CA- Body (IDd as Celeste Rivas Hernandez) found in vehicle at Hollywood tow yard, abandoned Tesla registered to singer D4vd – 8 September 2025 #2

[AppleTreeGreen]

Yes, the body would experience significant decomp within 2-4 days after being put into the trunk.

However, if her body was in cold storage for 6 months, it might look as if the date of death was different.

Makes it way harder to compute date of death (although there are ways which require sending samples to specific labs).

There are very few breezes wafting through an unused Tesla. The scoop in the frunk is activated when the car is on (as I understand it). Otherwise, that trunk (and many trunks) are fairly airtight. No breezes.

But you are absolutely right - once thawed, body will decompose. Exactly like anything else frozen.

You raise a lot of good points but my inquiry isnt really based on identifying the time of death but on trying to understand or ask why the smell of the decaying remains weren’t detected sooner?

As you stated, it would take only 2-4 days for a frozen body to experience significant decomposition and yet for 10 hot summer days between August 27th and September 5th D4vd’s Tesla was ticketed and inspected on three different days by an employee of LADOT. None of the documentation regarding the impounding of the vehicle mention a foul odor emitting from the vehicle even though the employee had to get quite close to the vehicle during the inspection. However, only 3 days later the smell coming from the airtight trunk of the impounded Tesla was so strong and foul employees at the tow yard reported it to LE.

And the smell of decaying dead body permeates enough on its own that often a breeze is unfortunately not necessary to detect it. There have been other cases in which human remains have been stored in the trunk of vehicles and witnesses stating that even with the trunk still closed they could smell the odor from 3 feet away, such as reported by Casey Anthony’s father when he picked up his daughter’s car from the tow yard, or it led to multiple residents contacting the police and noticing the odor growing only growing fouler the closer they got to the vehicle as in the 2014 case in Houston. Air-tight doesn’t mean smell proof, even in reference to the trunk of a vehicle, as strong odors can still escape through the tightest of seals and structural gaps meant to allow trunks to adapt to changes in pressure.

Not to mention that even if the humans fail to detect or react to the smell, the bugs won’t

SoCal Woman Reports Finding Decomposing Body in Trunk of Her Lexus

Riverside police said a woman who reported finding a body decomposing in the trunk of her Lexus after she noticed the smell in the parking lot of a Southern California Walmart Saturday was not considered a suspect in the case.

www.nbcdfw.com

Casey Anthony's father says at trial that car smelled like corpse

George Anthony testified Friday he was worried smell was Caylee or Casey

www.cbsnews.com

Police confirm body was found in trunk of car emitting 'extreme foul smell' at east El Paso motel

Police confirmed Thursday that a body was indeed found in trunk of car that was discovered emitting a ”foul smell” earlier this week. The car was parked outside the El Paso Inn at 6210 Montana Avenue on the city’s eastside and was towed away by police on Tuesday night after people in the area...

kvia.com

Decomposing body found in stolen vehicle in North Philadelphia, police say | 6abc.com

Police%20are%20working%20to%20identify%20a%20body%20discovered%20in%20the%20trunk%20of%20a%20stolen%20vehicle%20after%20responding%20to%20a%20911%20call%20about%20a%20foul%20odor%20late%20Tuesday%20night.

6abc.com

HPD: Body found in trunk of vehicle in NW Houston | abc13.com

Houston%20police%20responded%20to%20a%20report%20of%20a%20dead%20body%20found%20in%20the%20trunk%20of%20a%20car%20in%20northwest%20Houston.

abc13.com

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

There have been other cases in which human remains have been stored in the trunk of vehicles and witnesses stating that even with the trunk still closed they could smell the odor from 3 feet away, such as reported by Casey Anthony’s father when he picked up his daughter’s car from the tow yard

Casey Anthony's father says at trial that car smelled like corpse

George Anthony testified Friday he was worried smell was Caylee or Casey

www.cbsnews.com

"Pizza box" my @$$...

 

[10ofRods]

You raise a lot of good points but my inquiry isnt really based on identifying the time of death but on trying to understand or ask why the smell of the decaying remains weren’t detected sooner?

As you stated, it would take only 2-4 days for a frozen body to experience significant decomposition and yet for 10 hot summer days between August 27th and September 5th D4vd’s Tesla was ticketed and inspected on three different days by an employee of LADOT. None of the documentation regarding the impounding of the vehicle mention a foul odor emitting from the vehicle even though the employee had to get quite close to the vehicle during the inspection. However, only 3 days later the smell coming from the airtight trunk of the impounded Tesla was so strong and foul employees at the tow yard reported it to LE.

And the smell of decaying dead body permeates enough on its own that often a breeze is unfortunately not necessary to detect it. There have been other cases in which human remains have been stored in the trunk of vehicles and witnesses stating that even with the trunk still closed they could smell the odor from 3 feet away, such as reported by Casey Anthony’s father when he picked up his daughter’s car from the tow yard, or it led to multiple residents contacting the police and noticing the odor growing only growing fouler the closer they got to the vehicle as in the 2014 case in Houston. Air-tight doesn’t mean smell proof, even in reference to the trunk of a vehicle, as strong odors can still escape through the tightest of seals and structural gaps meant to allow trunks to adapt to changes in pressure.

Not to mention that even if the humans fail to detect or react to the smell, the bugs won’t

SoCal Woman Reports Finding Decomposing Body in Trunk of Her Lexus

Riverside police said a woman who reported finding a body decomposing in the trunk of her Lexus after she noticed the smell in the parking lot of a Southern California Walmart Saturday was not considered a suspect in the case.

www.nbcdfw.com

Casey Anthony's father says at trial that car smelled like corpse

George Anthony testified Friday he was worried smell was Caylee or Casey

www.cbsnews.com

Police confirm body was found in trunk of car emitting 'extreme foul smell' at east El Paso motel

Police confirmed Thursday that a body was indeed found in trunk of car that was discovered emitting a ”foul smell” earlier this week. The car was parked outside the El Paso Inn at 6210 Montana Avenue on the city’s eastside and was towed away by police on Tuesday night after people in the area...

kvia.com

Decomposing body found in stolen vehicle in North Philadelphia, police say | 6abc.com

Police%20are%20working%20to%20identify%20a%20body%20discovered%20in%20the%20trunk%20of%20a%20stolen%20vehicle%20after%20responding%20to%20a%20911%20call%20about%20a%20foul%20odor%20late%20Tuesday%20night.

6abc.com

HPD: Body found in trunk of vehicle in NW Houston | abc13.com

Houston%20police%20responded%20to%20a%20report%20of%20a%20dead%20body%20found%20in%20the%20trunk%20of%20a%20car%20in%20northwest%20Houston.

abc13.com

It's a good question. I can think of a couple of answers (one rather grim one):

1. It was parked along a giant hedge in a stretch of street where people only park occasionally or when commuting. People hop out of their cars and head home, they don't linger near the other cars. If the car wasn't driven much, not a lot of the smell would be in the main compartment and the trunk is fairly air tight (but when driven, there's an air scoop that brings trunk air into the passenger compartment). It's a scoop, so if the car was towed with its front end forward (which is what I see in my neighborhood), the scoop would have pushed odor particles into the main compartment as they transported it. I am guessing that it was actually when someone started appraising the car for potential auction and opened the door, they smelled it at Day 11 in impound. This theory has weaknesses, because how the heck do they open the door of a Tesla without the fob or code?

2. Someone moved the car frequently and rolled down the windows to keep the smell from building up.

3. Someone DID smell it and repeatedly called LE and parking enforcement, getting a response from parking enforcement first. They could have smelled it and NOT reported it, but it could still be the reason for the reporting. I can think of many reasons why the caller might not want to get involved. Not wanting to be a witness in case of a long, highly publicized trial would be the most likely reason. General lack of involvement in one's neighbor's affairs in SoCal is not unheard of, at all.

4. She was put in the trunk after the car had been chalked up and just before it was towed. They gave notice (IIRC) of the eminent towing 1-2 days before, after chalking it up. I know the chalk was put on the car at least a week before the notice of towing, IIRC. Maybe a bit longer. Heck, maybe someone inside the D4 house made a decision to stop moving the car (as required by local parking ordinance) and had a half-baked plan to make that car the final resting place of C$RH. They actually waited until the final notice and then placed the body?

We still don't know for sure if the body was wrapped in plastic (in which case, it would take longer than 3-4 days for the actual smells to be detected by a normal nose from outside the car while just walking by).

All just speculation of course. Feel free to chime in with other theories. A big problem with the "body was decaying elsewhere for a long time" theory is...where is that place? Did they not use cadaver dogs in the house? I don't think we know for sure that they did.

In order to compare across all those other cases you linked to, we'd need to know more about how long those bodies were in the trunks and what the weather conditions were. I am guessing that's known for the Casey Anthony case, if anyone remembers (how long was it determined she had her daughter's body in the trunk, according to the prosecution?)

JMO

 

[Deleted member 371850]

It's a good question. I can think of a couple of answers (one rather grim one):

1. It was parked along a giant hedge in a stretch of street where people only park occasionally or when commuting. People hop out of their cars and head home, they don't linger near the other cars. If the car wasn't driven much, not a lot of the smell would be in the main compartment and the trunk is fairly air tight (but when driven, there's an air scoop that brings trunk air into the passenger compartment). It's a scoop, so if the car was towed with its front end forward (which is what I see in my neighborhood), the scoop would have pushed odor particles into the main compartment as they transported it. I am guessing that it was actually when someone started appraising the car for potential auction and opened the door, they smelled it at Day 11 in impound. This theory has weaknesses, because how the heck do they open the door of a Tesla without the fob or code?

2. Someone moved the car frequently and rolled down the windows to keep the smell from building up.

3. Someone DID smell it and repeatedly called LE and parking enforcement, getting a response from parking enforcement first. They could have smelled it and NOT reported it, but it could still be the reason for the reporting. I can think of many reasons why the caller might not want to get involved. Not wanting to be a witness in case of a long, highly publicized trial would be the most likely reason. General lack of involvement in one's neighbor's affairs in SoCal is not unheard of, at all.

4. She was put in the trunk after the car had been chalked up and just before it was towed. They gave notice (IIRC) of the eminent towing 1-2 days before, after chalking it up. I know the chalk was put on the car at least a week before the notice of towing, IIRC. Maybe a bit longer. Heck, maybe someone inside the D4 house made a decision to stop moving the car (as required by local parking ordinance) and had a half-baked plan to make that car the final resting place of C$RH. They actually waited until the final notice and then placed the body?

We still don't know for sure if the body was wrapped in plastic (in which case, it would take longer than 3-4 days for the actual smells to be detected by a normal nose from outside the car while just walking by).

All just speculation of course. Feel free to chime in with other theories. A big problem with the "body was decaying elsewhere for a long time" theory is...where is that place? Did they not use cadaver dogs in the house? I don't think we know for sure that they did.

In order to compare across all those other cases you linked to, we'd need to know more about how long those bodies were in the trunks and what the weather conditions were. I am guessing that's known for the Casey Anthony case, if anyone remembers (how long was it determined she had her daughter's body in the trunk, according to the prosecution?)

JMO

Chiming in on point 1: I don’t think anyone in the tow yard had opened the Tesla. They reported a foul smell coming from it and then reported to the police to come and check it out.

Point 4 is very interesting.

From my understanding, isn’t there stages to decomp? And that would possibly explain why there was no detection prior, as there wasn’t a strong enough odour. If anything, some of the neighbours said they put it down to a dead animal -sorry, just tragic.

 

[10ofRods]

There are stages to decomp, with different parts of the body undergoing decomp at different rates depending on the exact conditions. I believe the car was at the impound yard for 11 days? Apparently the tow truck person didn't notice any smell. So had she just been put in there? Or did that person feel it could be smell of nearby roadkill.

It is an area of L.A. where dead critters are found, occasionally. I would think that the car towing person (who probably just hooked the winch onto the front of the car (but maybe the back, I don't know) would have noticed it.

I am assuming that they've ruled out anyone breaking into the tow yard to deposit a body in a Tesla trunk.

The trunks on Teslas are apparently relatively air tight, so your guess about it being to soon to smell is a good one.

 

[Telltale]

<quoted post was removed>

 

[HinterlandObserver]

medicalnewstoday

I still cant reconcile how much of CRs mass was lost (approximately 30% of her original weight) if she was in a sealed frunk wrapped up the whole time in July/August LA heat.
If the human body is 60% water per medicalnewstoday, then its obviously possible to lose that much, but wouldn't the remains need to be in the open for effective evaporation conditions? If complete remains were in the frunk in cycles of heat (day/night, rain/sun), wouldn't most of the mass be there, but in a converted state through the process of evaporation and condensation inside the frunk?


It cant be that the frunk was so sealed it didn't let smell out but it was so open that 30% of her weight evaporated? IMOO

 

[acutename]

medicalnewstoday

I still cant reconcile how much of CRs mass was lost (approximately 30% of her original weight) if she was in a sealed frunk wrapped up the whole time in July/August LA heat.
If the human body is 60% water per medicalnewstoday, then its obviously possible to lose that much, but wouldn't the remains need to be in the open for effective evaporation conditions? If complete remains were in the frunk in cycles of heat (day/night, rain/sun), wouldn't most of the mass be there, but in a converted state through the process of evaporation and condensation inside the frunk?


It cant be that the frunk was so sealed it didn't let smell out but it was so open that 30% of her weight evaporated? IMOO

I think it allows some evaporation and/or leakage because they sell replacement seals:

Front Trunk Cowl Water Seal & Hood Weatherstrip for ...​

teslaunch
https://teslaunch.net › products › front-trunk-cowl-wate...




Water & Dust Protection: The Cowl Seal prevents rain and debris from entering critical areas, while the Hood Weatherstrip strengthens front trunk sealing, ...
$26.99 to $42.99 · In stock · Free delivery over $129 · 30-day returns

I understand your Q because even though it was super hot this summer in CA, it is a lot of water loss. Maybe some Youtuber in the desert can put a gallon of water in their frunk and do an experiment.

 

[acutename]

There are stages to decomp, with different parts of the body undergoing decomp at different rates depending on the exact conditions. I believe the car was at the impound yard for 11 days? Apparently the tow truck person didn't notice any smell. So had she just been put in there? Or did that person feel it could be smell of nearby roadkill.

It is an area of L.A. where dead critters are found, occasionally. I would think that the car towing person (who probably just hooked the winch onto the front of the car (but maybe the back, I don't know) would have noticed it.

I am assuming that they've ruled out anyone breaking into the tow yard to deposit a body in a Tesla trunk.

The trunks on Teslas are apparently relatively air tight, so your guess about it being to soon to smell is a good one.

I am curious about the tow yard- would think that they have fences, razor wire, cameras....? If the tow yard is not secure, that is a defense.

 

[vls12345]

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Too many members are posting guesses with "I think it was said ..." or "I read somewhere ..." type of posts. This style of posting leads to rumors down the road because other members just recall it being stated and end up remembering it as fact. This doesn't mean you can't post your opinion on a fact, but we have to have the fact linked up.

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Thank you.

 

[Deleted member 371850]

There are stages to decomp, with different parts of the body undergoing decomp at different rates depending on the exact conditions. I believe the car was at the impound yard for 11 days? Apparently the tow truck person didn't notice any smell. So had she just been put in there? Or did that person feel it could be smell of nearby roadkill.

It is an area of L.A. where dead critters are found, occasionally. I would think that the car towing person (who probably just hooked the winch onto the front of the car (but maybe the back, I don't know) would have noticed it.

I am assuming that they've ruled out anyone breaking into the tow yard to deposit a body in a Tesla trunk.

The trunks on Teslas are apparently relatively air tight, so your guess about it being to soon to smell is a good one.

Thank you for this information.

The car was towed on September 5th. It sat there for about three days until the police were alerted on September 8th and discovered CR’s body.

I am of the opinion that the reason the odour was noticed at the tow yard and not at the point of towing is because something may have shifted, whether that was the body, something from the front area of the car, or both, when the car was lifted to be towed. This shift could have allowed the odour to escape more rapidly.

Not sure if a break-in at the tow yard was ruled out. Fingers crossed that the police have done their due diligence

 

[Deleted member 371850]

There are stages to decomp, with different parts of the body undergoing decomp at different rates depending on the exact conditions. I believe the car was at the impound yard for 11 days? Apparently the tow truck person didn't notice any smell. So had she just been put in there? Or did that person feel it could be smell of nearby roadkill.

It is an area of L.A. where dead critters are found, occasionally. I would think that the car towing person (who probably just hooked the winch onto the front of the car (but maybe the back, I don't know) would have noticed it.

I am assuming that they've ruled out anyone breaking into the tow yard to deposit a body in a Tesla trunk.

The trunks on Teslas are apparently relatively air tight, so your guess about it being to soon to smell is a good one.

Thank you for this information.

The car was towed on September 5th. It sat there for about three days until the police were alerted on September 8th and discovered CR’s body.

I am of the opinion that the reason the odour was noticed at the tow yard and not at the point of towing is because something may have shifted, whether that was the body, something from the front area of the car, or both, when the car was lifted to be towed. This shift could have allowed the odour to escape more rapidly.

Not sure if a break-in at the tow yard was ruled out. Fingers crossed that the police have done their due diligence

 

[sennybops]

1. It was parked along a giant hedge in a stretch of street where people only park occasionally or when commuting. People hop out of their cars and head home, they don't linger near the other cars. If the car wasn't driven much, not a lot of the smell would be in the main compartment and the trunk is fairly air tight (but when driven, there's an air scoop that brings trunk air into the passenger compartment). It's a scoop, so if the car was towed with its front end forward (which is what I see in my neighborhood), the scoop would have pushed odor particles into the main compartment as they transported it.

This could be a reason for the car no longer being moved from place to place around the neighbourhood.

 

[Deleted member 371850]

There is a spat of calls in 2024 almost certainly related to Celeste, (they could be calls about her running away, information on her whereabouts, reporting her return, or just strife with her parents.)

However there is almost a year between the incident in May 24 and the last call in April 25. I don't think we can confidently say that call indicates Celeste returned home and ran away again. Or that it has anything to do with her at all. At least not without further information being released.

It would be very useful if it was that though, that would drastically cut down the window of time to focus on.

There are additional police calls between May 2024 and April 2025, but those carry different dispatch codes. My focus here is specifically on the MINCRIMI-coded pattern, and that pattern ends on April 27, 2025.

After that date, no further calls of any kind appear on the log , not MINCRIMI or otherwise, until September 9, 2025, which is the day after Celeste’s body was discovered.

For anyone wishing to verify, the call log can be obtained via a public record request through the Riverside County Sheriff’s Website, as it is listed under publicly accessible dispatch records.

 

[Valiant]

I am curious about the tow yard- would think that they have fences, razor wire, cameras....? If the tow yard is not secure, that is a defense.

Tow yards, the ones I’ve been to, are pretty secure. They don’t want people accessing their towed vehicle without paying the fees.

 

[arielilane]

I believe this is old news for y'all, but wanted to post for those interested or who may have missed it.
It's not unusual to transfer ownership into a trust, though ... its interesting nonetheless. jmo

D4vd Puts House in Mom's Name Amid Celeste Rivas Hernandez Death Investigation

One month after the body of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found in the front trunk of a Tesla registered to D4vd, the singer has transferred ownership of his Texas homes to his mother.

www.eonline.com

Oct. 10

 

[Eli9]

No luminol?

Owner of home rented by D4vd hires PI to solve Celeste Rivas mystery

Landlord Mladen Trifunovic wasn't even aware D4vd was staying at his $4.1 million mansion until police raided the property in September, as they investigated the death of Celeste Rivas.

www.dailymail.co.uk

‘I have a private investigator gathering information because my family and I want to understand what may or may not have happened in or around a home that is very special to us,’ said Trifunovic.

‘We are not interfering with the LAPD’s investigation; we are simply seeking answers I fear may not be communicated to us unless we use a licensed investigator.’

I have not been told by law enforcement that Celeste died in the house. There are no obvious signs that something happened inside,’ Trifunovic said,

 

[Sillybilly]

ADMIN NOTE:

This thread is dedicated to discussing the case of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. It is not dedicated to discussing journalistic integrity or your opinion of approved or non approved sources.

Stay on topic please.

 

[dotr]

Any chance the AC was left on in the car until the power ran out? speculation as i know very little about cars.

 

[iamshadow21]

Any chance the AC was left on in the car until the power ran out? speculation as i know very little about cars.

Air conditioning doesn't generally circulate in the storage spaces, just the cabin. So it wouldn't delay decomposition.

And, as anyone who's following the Parker Scholtes thread will know, most modern cars automatically shut off the AC after a short time to preserve energy anyway.

MOO