The family of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who would have turned 16 this week, has named D4vd in a wrongful death lawsuit.
The Withered artist was ordered to stand trial in Celeste's murder back in July, with prosecutors accusing him of "brutally killing [the 14-year-old] because he feared their illicit ***** ual relationship would ruin his aspiring career." In addition to the murder, D4vd, born David Burke, is charged with continuous ***** ual abuse of a child and unlawful mutilation of human remains.
Separately, per this report from Los Angeles Times, Celeste's parents, Mercedes Martinez and Jesus Rivas, have now hit D4vd with a wrongful death lawsuit. The suit finds the family seeking damages from the singer, who has pleaded not guilty in the criminal case. Also named are managers, his mother, and others close to him.
Complex has reached out to a rep for Celeste's family for comment on the lawsuit. This story may be updated.
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#d4vd #wrongful #death #murder

Legal representatives from Samsung are seeking the dismissal of Dua Lipa's $15 million lawsuit over the unauthorized use of her image on a product box. In a new Thursday filing obtained by Rolling Stone, the company argues that the singer does not have grounds to sue because there's "nothing suggesting plaintiff endorses the televisions."
"The images merely depict the televisions' on-screen interface, illustrating the applications and … an example of content available on the TV," lawyers for Samsung said. The relevant products contain a photo of Lipa on boxes for televisions featuring Samsung TV Plus, where the singer is used to promote the Xite Hits channel. Other logos that appear on the product include MLB, Fox Sports, and the crime series The First 48.
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#televisions #thursday

D4vd's murder case has just been hit with a new wrinkle, as a trio of lawyers have confirmed they will no longer represent the Withered artist.
Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski, and Regina Peter confirmed their exit in a statement shared with Complex on Monday (Aug. 31).
"This morning the court granted our request to withdraw as counsel and appoint the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office, after it was determined David [Burke, a.k.a. D4vd] qualified for appointed counsel," reads the statement. "We continue to support David and his defense against these serious charges. We are grateful that the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office has taken over the representation and that David has a highly capable and committed team of attorneys and investigators behind him."
In their coverage, TMZ speculated that financial problems may have led to this surprising shakeup.
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#angeles #confirmed #counsel

D4vd has replaced the three prominent private attorneys who had been defending him as his murder case moves toward trial, with the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office now taking over his representation.
The 21-year-old singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, Aug. 31. Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter were permitted to withdraw, while Deputy Public Defender Walid Kandeel stepped in to represent Burke.
Burke then entered not guilty pleas to three charges stemming from the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez: murder with special-circumstance allegations, continuous ***** ual abuse of a child under 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains. The hearing followed a July preliminary proceeding in which Judge Charlaine Olmedo found sufficient evidence for the case to proceed toward trial.
The next status conference is set for Oct. 19, and no trial date has been scheduled. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman also said prosecutors still have not decided whether to seek the death penalty.
Berk told the court that Burke wanted new representation, and his former attorneys later said the judge granted their request to withdraw after Burke was determined to qualify for appointed counsel, according to Reuters.

#trial

Aug. 31 (UPI) -- The legal team for singer D4vd withdrew from his murder case Monday as he sought the services of a public defender.
The switch came during the arraignment of D4vd, whose birth name is David Burke. He and his former attorneys Blair Berk and Regina Peters informed the court and Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo that he will be using a public defender moving forward.
Walid Fouad Kandeel, Burke's new attorney, was in the gallery before being called forward by the judge to introduce himself to the court. He asked for a continuation of Monday's arraignment so he could better familiarize himself with the case but was denied.
Kandeel said in a statement that his client is "entitled to a defense that takes his circumstances seriously and carefully examines the evidence."
Burke was accused of killing a 14-year-old girl after her remains were found in the trunk of his abandoned car in September. The prosecution alleged that Burke stabbed the girl at his home in Hollywood.

#defender

A judge has ruled that US musician D4vd will go on trial for murder over the death of a teenage girl.
The decision came after a five-day preliminary hearing, in which Los Angeles prosecutors questioned a dozen witnesses and displayed graphic photographic evidence as 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez's family watched on.
The star, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, is accused of killing the girl, whose remains were found last September in a Tesla registered to his address.
Burke, 21, has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering and ******* ually abusing her.
Burke is scheduled to be charged on 31 August. The trial is to start within 90 days of that date.

#d4vd #celeste #anthony

Singer-songwriter D4vd is set to appear in a Los Angeles courtroom on Tuesday as prosecutors aim to prove sufficient evidence exists for him to stand trial for the murder and ******* ual abuse of a minor, Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
The preliminary hearing is expected to conclude on Thursday. The proceeding follows several delays in the case, in part due to the voluminous amount of investigatory evidence.
Los Angeles county prosecutors accuse the musician, born David Anthony Burke, of stabbing Hernandez to death at his Los Angeles residence last April to silence her from divulging the ******* ual nature of their relationship as his career was burgeoning, according to court documents.
Prosecutors say they began a ******* ual relationship in November 2023, when Burke was 18 and Hernandez was 13.
Burke allegedly mutilated her deceased body, sawing her limbs with a chainsaw and amputating her ring finger, which had a tattoo of his name, before discarding her dismembered limbs in a Tesla, per court documents.

D4vd is back in the news as a former friend of his, Aysia Collins, has taken to social media to share her thoughts on the currently incarcerated singer.
On Thursday (June 18), the California-based model and influencer took to Instagram to share a screenshot of a conversation she was having with a friend about her allegedly "cosplaying" Celeste Rivas, the woman D4vd is accused of murdering.
After the friend showed Collins a screenshot of a comment where someone was asking about the accusation, she responded and apologized to her friend for seemingly facing harassment because of it.
"I'd appreciate it if everyone used their brains for 1 second when they talk about the Celeste Rivas case," Collins wrote. "This isn't something light to just speak bull s**t out of your mouth. I been quiet about it, but to say I cosplayed as a child just because we are the same skin tone and have curls is insane work. Have some respect."
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Editor's note: This story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing.
Singer D4vd's preliminary hearing in the death of teen Celeste Rivas Hernandez is being postponed for the third time.
The 21-year-old singer, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, faces several criminal felony charges, including first-degree murder, continuous **** ual abuse of a child under the age of 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge granted a continuance for the evidentiary hearing, which will see lawyers present bombshell evidence and was set to begin later this month, during a status conference on Wednesday, June 17. The hearing, rescheduled for July 21, is expected to span multiple days to determine that prosecutors have probable cause to take the case to trial.
The hearing was initially supposed to take place May 1 before being pushed to May 26 and again delayed until June 29. Prosecutors revealed on May 12 that their discovery potentially contained more than 40 terabytes worth of evidence.