Prosecutors outline a chilling sequence of events as Celeste Rivas’ death certificate is updated.
New court filings in the murder case against rapper D4vd have laid out a deeply troubling sequence of events that prosecutors allege unfolded in the days and weeks following the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas, as the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has also issued a revised death certificate formally classifying her manner of death as homicide.
D4vd, whose legal name has not been publicly released, has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, mutilation of a body and sexual conduct with a minor under the age of 14. He was arrested earlier this month and was allegedly found in possession of 40 terabytes of child pornography at the time of his arrest.
What prosecutors allege happened
According to newly filed court documents, prosecutors allege that D4vd stabbed Rivas at his Hollywood Hills home on April 23, 2025, after arranging for the teenager to travel approximately 90 minutes by Uber from her family’s home in Lake Elsinore, California. Rivas arrived at the home at approximately 10:10 p.m., and prosecutors claim she was killed shortly after.
Investigators allege the evening before the visit, the two had exchanged text messages in which Rivas threatened to disclose information about their relationship that she said could end his career. D4vd’s debut studio album was scheduled for release three days later.
Prosecutors allege he began taking steps to cover his tracks almost immediately, sending texts to Rivas’ phone asking where she was just 20 minutes after she arrived, which the District Attorney’s Office contends was part of a premeditated plan. Within hours of her death, he allegedly drove to Santa Barbara County before returning home early the following morning to conduct a radio interview promoting his upcoming album release.
The purchases that followed
Court documents describe a series of purchases prosecutors allege D4vd made in the days and weeks after Rivas’ death, all reportedly delivered to his home. The day after the killing, he allegedly ordered a shovel from Home Depot through Postmates. Approximately a week later, he is alleged to have purchased two chainsaws through Amazon, followed days later by a body bag, heavy-duty laundry bags and a blue inflatable pool. All purchases were allegedly made under a false name.
Prosecutors allege the inflatable pool was used to contain blood in the garage while he dismembered Rivas’ body. When detectives searched the rental property in September 2025, they reportedly recovered biological samples that tested positive for blood and found physical evidence consistent with dismemberment, including material from the pool.
Rivas’ body was discovered in the trunk of D4vd’s Tesla in September 2025. Prosecutors allege surveillance footage confirmed he was the last person to drive the vehicle before departing for a tour in late July. Her passport was found in a remote area of Santa Barbara County in January 2026, a location prosecutors say D4vd visited multiple times in the months following her death.
In July 2025, he allegedly ordered an additional item intended, according to prosecutors, to destroy remaining evidence.
The updated death certificate
Celeste Rivas’ death certificate, first issued in September 2025 when the investigation was in its early stages, has now been revised to reflect the findings of the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. The cause of death has been updated from deferred to multiple penetrating injuries, and the manner of death has been changed from pending investigation to homicide.
The updated certificate also reflects a change in the pregnancy history section, which previously indicated she had not been pregnant in the year before her death. That determination has since been revised to unknown, meaning the Medical Examiner could not make a definitive finding on the question.
Background on the case
Prosecutors allege D4vd first encountered Rivas in 2022, when she was 11 years old, and that a sexual relationship began in November 2023 when she was 13 and he was 18. Court documents state that law enforcement had contacted D4vd directly in February 2024 after Rivas was reported missing and her phone records linked back to him. He allegedly denied knowing she was a minor or that she was missing at the time.
After she returned home and her parents took her phone, prosecutors allege D4vd paid a classmate to deliver a new phone to her so they could continue communicating. The filing describes travel together throughout 2024 across multiple states and countries.
A preliminary hearing has been demanded by the defense. The case is continuing in the Los Angeles court system.
Story credit: TMZ