This article was originally published on Crafting Your Home. A human contributor also wrote and edited the post.
A Los Angeles courtroom heard a detailed account of what crime scene investigators encountered inside a black Tesla registered to singer D4vd and the Hollywood Hills property he had rented.
The testimony offered the clearest public picture yet of the physical evidence prosecutors are using as they seek to put the 21-year-old musician, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, on trial. Burke has pleaded not guilty, and his attorneys maintain that he did not cause the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
The hearing is not a trial and does not decide guilt. Judge Charlaine Olmedo is considering whether prosecutors have shown probable cause for the case to move forward on charges of murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains.
Prosecutors allege Burke killed Celeste on April 23, 2025, after she threatened to reveal their relationship and damage his fast-growing music career.
Celeste’s remains were discovered on September 8, 2025, in the front storage compartment of the Tesla after tow yard workers reported a strong odor. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner later determined that she died from multiple penetrating injuries and classified the death as a homicide.
Her body was found one day after what would have been her 15th birthday, turning an abandoned vehicle complaint into a closely watched murder case.
The Tesla Held More Than the Remains
Los Angeles Police Department criminalist Chelsea Murillo testified that a strong odor remained in the Tesla when she examined it after Celeste’s body had been removed.
She said investigators collected at least 11 air fresheners positioned around the center console, rear seating area, vehicle doors, and front storage compartment. Photographs shown in court also documented flies, maggots, and staining inside the vehicle.
Murillo said she marked visible red stains before using phenolphthalein, a presumptive chemical test for blood. She then applied Bluestar, a reagent that can reveal possible blood traces through a blue glow even when stains are not visible to the naked eye. According to her testimony, the third-row seating area and left-side paneling reacted to the chemical.
Samples collected from the lower rear trunk area tested positive for blood and for Celeste’s DNA, according to testimony presented in court. The defense questioned Murillo closely about who had accessed the Tesla, whether gloves were consistently used, and why some exterior surfaces were not swabbed.
Those questions signaled that evidence collection and scene preservation may become major points of dispute if the case reaches trial.
Inside the Hollywood Hills Garage
LAPD criminalist Lauren Wallace testified about examining the garage of the Hollywood Hills home on September 17, 2025. She described black interlocking rubber floor mats with apparent cuts or slits that may have been caused by a sharp object, along with visible stains on at least one mat. Chemical testing indicated possible blood in areas where no staining could initially be seen.
Prosecutors displayed an image of the mat area glowing blue after Bluestar was applied, drawing audible reactions in the courtroom. Investigators also tested garbage bags, cleaning wipes, green tarps, and a rowing machine, and Wallace described reactions consistent with possible blood on several items. Some of the garbage bag staining was visible, while other reactions appeared only after chemical testing.
Two chain saws were found in the garage, but Wallace testified that testing did not detect blood on them. A blue inflatable pool was also recovered, and Wallace said it smelled like fresh laundry when investigators opened it from a crumpled bundle.
No visible stains were seen on the pool, but it reacted to Bluestar, a result that indicates possible blood and still requires careful interpretation alongside confirmatory testing.
Purchases Became Part of the Evidence Trail
Detective Joshua Byers testified that online records showed Burke ordered a body bag, chain saws, an inflatable pool, and a shovel in the days after Celeste’s death.
Prosecutors say the purchases were made under the name Trayvion Davis but paid for with Burke’s cards and delivered to his Hollywood home. Investigators later found most of the items, including two chain saws and the blue pool, inside the garage.
Byers said the body bag ordered online matched the type of bag containing Celeste’s head and torso in the Tesla’s front trunk. Her arms and legs were found beneath it in another bag, according to testimony presented at the hearing.
The LAPD has previously corrected false public claims by stating that Celeste had not been decapitated and that her body was not frozen when discovered.
The detective also testified that investigators noticed tattoos linking Burke and Celeste in a way prosecutors consider relevant. Celeste had the word “shhh” tattooed on a finger, while Burke had a similar tattoo and the name “Celeste” tattooed on another finger when he was arrested.
The tattoos do not establish who caused her death, but prosecutors are using them as part of a broader effort to show the nature and closeness of the relationship.
What the Hearing Must Decide
Prosecutors are presenting the forensic evidence alongside financial testimony about the value of Burke’s music career. A money manager testified that Burke earned at least $10 million between 2023 and 2025, and prosecutors argue that protecting those earnings supplied a financial motive.
The defense has objected to parts of that theory and continues to deny that Burke killed Celeste.
The defense used cross-examination to probe possible gaps in the prosecution’s evidence, including chain of custody, testing choices, and the handling of the Tesla. That strategy matters because presumptive blood tests can indicate where blood may be present, but DNA testing and the full forensic record determine how strongly a result connects to a person or event. The preliminary hearing gives Burke’s lawyers an early opportunity to identify weaknesses they may later raise before a jury.
For Celeste’s family, the proceedings have brought painful details into public view after months of uncertainty. The judge’s immediate task is narrower than deciding the entire case, since she must determine only whether enough evidence exists to require Burke to stand trial.
Until that decision is made, the testimony describes the prosecution’s case, while Burke remains legally presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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