Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - STAR MUSICIAN D4VD WATCHES WHILE CELESTE, 13, BLEEDS OUT IN KIDDIE POOL IN GARAGE

Episode Date: April 30, 2026

Court documents reveal disturbing new details of the  gruesome  murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.  D4vd,  David Anthony Burke, charged with first-degree murder, continuous sexual acts, lewd and lascivious sexual acts with an individual under 14 years old and mutilating the human remains of a body. He has pleaded not guilty.   The documents reveal D4vd was seen on camera driving in his Tesla with Celeste's body in the frunk. What's more,  court document alleges D4vd ordered two chainsaws from Amazon as well as  a body bag, an inflatable pool and a burn cage via Amazon using a fake name.  Investigators say fragments of that pool were found in cut wounds on Celeste's body. Joining Nancy Grace today: Tre Lovell -  Trial Attorney of The Lovell Firm, website: www.lovellfirm.com, Facebook: tre.lovell.5, Instagram: tre-lovell1 Dr. Geri-Lynn Utter - Clinical Psychologist specializing in psychological evaluations and risk assessments for individuals involved in the criminal justice system, Author of “Mainlining Philly: Survival, Hope and Resisting Drug Addition,” and “Aftershock: How Past Event Shake Up Your Life Today”, and Producer of “Utter Nonsense,” a documentary of exploration of addition and severe mental illness, available to stream on Apple TV and Prime Video, website:drgerilynnutter.com, Instagram & Facebook: DrGeriLynnUtter Steve Fischer -  Missing Persons Private Investigator, Search & Rescue Specialist, & Owner of Search Investigations,   hired by the owner of the Hollywood Hills property where D4vd had been staying, website: search investigations.org, Facebook: SearchInvestigations, X: @SF_Investigates  Joseph Scott Morgan  - Professor of Forensics: Jacksonville State University, Author, "Blood Beneath My Feet", Host: "Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan", Instagram @JoScottForensic Susan Hendricks - Investigative Journalist, Author: “Down the Hill: My Descent into the Double Murder in Delphi", IG @susan_hendricks X @SusanHendicks Dave Mack  - Investigative Reporter, 'Crime Stories' See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Bob Shell Tonight, a star musician, multi-millionaire musician, D4VD, aka David Anthony Burke, watches while Celeste Rivas 13, a little school girl, 13, bleeds out in a hidden kitty pool bleeds out in a kiddie pool while he stands there and watches. Good evening. I'm Nancy Grace. This is crime stories. I want to thank you for being with us. This little girl partially skeletonize her left eye gone. We don't know why they wanted to keep it secret for so long.

When I read this, I felt nauseous. I got hot all over because I think of Celeste as that little girl. I have just reviewed the people's brief regarding preliminary evidence in State v. David Anthony Burke. And I've got to tell you, I prosecuted a lot of homicides. I've handled cases where bodies were rendered, all sorts of cases. this is beyond practically anything I've ever seen. Joining me an All-Star panel to make sense of what we are learning straight out to Joseph Scott Morgan. He is a professor of forensics, Jacksonville State University.

He is the author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon. He's the star of a hit podcast series, bodybags with Joe Scott Morgan. But most important, he is a death investigator with over 10,000. death scenes under his belt. Did you read this? That's a yes, no. Yes, no. Did you read it? Yes. Yes. Yes. I sure did.

Okay. I really don't know where to start. But can we start with he, D4VD, David Anthony Burke, stands by and watches Celeste bleed out in a blue kiddie pool? Remember the other night I was talking to you. You know, what we are learning is that there are tiny fragments, microscopic fragments of blue plastic in her body, in the cuts on her body. And we were talking about where did that come from? What could it be? Now we know that SOB placed this girl to bleed out in a kitty pool. It just, it's more than that.

that I can take in. Yeah, I'm glad that you're using the term bleed out because let me explain something to you real quick. The injury, which in my opinion, and I think that the ME corner holds this opinion as well, is the lethal injury here is going to be the liver. Nancy, if you sustain trauma to the liver, I've seen this with stab wounds, gunshot wounds, and motor vehicle accidents, it is not a quick death. This is an agonizing death.

The liver is very vascular. next to the brain. It is the most vascular organ in the body. And so as she was laying there, having had this happen to her, where she is attacked with this weapon, and they're not being very specific here. We know it's sharp. Nancy, she would have bled out or exanguinated,

as a fancy term, but bled out into her abdomen. And it's not one of these things like a gunshot wound, all right, to the head or something like that. That's not what we're talking about here. It would have been a slow, agonizing death that she would have gone through. That experience specifically is enough to send a chill up and down your spine. Trey Lovell, veteran criminal defense attorney trial lawyer, founder of the Lovett firm, joining us out of this jurisdiction.

Now I see why the prosecutor is discussing the death penalty in this case. And yes, D4VD is over 18. That's a cutoff set by the U.S. Supreme Court. The death penalty will apply if it is implemented, if it is handed down by a jury. Che Lovell, could there be anything more aggravating? That's a term of art to prove the death penalty. The state must prove special circumstances, special aggravating circumstances. According to what the state says, they can prove in a preliminary hearing, he, David

Anthony Burt stood by and watched this little girl bleed out in a kitty pool. They got it busted buying on Amazon for Pete's sake. Idiot. He buys it on Amazon. It can be traced to him. And just for fun, let me throw this into you, Trey, in for you, Trey. He used a fake name. He used a different name to buy the kiddie pool.

Look, I bought kitty pools before. I didn't have to use a fake name for it. That's just another element of proof right there. Trey, what do you do with that? A kiddie pool, he watches her, stands there and watches her as she dies. That's cold. Well, listen, you know, the death penalty is one of, is absolutely the most draconian worth sensing that we can have. So we're way, we're way ahead of ourselves.

We need to establish the basic elements here. We need to establish the evidence and ensure, you know, what this guy did. We're at the very beginning. We can't be making judgments at this point. you know, these are egregious facts, but there's a number of things that could have happened that would mitigate the situation on his end, maybe not on somebody else's. So we're way ahead of ourselves in terms of talking about the death penalty now. Did you say mitigation?

Did you say, what? Was he a Cub Scout? What mitigation is there possibly out there that would reduce the fact that the state says, in writing, this isn't a courthouse, rumor up and down the halls outside the judges' chamber. They put it in writing. They can prove he stood there and watched her, as Joe Scott Morgan says, exsinguinate, bleed out. He watched her die. At the precipice of this, these are allegations, evidence has just started, and we can't get ahead of ourselves. The death penalty is the most draconian sentencing we can

have in California, and we've got to make sure, you know, that we meet the elements and we go forward. The death was horrendous. we need to still tie him to it. There's still defenses they can have. So, you know, at this point, we can't be judging it. You know, we've seen one side of the evidence, out of the prosecution. The defense is just getting going. And I guarantee you, they will be poking holes in the evidence. They will have their alternative theory. We are just at the beginning. Straight out to Susan Hendricks, joining us, investigative reporter and journalist, author of a bestseller down the hill my descendant to the double murders in Delphi, Susan Hendricks, just, just the portion.

about him buying. I mean, we've got Amazon orders out the ying yang here, technical legal term, but he is busted buying a blue kitty pool. And I know where the kitty pool was used. It was hidden in his garage, his downstairs garage in that mansion that he was renting. Let's see a shot of the mansion. Maybe I can get a shot of the basement door. So the blue kitty pool, the inflatable pool, was in the basement, and that is where she died. That is where she was rendered. My question is, isn't it true? The state alleges he bought it on Amazon?

I know, absolutely, and that's why what you said, Nancy, that brief is so key because to me gives us a timeline. It shows us what he bought. You mentioned it with a fake name, and to me it says he changed his mind a few times. out of the gate buying a shovel. Did he use that? But the kitty pool, the kitty pool is so horrendous.

I wonder what his train of thought was thinking, oh, I'm going to order this. And this is so she won't bleed everywhere. It's horrific. And that's what the DA said, Hawkman. This is a parent's worst nightmare. There is the shot, Susan. If you can look at your monitor,

this is from our friend Harvey Levin over at TMZ. There is the garage door down the side. the bottom level, the backside of the home. Okay. I'm looking at everything you're saying, you know, another thing that did not escape me to Joseph Scott Morgan, she was identified by her dental records. Yep.

You and I know what that means. Yeah. And she's in such an advanced state of decomposition, Nancy, and that's critical. Actually, it was as a result, I think probably to a great degree of the orthodontic work that she had had done. Remember, this child had braces. All right, let that sink in just for a second. And because of those braces and the work that had been done, the orthodontic people would have had extensive

records on her teeth. And I'm assuming also that they ordered these up pretty quickly. You've got a dentist that's cooperating with the ME in order to get her teeth. tied down, get this ID tied down as quickly as possible. And it could be, I don't completely buy it. It could be that maybe from a sampling standpoint, the DNA was degraded. Again, I'm not necessarily buying that, but they went with dental ID here. And that's going to be critical because it's very distinctive. We all have very distinctive teeth, Nancy.

And even if you've had orthodonts or done, there's still, you know, unique to you because we not only look at the teeth where they're visible, we actually look at the root system on x-ray. And we can do examinations relative to that. The forensic organologist can't. And they turn this around apparently pretty quickly because they needed to verify that this was her because you knew that she was missing. That connected him with her. That's why I think they did it, Joe Scott. I think they used dental records because they couldn't wait on DNA. They already knew of Celestri. Levas existence, they knew she was missing, and they wanted to get that dental match.

They wanted to get an ID on the body immediately, and dental records were the fastest way to go. You're absolutely right. Back out to you. Susan Hendricks is joining us. I was just taking a look at all of the things this idiot ordered on Amazon. Hey, does this name ring a bell? Brian Coburger ordered the murder weapon on Amazon. Don, let's take a look at Brian Coburg's K-bar knife that he ordered.

That came back to haunt him. He can think about that tactical mistake as he's sitting behind bars for life without parole. Then we've got Colt Mom Lori Vallow, you know, technical legal phrase. She's another idiot. Let me go to Trey Lovell on this. Trey, it's when you're prosecuting a murder case and in Colt Mom Lori Vallow's case, multiple murders, including her own children. but let me just throw in her now husband,

the prophet, self-appointed prophet, Chad Daybell. What she saw on him? Not sure he was married, but before his wife died, i.e. was murdered. She caught mom, Lori Vallow, goes on Amazon,

and orders her wedding dress, and a ring, and her soon-to-be-groom's outfit for a beach, E-A-C-H wedding on Amazon before Tammy Daybell, the wife is dead. So you've got, for instance, K-Burger ordering the K-Barr knife. You've got ColtMum, Lori Valo. Does nobody, I mean second verse, same as the first. And you've got D4VD, David Anthony Burke, ordering.

I had to make a flowchart. He ordered a body bag. He ordered a heavy-duty laundry bag, a shovel. Oh, he ordered that from Home Depot. Two chainsaws by Amazon and a home burn cage. I mean, there's more. I'm just throwing you the highlights. He ordered it all on Amazon.

And then ding-dong tried to use a fake name. Listen, he's 18 years old. You know, this guy doesn't know what he's doing. The last thing he's thinking about it. No, he's not. Or 18 at the time of him. Trey Lovell. He's 20.

He was 20 at the time Celeste was murdered. And speaking of ages, they met, and that's certainly an euphemism. They met when she was 12. And he gave her a secret burner phone so they could text. Oh, excuse me. They met when she was 11, 11. And he gave her, according to these bombshell documents, a secret cell phone so they could text. and send naughty pictures back and forth.

11, 11, Trey Lovell. Yeah. Back to Amazon orders. Yes. You know, listen, he's a young guy. It doesn't have the benefit of having lived a while. You know, this is probably something he obviously never been faced with and it may have affected the rest of his career in his life.

And he acted accordingly. You know, so we can't expect people like this to be that in their eyes and crossing the T's. and obviously, you know, post-murder, assuming it's him. He took steps to that he thought would try to hide it, but obviously in this day and age you can't do it. So, you know, that's the problem of youth when you try to commit and you allegedly commit a murder like this.

I love the way you said he was young. Guess what level? She was younger. 11 years old when this whole sordid thing began. Crime stories with Nancy Grace. Back to the evidence. You know, the orders on Amazon, back to Susan Hendricks, investigative journalist, joining us from the field. Susan, what all did this idiot order on Amazon?

Yeah, I have a list here, too, and you're right. A body bag, garbage bag, the burn cage, which I had never heard of. As you said, Home Depot, the shovel, just on and on, picturing him on his cell phone. scrolling like we all do through Amazon. Getting out of a laundry detergent. No, things to get rid of a body. And you're right, just 11 years old when they first connected, 11 with braces. The parents got involved, said, no, you can't see her anymore.

What do you do? He went to her middle school. Paid a kid $1,000 and said, give her this phone. And they continue to communicate a baby in middle school. Hold on just a moment. Can you repeat that about D4VD paying one of her classmates a grand? so they would give Celeste a secret cell phone. What?

Yeah, reported missing by her parents. She went back home in 2024. This was, so he goes. He drives about hour and a half to her middle school. He sees a young kid and says, here, here's $1,000. Give this phone to Celeste so they could keep communicating at this point. I'm picturing just a baby embraces in middle school, pays another little child, $1,000, and therefore Celeste is able to get that phone.

Dr. Jerylind Utter joining us, clinical psychologists specializing in evaluations in the criminal justice system. She's the author of Mainlining Philly, Survival, Hope, and Resisting Drug Addiction, The Author of Aftershock, How Past Events Shake Up Your Life Today. She's the producer of utter nonsense documentary, and you can find her at Dr.jerlinutter.com, 11 years old. And he is just that visual that Susan Hendricks just conjured up of him scrolling through his phone finding just the right kitty pool to watch Celeste bleed out in and their hidden basement layer ordering all of these items, shovel, burn cage, kitty pool, chainsaws. It goes on. There is such a disconnect from individuals like Mr. Burke recognizing that the person that was allegedly killed Celeste was a human being. There is such a huge detachment. I mean, when you look at the behavior, and I don't, you know, age has nothing to do with this.

I don't care if he was 1821. That's even scarier the fact that he was so young, you know, allegedly committing these types of crimes. And it's just so disheartening. So when you look at this, you know, I deal with homicide cases. I deal with extremely violent cases and do risk assessments all the time where somebody unfortunately loses their life. And I work with the perpetrators. And what I can tell you, you know, that's so disturbing for me about this case is the sheer detachment of recognizing humanity.

There was no empathy. There's no remorse. We are not, he is not looking at this little girl. as a human being, let alone a little girl. So it's just, it's so upsetting to have to sit and to read and to take in all of this information. Again, when you're going and you're buying all of different things, you're buying a burn cage. I mean, it just goes to speak to the depravity of it all and how we're not dealing with somebody with one issue, which could be, you know, a pattern of anti-social behavior.

We're dealing with a lot of things, you know, somebody that's attracted to children, violence, you know, obsession with murder and death and how you're going to hurt someone, watching someone bleed out. There's so much to this from a personal perspective. It's just devastating, Nancy. You know, you mentioned obsession with murder and death. Dr. Gerlin, I don't know if you've seen the visuals of his PR campaign where he is wearing bloody clothes, selling bloody clothes. It's just, yes, there you go.

That's just part of it. Joining us now, Steve Fisher, special guest, missing persons private investigator, search and rescue specialist, the owner of search investigations. He was hired by the owner of that Hollywood Hills Mansion where D4VD was renting at the time of the murders. And you are the first person to say the words, fire cage or burn cage or home incinerator. What did you observe? We found the burn cage at the house. after the search warrant was executed. It was, you know, going back now, you can see it in images from live streams and videos that he took at the house.

He didn't seem to have a care in the world that it was there for the friends to see. We found the chainsaw, you know, and several packages in the name of Victoria Mendez from Amazon, including the burn cage. Is there a Victoria Mendez? Not that we have found. It appears just to be an alias he was using. to Steve Fisher, before I get back to what we learned about her body, specifically why two of her fingers were cut off. You know what? Let me just go to Joe Scott, right now.

Joe Scott Morgan, remember a couple of nights ago that you and I were talking about two of her fingers on her left hand were missing, right? Some of the fingers were gone. And why? And they were never found. Never found. The rest of her body found in two separate bags. but her fingers were gone. They were amputated.

Did you know that one of those fingers was the one she had his, D4VD's name, tattooed on the finger? Yes, I have since found that out, but I've got to tell you, it's not surprising because that's a specific identifier that could be tied back to her as a person. And she was a person, Nancy. and he's wanting to get rid of that. And I've had cases like this before where we've had victims that are in an advanced state of decomposition. They've been dumped. I've had hands cut off, heads cut off, those sorts of things. And so it's a feeble attempt, particularly in the face of modern forensic science, to try to keep these people unidentified.

because it's always been my contention in any death investigation, Nancy. If you can determine, you can determine who the person is, it's like the proverbial sweater that mom tells you not to pull the string on. You pull that string and this whole thing comes unraveled relative to it pointing back to this individual, Nancy. Hey, Joe Scott, I know you and I deal in forensics and probative value evidence, but look at this. Look, don't take the photo down.

this finger was amputated because it divulged the identity of the victim but wait, keep looking this is her ring finger and she is wearing an engagement ring a traditional engagement ring this little girl the whole argument the whole thing blew up

when she Celeste got angry that D4VD would not quit sleeping with other people it hurt her feelings she's a little girl she's 13 She said he promised her a future, marriage, children, a life together. And she's even wearing a faux engagement ring on her ring finger with the tattoo on it, dreaming that she was going to be Mrs. David Anthony Burke.

That breaks my heart. And her little broken heart that he would not quit dating other words. women led to her murder because she threatened to reveal their relationship. He was on the verge. Let me go to Steve Fisher on this because he's made an incredible timeline. He was on the verge of dropping an album and launching a world tour. Celeste could have ruined the whole thing. He could either marry her or kill her.

Yeah. It's true. And these other women were minors. that he was that she was upset about and I'm in touch with them and it's just really sad this is grooming to the full extent

I'll tell you one other thing that somebody called me that now that's comfortable since David's been arrested and they told me that Celeste had been trying to get the ring back to David and he wouldn't take it

she was like trying to cut free from this guy of course you know she's being groomed so she still got this thing you know where she's having trouble doing it but she wanted to break free from him and he would not take the ring back he would not let her go.

Steve Fisher, you have exclusive video of D-450s Tesla being moved around in the neighborhood, and you are allowing us to show it. I want to thank you for that. Let's see Steve Fisher's video. What am I saying, Steve? So this is July 29th, which is the last day they're actually in Hollywood because they're leaving on his tour, on the Wither Tour, is beginning that evening in Santa Barbara. And this is the car being moved from the house.

The house is right around where the car starts. It's right around that corner there. And it's coming down to where wraps around to Bluebird. And this is somebody moving the car. I think it's around 10.30 in the morning. I might be off by an hour or so there. But they have the window down. The car is super dirty.

You can tell it hasn't been moved in an extremely long time. They did the windshield wipers once or twice to give it around. And it's a lighter-skinned person with wearing red, sleeves and the red type of jersey. So this is... Sounds like Neo, one of his best friends.

Yeah, I'm going to leave that up for interpretation. Who has not been charged, who appeared at the grand jury, who is not a person of interest. Steve Fisher, what was the first date? What is the date of that video we're showing right now?

July 29th, 2025. And this is the day, this is the last date there. Now, you're saying the windows were rolled down and it's coming out of D4VD's mansion. Do you believe that Celeste was already, her body was already in the front, the front trunk? Absolutely. Yes. Why? Because they leave, that is, this is the last day that the car is driven.

They leave that evening early in the evening late afternoon on a tour bus for the first leg of the tour, which starts in Santa Barbara. and ironically in Santa Barbara or I'm sorry San Francisco and so this is this is it they leave and they're not back for until the search warrant after that search warrant is executed now somebody is back not David but somebody is in that house the day before the search warrant is executed and we don't know we haven't narrowed down the two people but we don't know exactly who but David and is out on tour and doesn't come back before she's found. Crime stories with Nancy Grace.

What an idiot. All the digital evidence ordering from Amazon, postmate, Uber, where he lured her according to these documents. Isn't that truth, Susan Hendricks, that the night we believe she was murdered? D4VD orders an Uber for her. She arrives at his home,

and she's never seen again. Yeah, using everything that we may use every day, as you said, Amazon and Uber, having her delivered to his home knowing exactly what he was going to do. And it's gut wretching to think, just a baby 11, as we mentioned, her body was discovered. I learned September 8th, and her birthday, she would have turned 15 September 7th. He threw her way like crash. How long was she in that car? It's just excruciating.

to think about. You stated he threw her away like trash after he ordered her up like a pizza delivery, like he's ordering Chinese. He just orders an Uber. She comes over. That night, we believe, he killed her according to these bombshell documents. And out to you, Joseph Scott Morgan, he goes to the trouble of ordering a blue inflatable kitty pool to use so she won't bleed on his floor. But guess what? He didn't get rid of all the blood, did he? No, I think that it's probably an empirical impossibility. You know why? Because she was rendered, according to what they're saying, Nancy, with a chainsaw. And I've worked chainsaw cases. And they are some of the most brutal cases that you can encounter from a rendering standpoint.

point. This is critical in a sense that just let me give you one quick stat. A chainsaw actually moves at anywhere from 12,000 at the top end to 15,000 RPM. That's revolutions per minute. Okay. So when you think about this thing going along, it's got teeth on it. So what the ME is saying relative to the report. They're talking about how the edges are clean. And I had a lot of questions about this when I read the autopsy report thinking about, well, this is not going to be some, you know, your granddad's carpenter saw here. Okay.

So what happens with chainsaw is those teeth that you see on the edge on a chainsaw. They will actually grab tissue, soft tissue, muscle, okay, bone. And Nancy, it gets slung every. everywhere. I think that that's probably reasons you're seeing this embedded plastic on the surface of these injuries. And one more thing here. They alleged that he had done this in the garage. Now, I don't know how thoroughly they were able to clean up, but they had to have recovered something. And Nancy, he himself, whoever the perpetrator was, would have absolutely been covered in all of this debris off of her body.

Well, look at page six, Joe Scott. Page six, inside the garage detectives discovered evidence consistent with what happened to the victim's body, the rendering, in the inflatable pool. They find biological samples positive for blood collected in the garage. DNA confirms it matches victim Celeste. So I don't care how much he hosed out the garage. His garden hose is no match for DNA collection, especially with the way that she was killed, the blood that is flying around hitting everywhere in that garage.

Also, there's a ton of digital evidence that we're hearing about. Susan Hendricks, what else jumps out at you tonight? out of this document that we've just obtained. That less than 24 hours later, after allegedly murdering her, he goes to the opening of his album at the 100 Thieves Cash App compound. He's out there partying. Just, and as I mentioned, the motive, they were arguing on the 22nd. 23rd comes around, gets the Uber, brings her to his house.

He knows what he's doing, kills her, acts like nothing happens, and all he thinks about is getting rid of her. That's it and himself. Goes to a launch party. And then goes in parties. Look at that, Steve Fisher. We're showing a shot of the party. You first told us about, Steve.

These are your photos. What happened? Somehow he is within 24 hours, you know, out celebrating it in what I don't understand. And maybe Joseph can speak more of this. Can you even clean the scene up within this amount of time before he's at this party to the point where, you know, LAPD, when they came out and did that search morning, they didn't turn it into a major crime scene. They weren't in Tevick suits after they found some. You know, they were only there a few hours.

So I'm confused how he was able to clean it so well by himself and then have a party the next night that started at 9 p.m. Not super late. So I still have a lot of questions after this out of David was or after this. I've got a question about how he was out there partying after he just killed some murdered and rendered a little girl. Oh. And he's partying. I mean, career before all, there was no way in H.E. E.L.

He was going to let a little 13-year-old girl destroy his world tour and his album drop. Oh, no. Nothing will get in the way of that. Well, how does life without parole or the California death penalty feel now, David, Anthony Burke? You can think about that as you await trial to everyone listening tonight. If you know or think you know anything regarding the murder of this little girl, Celeste Rivas, please dial 213-486-6-890. Repeat, 213-486-6890. We remember an American hero officer Michael Wall, L.A. County Probation, California, passed away in the line of duty after 14 years, leaving behind his daughter.

sentenced to life without dad, Aubrey, American hero officer Michael Wall. Thank you to our guests, but especially to you for being with us and our search to bring justice to Celeste. Nancy Gray signing off, but I'll see you tomorrow and I, and until then, good night, friend. This is an I-Heart podcast, guaranteed human.