicly urged prosecutors to seek the death penalty if the defendant is convicted. NBC Los Angeles and FOX 11 reported the family's public calls for capital punishment, and People ran a story noting the family made those comments roughly one day before what would have been the victim's 16th birthday, according to the summary provided.

UNILAD and other outlets also covered family statements calling for the harshest possible punishment if a conviction is obtained. Those reports attribute the death-penalty demand to the family; none of the supplied summaries includes a definitive statement from prosecutors that they will seek capital punishment, and the decision to pursue the death penalty, where available, is a separate prosecutorial choice that requires its own legal procedures and considerations.

What remains uncertain and what to watch next

The source set available for this automated article includes consistent press and news coverage that a murder charge has been filed and that the victim’s family is publicly calling for capital punishment. However, the primary charging documents, probable-cause statements, police reports, and court docket entries were not part of the summaries provided and therefore were not independently reviewed for this piece.

Key items for readers and reporters to verify in coming days are the public charging documents (to read the exact counts and statutory language), the court docket (to confirm arraignment and pretrial dates), any prosecution filings indicating whether the district attorney intends to seek the death penalty, and forensic or investigative records that are regularly disclosed in pretrial discovery or discussed in court hearings.

Freedom News will watch for and prioritize the publication of those primary records and will update coverage as they become available. Until the court process runs its course, the charge remains an accusation and not a finding of guilt.

Sources reviewed