David Anthony Burke, known professionally as D4vd, allegedly placed at least 11 air fresheners inside his Tesla in an effort to conceal the strong odor from 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s dismembered and decomposing body. Los Angeles police criminalist Chelsea Murillo provided this testimony on July 22, 2026, the second day of Burke’s preliminary hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court. Prosecutors say the products were scattered throughout the center console, front trunk, and rear seats of the vehicle, including one displayed with the phrase “Love is in the Air,” where the teenager’s remains had been stored for weeks or months.
Burke, 21, faces first-degree murder charges with special circumstances, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains. He met Rivas Hernandez when she was 11 years old around 2022, and prosecutors allege the relationship became sexual when she was 13. She was last seen alive after visiting his Hollywood Hills home on or about April 23, 2025. Authorities say he stabbed her to death there, placed her body in an inflatable pool in his garage to contain blood, and later used chainsaws and other tools purchased under a false name to dismember her in early May 2025, conduct that a Rolling Stone account describes in graphic detail. Reports that have surfaced since the preliminary hearing opened have also introduced new allegations that prosecutors are weighing.
The remains were loaded into bags and left inside the front trunk of the black 2023 Tesla, which Burke allegedly last drove on July 29, 2025, before abandoning it on Bluebird Avenue in the Hollywood Hills. The vehicle sat long enough to receive parking tickets and complaints from neighbors, as documented in Los Angeles Times coverage of the preliminary hearing. It was towed to a Hollywood impound lot, where workers noticed a foul odor and insect activity on September 8, 2025, one day after what would have been Rivas Hernandez’s 15th birthday, a discovery that drew early public attention to the case. The information about the air fresheners emerged directly from Murillo’s processing of the Tesla on September 9, 2025, when she documented the decomposition odor, fly larvae, and the products while the body bags had already been removed.
Prosecutors argue the concealment efforts, including the air fresheners, were intended to hide the crime and protect Burke’s rising music career after Rivas Hernandez allegedly threatened to expose the abuse. Burke rose to prominence with viral hits such as “Romantic Homicide” in 2022, signed with Interscope, and earned millions before the label ended its deal in late 2025. Defense attorneys have maintained his innocence, stating that evidence will ultimately show he did not murder Rivas Hernandez or cause her death. Burke has pleaded not guilty and showed no visible emotion during the graphic testimony and evidence presentations. He has been held without bail since his arrest, a posture consistent with a wave of recent no-bond orders in high-profile murder prosecutions involving recording artists in Los Angeles.
The preliminary hearing, which began July 21, 2026 before Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo at the Clara Foltz Criminal Justice Center, is expected to last several days and will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to bind Burke over for trial. If the case proceeds, a full trial could take place in late 2026 or early 2027, though no firm verdict timeline exists at this stage given the complexity of forensic, digital, and location data evidence. Rivas Hernandez’s family from Lake Elsinore, California, has attended the hearings seeking justice for the girl described by her family as vibrant, loving, and devoted to family time.
This case highlights ongoing concerns about power imbalances between entertainment figures and young fans, as well as the challenges in prosecuting crimes involving advanced decomposition and delayed discovery. The detailed testimony continues to unfold as investigators present surveillance footage, purchase records, and DNA links from Burke’s garage. Background on the charges is available through the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office announcement on the case, and community memorials for Rivas Hernandez can be found via Riverside County resources.
