Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17846828736741776728509905175817132069720250918 (1).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Singer D4vd was charged Monday with the murder and dismemberment of his young teenage girlfriend, whose decomposing corpse was found in a Tesla that had been abandoned in the Hollywood Hills. <em>Photo from D4vd&#x27;s Instagram account/File</em><br/></span></span></span></div><p>LOS ANGELES, United States — The body of a teenage girl found in the trunk of US singer D4vd&#x27;s car had been decomposed to the point it was &quot;unrecognizable,&quot; a police detective testified in a Los Angeles court on Tuesday.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/celebrities/2026/4/21/singer-d4vd-charged-with-murder-after-teen-s-body-found-in-tesla-0745">Singer D4vd charged with murder after teen&#x27;s body found in Tesla</a></div><p>The 21-year-old D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, faces several charges including murder in the horrifying death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez.</p><p>Her body was discovered in Burke&#x27;s Tesla last September within days of what would have been her 15th birthday.</p><p>Los Angeles Police Detective Joshua Byers testified during the preliminary hearing&#x27;s first day, saying that when law enforcement opened the trunk of Burke&#x27;s car in a tow yard, he recognized the &quot;very distinctive smell&quot; of a corpse.</p><p>Grim photographs of the girl&#x27;s dismembered remains were shown to the court, with a large black bag containing her head and torso.</p><p>When asked whether he was able to recognize any facial features, Byers said: &quot;No, there was a quite a bit of decomposition to where skin slippage...made it unrecognizable.&quot;</p><p>Her arms and legs were found in a separate bag where &quot;there was insect activity. There was maggots. There was various stages of flies,&quot; Byers told the court.</p><p>Burke, who attended the court hearing wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, did not flinch when the pictures were shown.</p><p>Prosecutors said the singer met the girl when she was just 11 years old, and started a sexual relationship when she was 13.</p><p>Body camera footage played during the hearing Tuesday showed Burke telling sheriff deputies: &quot;She told me she was 18. Everybody saying she was 13.&quot;</p><p>The victim&#x27;s mother had reported her missing in 2024 when she was just 13 years old.</p><p>Prosecutors alleged in charging papers that Burke killed her after she threatened to make their long-standing and illegal sexual relationship public, jeopardizing his singing career.</p><p>Burke has denied one count each of murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains. He could face life imprisonment or the death penalty if convicted.</p><p>Los Angeles chief prosecutor Nathan Hochman said the preliminary hearing, in which a judge will determine whether the case proceeds to trial, will last &quot;three to five days.&quot;</p><p>&quot;We believe we will more than accomplish the evidentiary burden of probable cause at this point to hold David to answer on these three felony charges,&quot; Hochman told the press.</p><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse<br/></strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o9-nMNxCX1Y?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The body of a teenage girl found in the trunk of US singer D4vd's car had been decomposed to the point it was "unrecognizable," a police detective testified in a Los Angeles court on Tuesday.</p>

The body of a teenage girl found in the trunk of US singer D4vd's car had been decomposed to the point it was "unrecognizable," a police detective testified in a Los Angeles court on Tuesday.

Decomposed body in singer D4vd's car was 'unrecognizable', court hears

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Decomposed body in singer D4vd's car was 'unrecognizable', court hears

Agence France-Presse

Published July 22, 2026 09:15 AM PHT

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