Celeste Rivas Hernandez' parents cleared in child neglect, abuse probe

Jami Ganz, New York Daily News on May 1, 2026

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The parents of Celeste Rivas Hernandez were cleared of allegations of child neglect and abuse in the months before authorities say the teenager was murdered and dismembered by singer D4vd, who now faces a possible death sentence for the slaying.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office told TMZ on Friday that an investigation was opened into the parents of the teenager on April 27, 2024, after someone “expressed concern about a juvenile who had run away.” Rivas was 13 when she was last seen by her family earlier that month, before running off for the second time. She’d also been reported missing after she ran away that February.

Los Angeles authorities have since charged 21-year-old D4vd, real name David Anthony Burke, for killing her in spring 2025. Rivas’ dismembered and decomposing remains were discovered in his impounded car this past September.

Deputies interviewed everybody at the Rivas Hernandez home and ultimately found no evidence supporting child neglect, per TMZ.

They “were unable to determine if a crime had occurred,” as they “had not … located” Rivas.

Burke was charged late last month with first degree murder with special circumstances, including “lying in wait, committing this crime for financial gain, or murdering a witness in an investigation,” said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.

The “Romantic Homicide” singer also faces a special allegation of using “a deadly and dangerous weapon, a sharp instrument” in murdering Rivas. He’s also been charged with “continuous sexual acts, lewd and lascivious sexual acts with an individual under 14 years old, and mutilating human remains of a body.”

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