Day 2 of the preliminary hearing for singer D4vd revealed disturbing evidence investigators found inside a garage at the singer’s Hollywood Hills home.
A Los Angeles Police Department forensic expert testified Wednesday that investigators discovered blood in multiple areas of the garage, where prosecutors allege 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s body was dismembered last year.
LAPD criminalist Lauren Wallace told the court she located traces of blood throughout the garage — on interlocking gym mats and on the floor during her investigation.
Related: D4vd Preliminary Hearing Leaves Celeste Rivas’ Parents ‘Horrified’
But during cross-examination, the defense challenged chemical analysis of the blood and Wallace admitted the test she used cannot identify blood with 100 percent certainty.
“I cannot say it is definitely blood,” she testified. “I can say it is possibly blood.”
Wallace also told the court two chainsaws recovered from the garage tested negative for blood. But prosecutors said investigators never recovered a 10-inch chainsaw they allege the singer, born David Anthony Burke, purchased online before 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez was murdered.
The court also heard testimony that the Tesla where the teen’s decomposed remains were found had been filled with air fresheners.
Chelsea Murillo, another LAPD criminalist, said she responded to the Hollywood tow yard where Rivas Hernandez’s body was located inside the front trunk of a Tesla registered to Burke on Sept. 9, 2025.
Police were called to the impound lot because of a strong odor coming from the vehicle.
Murillo told the court she found air fresheners throughout the Tesla, including the front trunk and inside the
center console.
“I gathered at least 11 air fresheners,” Murillo said. “The majority of them were in the center console, also in the rear seats, also in the frunk area.”
Prosecutors showed photos of the air fresheners recovered from the vehicle. Although cameras are not allowed in the courtroom and the images have not been released to the public.
LAPD investigators have said Burke ordered an Uber to bring Rivas Hernandez to his mansion on April 23, 2025. Detectives believe the teenager was killed that night.
Burke has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, and mutilating a body. Prosecutors have alleged special circumstances, making the indie singer eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
The preliminary hearing is expected to continue through the week. Once the testimony concludes, a judge will decide if prosecutors have presented enough evidence for Burke to stand trial.
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