As the anticipation builds, D4vd awaits the critical decision on whether he will face trial in the chilling case surrounding the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. New and unsettling revelations are beginning to emerge.
In a hearing held on July 22, Chelsea Murillo, a criminalist with the Los Angeles Police Department, revealed shocking evidence. She testified about the discovery of nearly a dozen air fresheners, swarms of maggots, and deceased flies inside the singer’s Tesla. Tragically, alongside these unsettling findings were the decomposing remains of the 14-year-old.
Maintaining his stance, D4vd has entered a plea of not guilty.
According to reports from People, Murillo testified, “I gathered some of the air fresheners and found 11 throughout the vehicle,” detailing their presence mostly in the center console, rear seats, and front trunk.
The testimony also noted that the 21-year-old’s Tesla was overwhelmed by a “strong odor” with a stench unmistakably reminiscent of a decomposing body.
The testimony offered new details about the disappearance and death of Hernandez, whom prosecutors allege was threatening to expose “damaging information” about their relationship and potentially ruin his music career, according to a preliminary hearing brief obtained by People.
Hernandez disappeared on April 23, 2025, after going to the Hollywood Hills home of D4vd—born David Anthony Burke—and was never heard from again, according to authorities.
More than four months later, Hernandez’s decomposed and dismembered remains were found in the trunk of a car registered to D4vd, after it had been abandoned and impounded.
According to a petition filed by prosecutors, the manager of a towing company called police after noticing “a strong smell of decay coming from the vehicle which was attracting flies.”
LAPD Detective Joshua Byers later testified that he could not discern Hernandez’s facial features and that she was identified by dental records, according to CBS News.
In April D4vd, was charged with first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child and unlawful mutilation of human remains, according to court records viewed by Oxygen.
At the time, according to ABC 7, D4vd’s legal team vowed to “vigorously defend David’s innocence.”
“We believe the actual evidence will show David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez,” lead defense attorney Blair Berk said, according to the Associated Press. “We would like to have the evidence come into the light of day.”