D4vd's Team Allegedly Helped Him Do WHAT?!

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

This is The Big Breakdown, a long look back at some of the biggest stories we're covering for you at the Hidden Killers Podcast and True Crime Today. This is Hidden Killers Live with Tony Brueski and Robin Drake.

Tony Brueski (0:16)

Let's go to another case that is getting more traction. And very interestingly, we're learning a lot more about because of civil discovery, because of a civil case that's now been launched against David, D4vd, David Anthony Burke, who is awaiting trial for the brutal murder and dismemberment of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Criminal trial is looming. Massive new legal development just dropped this week in what would have been Celeste's 16th birthday. Her family filed a sprawling wrongful death and human trafficking lawsuit, but they aren't just suing Burke. They're going after his mother, his management, his security guard and his record entities, alleging that the adults in his orbit knew about the exploitation of a child and did absolutely nothing. Joining us to break it down, it is Robin Drake, retired FBI special agent, chief of the counterintelligence behavioral analysis program in Jennifer Coffindaffer, retired FBI special agent. Jennifer, the civil suit, it targets the inner circle, mom, manager, the live-in security guard. In your time with the FBI investigating high-profile or wealthy targets, how common is it for an entire payroll of adults to become willfully blind to the exploitation, in this case of a kid, just to keep the money machine running? I can think of another guy who had some allegations like that against him not that long ago, the old diddler.

But this is kind of more on a different scale, if you will.

Jennifer Coffindaffer (1:47)

Yeah, a different scale. But listen, they have to go after everybody in the inner circle because the money's been distributed to the inner circle. Right? He signed over everything to mama. So they have to go there. But you know, and I don't know what you're going to think about this statement I'm going to make. But I'm just-

Tony Brueski (2:03)

Everybody, buckle up. Everyone quickly, brace yourselves.

Robin Drake (2:09)

Standby for spicy Jen. Yeah, spicy Jen.

Tony Brueski (2:11)

Standby for Jen. Okay, go for it.

Jennifer Coffindaffer (2:14)

How can this family not point their critical finger in the mirror?

Tony Brueski (2:21)

Yeah, I agree.

Jennifer Coffindaffer (2:23)

We're with you. I mean, look at the fact that she was reported missing. And then I have video footage of her at home arguing with a neighbor.

She was absolutely in and out. And I have other evidence that she, the mom, family knew she was cavorting, you know, flying things they signed off on. So this critical finger needs to be pointed in both directions. That's, sorry.

Robin Drake (2:52)

It seems odd that they decided, again, is pure conjecture and just optics from what we've seen. It's all of a sudden now they decide to be parents?

Tony Brueski (3:01)

Yeah.

Yes, exactly. I 1000% agree with you, Jen. I've been screaming this for months now on this case, too.

Robin Drake (3:08)

You want to give grace, but at the same time, what the hell?

Tony Brueski (3:11)

I mean, you lost your daughter. I have, I understand. That's horrible. I cannot freaking imagine what that must be like. I don't want to imagine what that must be like. But at the same point, you also signed the releases. Oh, yes, this is a great idea. Go overseas with the gentleman who's an adult and you're a child.

And that's fine. That's good. That's all A-OK with us.

Robin Drake (3:37)

Oh, you're the only child. You're the only underage person on this trip.

Tony Brueski (3:40)

You mean inappropriate things were happening? I didn't expect that. It just seemed like a nice educational trip. He's opening your eyes to the world. Yeah, that's what's happening, mom and dad. I don't buy for a second that they were that stupid, but I don't know that they also, I don't know if they fully understand or fully weighed the reality of what was going on around their daughter and this man. I don't know. I mean, at the end of the day, this again, it feels to me in a certain way like cockroaches are running away from the scene of the fire because they don't want to get burned because they were too close to it, putting the kindling on it to begin with.

I do have empathy and I do have sympathy, but yeah, at the end of the day, I've been saying for a while, I'm kind of surprised to a certain extent that there's no charges against her own parents for, I don't know, something. Child endangerment? Child endangerment, something around those ranges. I suppose if you're going to go really loud and big and bold and file the civil lawsuits, you're really trying to push everybody over there going, see, we can't possibly be culpable for any of this stuff or have any sort of responsibility. Let me ask you that. Does that matter? Does filing the civil suit, does the grandstanding of, these are all horrible people, we're just innocent parents, does that, does it affect anybody or any sort of charging decisions when it comes to looking at who to go after in a case like this?