Court

3:25 PM PT -- Lindsay Clancy's ex-husband Patrick Clancy took the stand after opening statements ... and as expected, he defended her. Patrick testified she fell into a shame spiral after the birth of their third child ... and threatened both suicide and harm to the children while on several prescribed medications by at least three different providers.

She also spent several days in psychiatric hospitals in late 2022 and early 2023 because she was still having thoughts of suicide, Patrick said. His testimony is expected to continue throughout the week.

The murder trial for Lindsay Clancy began Monday morning with opening statements ... in a horrific case of the Massachusetts mother accused of murdering her three young children.

Clancy is accused of strangling Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan with elastic workout bands at her Duxbury home -- before she tried to kill herself.

Lindsay's lawyers are expected to make a case for insanity, intending to argue the mom was experiencing postpartum psychosis when she allegedly brutally killed her kids.

2:02 PM PT -- The judge ordered the murder case of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas to proceed to trial.

2:02 PM PT -- 2:02 PM PT -- The judge ordered the murder case of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas to proceed to trial.

Celeste Rivas' family knew she was hanging out with D4vd before she was found dead in his car ... and in some cases, signed off on her traveling with him on tour and overseas, despite initially saying they didn't know him ... at least according to his defense team.

D4vd's attorneys presented evidence Monday -- during the fifth day of his preliminary hearing -- suggesting the family knew something was going on between Celeste and D4vd and did nothing to stop it.

Celeste's sister allegedly traveled with them to one of D4vd's shows in Las Vegas ... and a notarized travel form to her parents showed they allegedly gave consent for Celeste to travel to London for a week in 2024 without any other family members.

"Top Chef" star Eric Adjepong allegedly violated a restraining order against his ex-wife, Janell Mack, more than a year before his daughter obtained a protective order against him ... TMZ has learned.

Here's the deal ... Janell took Eric to court in January 2025 and successfully obtained a temporary protective order that barred him from contacting her by "any means."

Well, one day after the order was set -- on Jan. 23 -- Eric allegedly asked his former wife via the "OurFamilyWizard" parenting app to FaceTime him.

A court summons was issued ... and Eric was reminded to never contact her again. The protective order was effective through Feb. 4, 2025.

Chris Brown's former housekeeper Maria Avila is on the hunt for the nearly $13 million she is owed for the vicious dog attack at the R&B singer's home ... and she wants to get her paws on the money he's making from his tour with Usher ... TMZ has learned. 

In court docs obtained by TMZ, Maria said Chris has "made no effort to satisfy any portion of the judgment." She now wants the court to give her full access to Chris' financial records so she can seize what she's owed.

Maria points out that Chris is currently on tour with Usher for The R&B Tour, which she says he is being paid handsomely. 

The tension between Celeste Rivas and D4vd was at a boiling point before she was killed last April ... and it seems she was done with him.

This new information came to light Friday, during D4vd's preliminary hearing ... prosecutors showing text messages between the young teen and singer from August 2022 to March 2025, just a month before she was killed and dismembered.

In the March 2026 conversation, the 14-year-old girl told the singer she was through with him ... and that if they wanted to be friends ... it would only be online, never in person again.

The text read, "I don't want anything to do with you in person anymore." Later in the messages, D4vd told Celeste, "Yeah the boundary setting is terrible."

Celeste replied, "It's not even that, D, a lot more than just that."

Graphic photos of Celeste Rivas having sexual encounters with D4vd were described in court Friday ... and it was more than enough to send her parents running for the exit.

Prosecutors detailed numerous pics of Celeste engaged in sexual acts with her alleged murderer during D4vd's preliminary hearing ... and all the talk caused Celeste's parents to become distraught.

In fact, prosecutors actually suggested Celeste's mother and father leave the courtroom ... telling them they shouldn't hear about the images ... and they exited in tears.

Gruesome photos showing Celeste Rivas' dismembered and decomposing remains are so tough to look at, folks started pouring out of the courtroom after they were shown in court during D4vd's preliminary hearing.

During Friday's hearing, medical examiner Dr. Grant Ho -- who examined the young girl's body -- returned to the stand to describe incredibly graphic images presented by the prosecution.

At one point, Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman showed photos of Celeste's two amputated fingers ... eliciting gasps and shrieks from inside the courtroom.

Even D4vd looked away from the graphic image.

Jay-Z is going after the godmother of the man who claims he is the rapper's son … and the music mogul wants to make sure the woman can't dodge a 6-figure sum she owes him.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Jay-Z filed legal docs related to Lillie Coley’s ongoing bankruptcy case.

Jay-Z is asking that the $119K that Lillie was ordered to pay him not be wiped clean as part of her bankruptcy. He said the debt can’t be erased because the judge awarded it due to Lillie’s “fraudulent statements and misrepresentations designed to harass and target” him.

Lindsay Clancy's ex-husband is making an unusual plea to the judge in her upcoming murder case ... he doesn't want pictures of his murdered children shown during her trial.

Patrick Clancy -- who discovered their 3 children dead in their Massachusetts home in January 2023 -- reportedly filed a motion this week begging the judge to not show crime scene pics or allow his 911 call to be played in court.

The trial is going to be televised ... and Patrick doesn't want those graphic details being blasted out into the ether.

D4vd's lawyers are coming out swinging in the preliminary hearing of Celeste Rivas' murder case ... and they're taking aim at LAPD's criminalists.

On Thursday, D4vd's defense attorney, Blair Berk, questioned criminalist Lauren Wallace, who had previously testified about the presence of possible blood evidence in his garage ... specifically asking about the 2 chainsaws they found.

Wallace explained that they didn't swab the chainsaws for touch DNA, considering the presumptive blood testing on the power tools had come back negative.

Celeste Rivas' mom was doubled-over crying in court Thursday, TMZ has learned. But as witnesses took the stand, D4vd sat stone-faced.

During day 3 of the singer's preliminary hearing in Celeste's murder case, Samantha Tosch -- a criminalist with the LAPD Crime Lab's DNA Unit -- took the stand to discuss alleged DNA evidence.

Celeste's mom was crying and was handed a tissue during Samantha's testimony, as she was detailing possible blood samples that contained DNA profiles which were allegedly consistent with the young girl's.

The clothing Celeste Rivas was wearing when she was found dead was a soaked, insect-covered mess when it reached the LAPD crime lab ... and the garments were so badly soiled, a criminalist says she couldn't complete a key comparison.

Prosecutors displayed Celeste's clothes in court Thursday during the third day of D4vd's preliminary hearing ... claiming she was wearing black leggings, a thong, socks, and a tube top when her dismembered body was found in two bags stuffed in D4vd's Tesla.

An LAPD trace evidence analyst testified the items were packaged together and arrived very wet, with a strong odor and numerous dead insects.

She said the clothes were in such poor condition, the heavy soiling interfered with her forensic work.

D4vd's garage was possibly covered in blood ... this according to a forensic criminalist who helped process his home.

Witness Lauren Wallace -- a criminalist with LAPD's forensic science division -- took the stand during Day 2 of the singer's preliminary hearing for the alleged murder of Celeste Rivas Wednesday ... and said red stains all over the singer's garage tested positive for possible blood.

Wallace was there processing the scene in September of 2025 days after Celeste's body was found, and said the team performed BLUESTAR tests -- used to find potential blood evidence -- inside the Hollywood Hills home D4vd was renting.

Clavicular's being questioned about his medical background in a new lawsuit ... courtesy of a teen influencer who claims Clav injected a fat dissolver into her face.

The influencer behind the lawsuit is Aleksandra Vasilevna Mendoza ... she claims Clav had sex with her while she was underage and injected her face with Aqualyx -- a substance which helps rid cheeks of fat.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Aleksandra wants to know if Clav has a healthcare license.

Among the questions being lobbed Clavicular's way ... "On or about November 14, 2024, did the Defendant maintain any healthcare license?"

Prosecutors say D4vd's Tesla was not only storing Celeste Rivas' decomposing body, it was also loaded with nearly a dozen air fresheners when her remains were found ... and they showed photographic evidence in court.

At least 11 air fresheners were scattered throughout the Tesla ... according to photos shown in court Wednesday as part of D4vd's preliminary hearing.

LAPD criminalist Chelsea Murillo said the air fresheners were in the center console, the rear seats and the front trunk ... where Celeste's remains were decomposing in two bags.

When ya think about it ... the presence of 11 air fresheners seems to offer a possible explanation for why Celeste's decomposing body was not sniffed out sooner ... despite weeks of scorching summer temperatures leading up to the grisly discovery.

Interscope Records stayed in business with D4vd for eight months after he allegedly murdered Celeste Rivas ... and while that may sound shocking, nuance and clarity are needed to understand why.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the timeline is paramount here because Interscope took action as information about the case became available from LAPD.

For instance ... prosecutors claim D4vd murdered Celeste in April, but her body was not discovered until September 8, when her remains were found in his impounded Tesla.

At that point, we're told Interscope made the call to stop promoting him immediately. Full stop.