Law&Crime Sidebar - D4vd Murder Case: Every Disturbing Twist and Turn

Episode Date: May 18, 2026

From their first meeting in 2022 to a horrifying discovery in a Hollywood tow yard, Sidebar is breaking down the complete, chilling timeline of the case against the musician D4vd, who stands ...accused of the first-degree murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Law&Crime's Jesse Weber comprehensive deep dive details the critical evidence, secret communications, and stunning twists that led up to his ultimate arrest.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Download the FREE Upside App at  https://upside.app.link/sidebar to get an extra 25 cents bonus for every gallon on your first tank of gas. HOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger, Christina O'Shea, Alex Ciccarone, & Jay CruzScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrimeTwitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 This is the complete timeline of the David case. From 2022 to 26, this is a comprehensive look at every major development and detail in this story as we await the next steps for the singer accused of murdering a 14-year-old girl. Welcome to Sidebar. Presented by Law and Crime, I'm Jesse Weber. All right, real quick, before we go any further, I got to tell you about this partner of ours, this app, this sponsor, it is called Upside, and it's amazing because it gets you cash money. back, extra cash back on everyday purchases like gas, groceries, takeouts. So here's what you do.
Starting point is 00:00:37 You download Upside for free. You claim an offer at one of their 100,000 plus locations. You pay like normal with your card. You verify the purchase and just like that, money back. So say I need to get gas or I want take out one night. I'll search for upside offers first. And after I spend, money appears in my app that I can transfer straight into my bank account. And by the way, Upsides frequent users, they earn an average of $254 back a year. So to start getting your cash back. click the link in the description or scan the QR code and make sure to use promo code sidebar because you'll get an extra 25 cents bonus on every gallon on your first tank of guess.
Starting point is 00:01:09 We have been covering all aspects of the David case since the story broke last year, but this is a story actually that goes back years before then. So what we want to do, what we want to do is clarify, simplify. This is a full timeline of all developments, all major developments, the investigation, the key dates that prosecutors claim these alleged crimes were committed. So this is going to be everything you need to know. This is a comprehensive look based on reporting and prosecutors' allegations. And when I say alleged crimes, by the way, I mean that David is currently charged with
Starting point is 00:01:43 first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, an unlawful mutilation of human remains all in connection with the death of 14-year-old Celeste Revis Hernandez. So with that in mind, here we go. full timeline of this entire story. Now, I said this goes back years before, right? January 2020, to be exact. According to the prosecution in their pre-trial brief, this is when David and then 11-year-old Celeste first met. The details of that meeting, not entirely clear. I'm sure that's going to be explored at a trial. Then you fast forward to November 2023, because that is when prosecutors claim David and Celeste began a sexual relationship when she was just 13 years of.
Starting point is 00:02:27 old and he was 18 years old. And how do they know that? What is their apparent evidence to prove that allegation? You go back to the pretrial brief. It says from the evidence list, quote, the description of photographs depicting the victim naked, as well as while she was engaged with defendant in sexual activity when she was 13. As this evidence constitutes child sexual abuse material, CSAM, the photographs themselves will not be presented. While all possible charges that could be proven were not filed, the CSAM is proof of their ongoing sexual relationship while the victim was 13. and 14 years old. By the way, we did a whole sidebar on what could be the potential defenses for that apparent evidence, and if he takes the stand, what he would say about it, or maybe say about it.
Starting point is 00:03:05 Also, we did a sidebar on what potential federal charges could be in the works if you take those allegations, so it's all up on Long Crimes YouTube channel if you want to check it out. Oh, and by the way, when I mentioned this pretrial brief, it's up on the case file section of the Long Crime Plus app too if you want to check out the whole brief. I'm going to talk about it a lot more. But going back to the brief, it also says numerous text messages between defendant and the victim. evidencing their sexual relationship, pregnancy, abortion, and use of plan B emergency contraception. Messages through March 2025 proved defendant continued to manipulate the victim.
Starting point is 00:03:36 As she messaged, all we do is have sex and just hang out. Man, I want more than that for myself. And these messages, they say, were obtained from defendant's iCloud data. January 2024, according to CNN, Celeste and David appeared together in a Twitch stream. February, 2024. That's a key month. You go back to the pretrial brief. It says, quote, detectives learned the victim had been reported missing to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department by her family who live in Lake Elsinore in February and April 2024.
Starting point is 00:04:06 RCSD telephonically contacted defendant on February 17, 2024 after they identified a phone number in the victim's phone records that belonged to him. During the call, defendant claimed he had spoken to the victim last on February 13th or 14th, 2024, but stated he was unaware she was a minor or that she had been reported missing. RCSD advised him that Los Angeles Sheriff's Department deputies would be coming to his home. On that day, defendant was living at 804 North Dahini Place in West Hollywood. RCSD requested that LASD conduct a welfare check at defendant's home. LASD deputies went to defendants home that night at 8.15 p.m. And informed him the victim was a 13-year-old runaway. Defendant again claimed he was unaware she was a minor and he'd only met the victim once in person in November 2023.
Starting point is 00:04:52 However, defendant showed deputies a yearbook photo of the victim he had on his cell phone. Although he claimed to be unaware of where the victim was at the time, she returned home two days later. Despite being informed by law enforcement, the victim was only 13. Defendant continued to pursue her. After the victim returned home in February 2024, her parents took her cell phone away. Defendant drove to Lake Elsinor and paid a junior high school student in the victim's class $1,000 to give the victim a cell phone defendant purchased so they could stay in contact. Throughout 24, the victim spent a significant amount of time with defendant, including summer weekends at his home in the Hollywood Hills and traveling with him to Las Vegas,
Starting point is 00:05:31 London, and Texas to meet his family. So we don't know the exact dates in 2024 that the prosecution alleges this traveler meetings happen, but I'm sure that's going to be explored in a preliminary hearing or a trial. March 19th, 2024. So we talk about the runaway aspect or the apparent runaway aspect of Celeste Life. TMZ reported there is surveillance footage from a liquor store down the street from her home in Lake Elsinore, and this footage apparently captures a person in a black hoodie, white pants who has reportedly been identified as Celeste walking and running down the street. April 24. So just to be clear, April 24 is when her family reports her missing and she had been reported missing in 2024 three times. April 5th was apparently
Starting point is 00:06:17 the final time that she was reported missing. May, 24, according to her, according to, to ABC 7, she reportedly called home. June, 2024. According to CNN, she was photographed backstage at one of David's L.A. shows. September 7th, 2024, Celeste turns 14 years old. September 8th, 2024, TN.Z, reportedly has video of Celeste, engaged in some sort of altercation with people in her Lake Elsinore neighborhood. And by the way, this is going to be a year to the day before her bodies found. November 2024, according to the prosecution's pretrial brief, David
Starting point is 00:06:58 and Celeste apparently broke up, but continue to stay in touch, and they claim the text messages suggest they continued to have sexual relations. January 2nd, 2025, according to Steve Fisher, the private investigator who has been looking into this case from the very
Starting point is 00:07:14 beginning when he was on a prior episode of ours on sidebar, he said the last photos in their possession that they have of Celeste was January 2nd, April 22nd, 2025. This is the night before prosecutors claim, authorities claim, David allegedly killed Celeste. So April 22nd, 2025, the prosecution's brief says that the defendant and the victim engaged in a lengthy argument described in detail in their text messages. The messages revealed the victim's jealousy over defendant's relationships with other women, as defendant led her to believe
Starting point is 00:07:46 they had a future together. She became extremely upset and threatened to disclose damaging information about her relationship with defendant to end his career and destroy his life, defendant's first studio album was due to be released on April 25, 2025. He had an emerging multi-million dollar career already in progress. He also had multiple product endorsements, which were highly profitable. April 23rd, 2025. This is the day that prosecutors believe Celeste was killed and all of her cellular activity ceased. That is according to prosecution. And going to their brief, it says, quote, at approximately 8.40 p.m. on April 23, 2025, defendant sent an Uber to transport the victim from her Lake Elsinor home to his residence. Uber records showing defendant's transaction where he ordered an Uber to pick up the victim from her Lake Elsinor home and transport her to his residence the night of April 23, 2025.
Starting point is 00:08:37 They communicated before and during her Uber ride, which dropped her off at Defendant's Hollywood Hills home around 10.10 p.m. At approximately 10.30 p.m., defendants sent text messages to the victim, inquiring, where she was. The people contend this was part of the defendant's premeditated plan to cover up the murder as she was already dead by this time. Knowing he had to silence the victim before she ruined his music career as she had threatened, very soon after the arrival at his home, defendant stabbed the victim to death multiple times and stood by while she bled out. At no time did he call law enforcement or 911 or take her to an emergency room to attempt to save her life. And we talked about some previous sidebars about how they may be able to prove that,
Starting point is 00:09:16 whether there's a witness or surveillance footage, or maybe just the fact that there was no, or apparently no outgoing call to emergency services. Back to the timeline. Despite knowing she was dead and her family was trying to find her, the evidence will show. Defendant lied and claimed he didn't know where she was. In fact, defendant drove to Santa Barbara County immediately after the victim died, attempting to dispose of her property and destroy evidence at approximately 1130 p.m. on April 23rd, 2025. He drove away from his home as he texted and called the victim's phone asking where she was.
Starting point is 00:09:48 Again, these were acts calculated and planned to set up his defense within a very short timeline after the victim's vicious murder. Defendant drove his Tesla north on the one-on-one freeway to San Marcos Pass Road, SR-154, near Lake Kuchuma in Santa Barbara County. He returned home early the following morning on April 24th, 2025 before going to a radio interview for the release of his album that week. He sent two additional texts to the victim's phone that day, which obviously went unanswered because she was already dead. On April 24, 2025, prosecution says they claim, defendant ordered a shovel from Home Depot that was delivered to his home from postmates. Also on April 24th, this is according to P.I. Steve Fisher, he claims the David management team held a withered album release party in L.A. at 8 p.m. and he believes that David possibly took a red-eye flight to New York after. April 25th, David releases his debut studio album, Withered.
Starting point is 00:10:46 Again, goes back to that alleged financial motive. Think about the timing of when he allegedly killed Celeste. His album's about to be released. April 26th, 2025, the defendant never attempted to contact Celeste again. So the argument is that he killed her, right? That's the allegation. And the other argument is, I'm sure this is going to be made, is the prosecution will say, look, if he didn't do anything to her, isn't it odd that he never
Starting point is 00:11:10 contacted her again, assuming these allegations are true? Go back to the pre-trial brief. Prosecutors claim, May 1st, 2025. Defendant ordered and subsequently Amazon delivered two chainsaws to his home, May 5th, 2025. Defendant ordered and Amazon subsequently delivered a body bag, heavy-duty laundry bags, and a blue inflatable pool to his home. He made these purchases under the fake name Victoria Mendez. May 8th, 2025. Defendant returned to the same area in Santa Barbara County, leaving his home around 1130 p.m.
Starting point is 00:11:40 He returned to the area again on May 31st, 2025. This is an isolated site off SR-154 where the victim's identification was subsequently discovered in January 26. We'll get to that. July 4th, 2025. According to TMZ, a live stream apparently shows David, allegedly telling his purported friends, Neil Langston, and Sukhan.
Starting point is 00:12:02 about the smell in his house, saying that he apologized for how his bathroom smells and claimed that he went to the bathroom two hours earlier. Now, if that's true, if that's going to be presented as evidence, possibly significant because the prosecution they're filing, the pretrial brief, claims that he lied to friends, business associates, and others who noticed, quote, a strong smell of decay in and around his home and vehicle. July 7th, 2025. Again, this is according to the prosecution in the brief, defendant ordered and subsequently Amazon delivered a burn cage to his home under the same fake name as part of his plan to incinerate evidence. July 29th, prosecutors claim surveillance video and other evidence confirms David was the last
Starting point is 00:12:46 person to drive the Tesla, again, we're getting to this where Celeste's body was apparently found, before he left L.A. on a concert tour. Now, not entirely clear whether someone else could have moved it before the Tesla was found, but either way, it was reportedly found on 1405 Bluebird Avenue, which was parked approximately 400 feet from defendant's home at 1368 Doheny Place in the Hollywood Hills. August 5th, 2025. David's Wither tour starts in Delmar, California, and he was supposed to have performances in the United States and Europe and finish on November 4th, 2025. Key, financial motive, timing goes to that, right? And before he left for the tour, the prosecution alleges at some point he did the following.
Starting point is 00:13:30 Quote, defendant took horrifying measures to destroy and discard the victim's body. After placing her body into the blue inflatable pool to prevent her blood from spilling onto his garage floor, defendant used a chainsaw and perhaps other tools to cut off her limbs. Small blue plastic fragments were found embedded in the victim's remains, which were collected by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Department. The fragments were analyzed by the LAPD's Forensic Science Division trace analysis. unit. An expert was able to make a physical fit match from the blue fragments to the blue inflatable pool purchased by defendant in May 2025. In order to distance himself from the victim, he amputated
Starting point is 00:14:04 her left ring and pinky fingers because her ring finger contained a tattoo of his name. Her fingers have not been recovered. Defendant then placed her head and torso into the cadaver bag he purchased. He placed her limbs into a garbage bag, which he deposited into his front trunk, laying the cadaver bag on top. For several weeks or possibly months, defendant left the victim's body to decompose inside is Tesla. August 27th, according to Fox 5, the position of the tires on the Tesla was marked by authority, so it's parked there and it's now being noticed. September 3rd, according to Fox 5, a parking citation is issued for the Tesla. September 5th, the Tesla is towed and impounded in a Hollywood tow lot, September 8th. The day after what would have been Celeste's 15th birthday,
Starting point is 00:14:47 her decomposed, dismembered body is reportedly found in the front trunk of the the Tesla. Prosecution alleges that the manager of the tow yard where the Tesla had been impounded noted the strong smell of decay in the presence of flies coming from the vehicle. He notified the Los Angeles Police Department Hollywood Auto Detectives through departmental resources determined that the Tesla was registered to the defendant. At the tow yard, LAPD detectives opened the Tesla's front storage compartment and observed a black cadaver bag covered in insects inside the bag they discovered a severely decomposed
Starting point is 00:15:21 head and torso. A plastic garbage bag beneath the black cadaver bag contained the dismembered arms and legs. However, the victim's ring and pinky fingers on her left hand had been amputated and were not found in the Tesla. September 9th, David, as part of his tour, reportedly performs at the Fillmore out in Minneapolis. September 16th, the Los Angeles Medical Examiner positively identifies the body as that of Celeste through dental records. and investigators say that Celeste has an index finger tattoo reading SH, similar to a tattoo that David reportedly has. September 17th, detectives from the LAPD robbery homicide division serve a search warrant on this reportedly $20,000 a month rental property, which David was renting near where the Tesla was found, 1368 Tahini Place, and bags of evidence reportedly seized.
Starting point is 00:16:14 And, according to the prosecution in the brief, quote, inside the garage, detectives discovered evidence. consistent with the dismemberment of the victim's body in the inflatable pool, which contained multiple linear cuts. Several biological samples, which tested positive for blood, were collected within the garage area. DNA analysis determined that various samples match the victim's unique genetic profile. September 19th, 2025, David officially cancels the rest of his tour. September 23rd, 2025, David transfers ownership of his Texas home to his mom. Now, there is kind of mixed reporting on it because we have seen reporting. that he made changes on September 18th and September 22nd, and he transferred to Texas homes.
Starting point is 00:16:55 Either way, why is this important? Why is it suspicious? Well, the argument would be he did this, right, because he thought he was going to get arrested. I wonder if that's going to be an argument. I wonder if that's going to come out. But that's something to keep in mind. Could it have been for financial reasons? Sure. But I do wonder if it's going to be something that comes up at trial. September 25th, 2025, Celeste Body was reportedly released to her family. September 29th, 2025, it is revealed that Celeste's death certificate lists her cause of death as deferred and her manner of death is pending. We're going to get into more of this in a minute. But also on that day, we got a statement from the LAPD that read, quote,
Starting point is 00:17:32 the Los Angeles Police Department's robbery homicide division has been diligently investigating the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez over the past several weeks. At this time, we can confirm that Celeste Revis Hernandez is deceased and her body was found in the front trunk area of a Tesla belonging to David Burke. The vehicle had been parked at the location from which it was towed for several weeks, so Ms. Rivas Hernandez may have been deceased for several weeks before the discovery of her body. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has not yet determined the cause or manner of Ms. Rivas Hernandez's death. As such, it remains unclear whether there is any criminal culpability beyond the concealment of her body. R.HD is thoroughly examining every aspect of this case to uncover the truth and seek justice for Celeste Revis Hernandez and her family. We appreciate the public's patience and understanding as we continue this investigation.
Starting point is 00:18:16 investigation. Further updates will be provided as appropriate, but at this time, we are unable to answer additional questions. Now, obviously, that caused quite a bit of stir and confusion about how the investigation was going and how no one could be charged with her death. But then you go to October 2025. And we learned through reporting from the New York Post that David has hired celebrity criminal defense attorney Blair Burke. Did a whole sidebar episode on her and potential defenses, too, but at the time he hadn't been criminally charged, but reportedly hired her. November 2025. It is reported that David is no longer cooperating in the investigation. November 21st, 2025.
Starting point is 00:18:53 This is when a court orders that the LAPD medical examiner report and information on Celeste death be sealed, that a security hold is placed to prevent any information from coming out to the media, and that this was petitioned by the LAPD. Now, the chief medical examiner have released a statement that said at 10.54 a.m. on Friday, November 21st, the County of Los Angeles, Department of Medical Examiner, Department received a court order initiated by the Los Angeles Police Department to place a security hold on medical examiner case number 2025-14252 Celeste Rivas Hernandez. No records or details associated with the case, including the cause and manner of death and medical examiner report, can be released or posted on the website until further notice. In fact, the chief medical examiner of Dr. O'Day Uckpo said, as quoted in the press release,
Starting point is 00:19:39 the department's mission is to have full transparency with the community by providing information about our cases to empower people to make changes. that saved lives. Since becoming the department head, I've worked on eradicating the practice of placing security holds on medical examiner cases simply by law enforcement request. The practice of security holds is virtually unheard of in other counties and has not been proven to improve outcomes in the legal system. We are dedicated to serving our community with full transparency. However, the law precludes us from doing so while the court order remains in this case. So arguably a little bit of tension there between the ME's office and LAPD, maybe, maybe not. And I did a cyber episode when I talked about potential defenses and whether this is something that's going to be
Starting point is 00:20:17 explored by the defense. By the way, LAPD robbery homicide put out a statement that said at that time, quote, the LAPD sought to seal the records of the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's investigation into Celeste Rivas's death. That order was sought only to ensure detectives from the robbery homicide division learned of important information surrounding her death before the media and the public. The order was not sought to undermine transparency. December 9th, 2025. While it would be publicly released until after David's arrest, we have learned that the medical examination on Celeste was completed on December 9, 2025. You read verbatim from the summary portion, and it says, quote, autopsy examination was limited by extensive post-mortem changes. There are two penetrating
Starting point is 00:21:04 wounds of the torso with smooth edges that may represent sharp force injuries. The wound on the upper abdomen penetrates the liver and the wound on the left chest penetrates one of the left intercostal spaces with disruption of the adjacent ribs cortical surfaces. The left lung appears intact. The bilateral upper and lower extremities show full thickness dismemberment. Multiple other skin and soft tissue defects are present without apparent associated internal injuries. The ideology of these defects is not clearly apparent due to severe postmortem changes. Postmortem toxicology performed on liver tissue shows the presence of a low level of ethanol. which may be due to post-mortem changes or ingestion and does not appear to be contributory to the cause of death,
Starting point is 00:21:45 given the history and circumstances, as currently known by me, in the setting of the findings, by examination, ancillary studies, and in the absence of other definitive causes of death, the cause of death is multiple penetrating injuries. The manner of death is classified as homicide. And the report also shows there was presumptive positives for benzodiazepines and methamphetamine, MDMA, and CELES systems. So now we get a sense of when authorities knew what. By the way, we start hearing rumblings at this time about a grand jury, hearing evidence in Celeste's case. We don't have a ton of details. We would later learn there
Starting point is 00:22:13 were reportedly three grand juries hearing evidence. And in December of 2025, we learned reportedly that David's manager Robert Morgan Roth allegedly testified and reportedly said in a hallway during a break in the courthouse that the L.A. County Deputy DA, Beth Silverman, was quote, very pushy on why it and called police. This is per TMZ. And that he allegedly said that, quote, I feel like I didn't have the responsibility to do that and just, wanted to continue with the tour. January, 26, David's family is reportedly subpoenaed to testify purportedly in front of a grand jury regarding Celeste's death. January 17th, 2026. Celeste passport card, as I mentioned before, was found by a Caltrans worker off SR-154 in Santa Barbara County. Remember,
Starting point is 00:22:59 that's where authorities claim David traveled to to possibly dispose of evidence. January 22nd, 2026, David's purported friend Neil Langston was arrested in Montana. allegedly at his mom's house on reportedly a failure to appear as a witness on that charge. It was reported that the local PD had assisted the LAPD on this. February 4th, 2026. TMZ reports that Langston appears in a Los Angeles courtroom reportedly to testify before the grand jury, but only for 30 to 40 minutes. Raises a lot of questions.
Starting point is 00:23:27 If this is true, what did he testify to? He was so important. It's a short time to testify, right? Immunity deal. Did he plead the fifth against self-incrimination? I'm sure that I'll be explored later on. February, 2026. David's father, mother and brother challenged subpoenas to travel to L.A. and testify, but a Texas court denied their petition.
Starting point is 00:23:46 Notable is this comment from a court hearing where Bennett Dodson, Assistant DA for Waller County out in Texas, told the court, don't think it's a secret to anyone at this point that Mr. David Burke as a musician who's quite famous, and this matter concerns a car that was registered to him at these witnesses' address here in Houston that had a dismembered decomposing body in it. I would say if a car with a dismembered decomposing body is registered to your home address, that is something you should expect to be questioned by the authorities about, and that's what this is, Judge. We learn from these court filings that there is, in fact, a murder investigation into Celeste's death, and that David is the target. March 13th, 2026, Neil Langston posts private Instagram stories that reportedly read, quote,
Starting point is 00:24:27 thankfully, I'm legally fine in every way, and boy, do I got all my receipts for things. Ha, ha, ha, ha. And then he reportedly posted, I think the worst part is that I've told so many people that I trust and I thought knew me as a person my side of things, all for that to be thrown out that window as soon as I get arrested and they slapped that bleep's name next to mine. And for the record, the thing I was arrested for wasn't even charged. They never filed it and my warrant was retracted because there is more to the story than what's on the news. April 16th, 2026, David was arrested. Armed personnel took him from a Hollywood Hills home just over a mile from the tow yard,
Starting point is 00:25:03 which was significant because we hadn't had any clue where David was during all this time. He had reportedly been radio silent since he canceled his tour. Reportedly, it made no public appearances, but he was arrested, not formally charged, by the way. That was interesting. He was arrested, not formally charged, and we would learn that a grand jury never officially indicted him. And instead, this case would move forward through a preliminary hearing process in which a court, a judge, would determine whether there's sufficient probable cause to support the charges and have this case move forward towards trial. We're going to get more on that in a second. April 20th, 2026, Los Angeles County District Attorney, Nathan Hockman, announces the formal charges against David. Today, I am announcing the charges against David Anthony Burke, the musician known as David, spelled D4VD, in connection with the brutal and horrific murder of Celeste, a 14-year-old at that time.
Starting point is 00:25:58 These charges include the most serious charges that a DA's office can bring. That is, first-degree murder with special circumstances. The special circumstances being lying in wait, committing this crime for financial gain or murdering a witness in an investigation. The special circumstances carry with it, along with the first-degree murder charge, a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of prison. parole or the death penalty. The determination on whether or not the district attorney's office will seek the death penalty will be made at a later time. Before I get into the actual charges,
Starting point is 00:26:42 and there are additional charges against Mr. Burke, including continuous sexual acts, lewd in lascivious sexual acts with an individual under 14 years old, and mutilating a human remains of a body. Before I get into the description of these charges and their seriousness, I want to look at this as a parent. I am a parent of three children and a parent's nightmare is a situation where your daughter goes out one night and never comes back. As we will show in a court of law and what I also want to make sure about that the understanding of these charges is clear, is my description of these charges is not evidence that we are going to present in court. These charges, in fact, will not be evidence in the court. Evidence will be the witness testimony,
Starting point is 00:27:39 the documents, and different types of admissible testimony that we will admit into court in the prosecution and if it leads to the eventual trial of Mr. Burke to convince a jury of 12 people beyond a reasonable doubt that each and every one of these charges is true, as well as the special allegations and circumstances that have been alleged. Yeah, so the prosecution alleges that David murdered Celeste to keep her quiet, ostensibly about their alleged illegal sexual relationship. And David also appeared in court alongside his attorney Blair Burke and prosecutor Beth Silverman. We believe the actual evidence will show David Burke did not murder Celeste.
Starting point is 00:28:24 Rivas Hernandez, nor was he the cause of her death. And we would like to be able to have the evidence come into the light of day at the earliest opportunity in order to establish that. Your Honor, as I did the case of counsel, there's approximately 40 terabytes of discovery in this case. Moreover, in order to obtain the transcripts from a grand jury investigation, counsel must have filed a motion. She noticed the way the system works.
Starting point is 00:28:54 not able to gather those. They have to be provided after the court orders them at least because it was an investigation. Second of all, if council plans on going to a preliminary hearing within the 10 days, it is unlikely that there will be very much discovery provided within that period given the voluminous nature and how long it's going to take to copy on to drives. In addition to that, the coroner's report was sealed in this case in order to prevent from pampering truthful testimony for witnesses that testified at the grand jury. So an order will also have to be obtained in order to get the coroner's department, which is now the medical examiner's department, to release those materials.
Starting point is 00:29:41 April 21st, 2026, Celeste's family breaks their silence. They release a statement that says, we would like to thank the Los Angeles Police Department in the District Attorney's Office for their hard work. We would also like to thank the people of Lake Elsinore for all their support. Celeste was a beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance. Every Friday night was movie night and we spent wonderful times together. We love her very much and she always told us that she loved us. We miss her deeply. All we want is justice for Celeste. April 22, 2026. Again, the ME report that I mentioned before, that is released, along with a statement from the chief medical
Starting point is 00:30:16 examiner that says after several months, I'm grateful this information can now be released, not only to the public, but also to the grieving family enduring loss. It is unfathomable. They have had to wait this long to learn what happened to their daughter. Transparency of the information contained in our findings and report is essential for empowering the community to make informed changes to effectively reduce fear and allowing the community to take informed action. Making the department's information publicly available is not just about accountability. It is about social justice and prevention. By ensuring access to this information, we strengthen our ability to learn to act and ultimately to prevent the next tragic loss of life. I want to extend my gratitude to our partner agencies for taking the necessary step of filing an order with the court to make this disclosure.
Starting point is 00:30:54 possible. April 23, 2026. In a follow-up court hearing, we learned that there was reportedly a, quote, significant amount of child pornography found on David's device or devices. A preliminary hearing is set for May 1st. April 29, 2026, David's back in court. That is when the prosecution's pre-trial brief is released, the one that I've been talking about throughout this episode. The preliminary hearing is now continued, moved to May 26. April 30th, 2026. The death certificate, has been amended to state that is unclear whether Celeste was pregnant before she died. Although I've talked about this before, there's nothing in the ME's report that suggests necessarily she was
Starting point is 00:31:33 pregnant. And if there had been evidence, she was pregnant, I got to believe prosecutors would have jumped on that as proof of the alleged illegal sexual relationship as motive. I spoke to forensic death investigator Joseph Scott Morgan about this. He suggested that they just had to put this down, given the apparent messages regarding pregnancy and abortion and plan B that I referred to before. May 12th, 2026, the court continues the preliminary hearing now to June 29th. It is essentially an issue of there being a large amount of evidence to review in order to be properly prepared for this hearing where the defense will challenge the prosecution's evidence. A status conference has been set now for June 17th. So there you have it. Full time line
Starting point is 00:32:12 in the David Celeste Revis Hernandez case. It's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcast. You can also check us out on NBC's Peacock as well. If you want to follow me, X Instagram, my News Nation Show, Jesse Weber Live, Monday through Friday, 11 p.m. Eastern. I'll see you next time, everybody.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.