Singer D4vd Charged with Murder of Celeste Rivas, Death Penalty On the Table

Singer D4vd has been officially charged with the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas ... in addition to first degree murder with special circumstances -- which makes him eligible for the death penalty.

He's also been charged with lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 and mutilating a body.

The D.A. says the last time Celeste was seen was at D4vd's house ... never to be seen again. Her mutilated body was discovered in 2 bags in D4vd's Tesla.

Nathan Hochman says D4vd was lying in wait on April 23, 2025 ... and it appears that's when the D.A. says he killed her. He says another special circumstance was murder for financial gain. The financial gain was that Celeste was a "witness" to something -- presumably their sexual relationship -- and he would lose his career if she talked. The D.A. suggested Celeste threatened to go to police or go public regarding their sexual relationship, so he invited her over to kill her ... thus, the lying in wait.

LAPD Police Chief Jim McDonnell says there is evidence D4vd and Celeste had a sexual relationship.

The D.A. did not reveal the Medical Examiner's cause of death, but said he would ask the M.E. to make the autopsy report public.

The LAPD arrested D4vd on Thursday in a huge show of force. The Police Chief says there is digital and forensic evidence linking D4vd to the crimes.

Mark Geragos told us on the "2 Angry Men" podcast LAPD was fed up with waiting on the D.A. to file criminal charges, so they took the law into their own hands and arrested D4vd. Hochman and McDonnell gave no indication the LAPD went rogue on the D.A.

The case has been with the D.A. for months ... we know a grand jury was convened back in November ... and it's been more than 7 months since police found Celeste's decomposing body in the trunk of D4vd's Tesla.

One high-ranking LAPD source told us the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner determined Celeste's manner of death to be homicide ... and it sounds like cops were waiting for that official declaration before making the arrest.