How Does D4VD's Defense Fight The Most Serious Charges California Can Bring?

**Tony Brueski** (0:00)
This is Hidden Killers' half year in review. A look back at some of the most compelling cases of 2026 so far.
This is Hidden Killers Live with Tony Brueski and Robin Green.

**Tony Brueski** (0:16)
First degree murder with special circumstances. Lying in wait, financial gain, killing a witness, lewd acts with a person under the age of 14
Mutilation of the remains.
Those are the charges that have now been filed against David Anthony Burke, the artist known as David D4VD, in the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. It's finally come down. Prosecutors say Celeste walked into his Hollywood Hills home on April 23rd of last year, and was never heard from again. Her dismembered body was found five months later in the trunk of his Tesla. The DA says the death penalty is on the table. And that's where we drop. That's where we begin today, Tuesdays with Bob here on the podcast. Rob Andreak, retired FBI special agency for the Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program, of course, with us, and Bob Motta, defense attorney, host of the podcast Defense Diaries. Go check it out wherever you get podcasts and on YouTube. Let's start there, Bob. Prosecutors didn't just charge first degree murder. They stacked special circumstances on top of it. It's like an infomercial. But wait, there's more. Lying in wait, murder for financial gain, killing of a witness. In California, that's death penalty eligible material. When the DA loads a case like that on day one, is that about what they can actually prove? Or is it about going in crazily strong with a lot of leverage and controlling the narrative?

**Bob Motta** (1:51)
I think it's a bit of both.

**Tony Brueski** (1:52)
Yeah.

**Bob Motta** (1:53)
I really do. In this case, I think it probably leans towards the proof. I mean, it took them a long time to arrest him.

**Tony Brueski** (2:01)
Yes.

**Bob Motta** (2:02)
I mean, months and months, we're all like, what the hell is going on? Like they found the founder in his car. Like where's the arrest? And then it finally happens.
But I could tell you, DAs in LA do not file death eligible cases on a whim. You know what I mean?
They're not coming in with weak evidence. So by all accounts, it appears that they've built a pretty strong case, you know, because each one of those allegations has to be proven independently of one another, obviously. So it's interesting, man, you know, and it's like, I never heard of the guy. Like I didn't listen to his music. I wasn't aware of him until this case broke. So I didn't kind of understand the significance of it. But, you know, when you started to hear kind of the factual background that she was missing for so long, I just raised so many questions in my mind. Like where was the family? You know, not that I'm putting anything on the family, but my 14 year old's gone for months.

**Tony Brueski** (3:03)
I got questions there too. I mean, I'm not giving the family a free pass on any of this shit because I'm sorry, we both have children of that same age and I can't conceive of ever being, oh yeah, she went out with her 19 year old boyfriend who's a music artist and she didn't come back. Like, it's just another day in paradise.

**Tony Brueski** (3:21)
We've seen a lot of parental failings across all the cases we've been covering lately, complete failures.

**Tony Brueski** (3:27)
Everywhere. I'm not saying that they, I mean, they're mourning, I get it, but I'm sorry, it's not a free pass because your daughter is dead, that you didn't fail her as well because you did.
That's just, that's what it is. I'm sorry you failed your daughter. I'm sure you feel horrible about it too. Maybe this should be a lesson learned for other folks who are currently failing their children. This is how it could end.

**Robin Green** (3:48)
It could be one of those cases where, I hate to say it, but survivor's guilt might be very earned.

**Tony Brueski** (3:53)
Yeah.

**Bob Motta** (3:54)
No doubt.

**Tony Brueski** (3:55)
I don't wish it on them whatsoever, but I'm sorry, I'm not just going to pretend, oh, justice will be, yeah. Well, you know what? Maybe if there was a little better parenting to begin with, we wouldn't be in this position to begin with.

**Bob Motta** (4:05)
Yeah. Dude, it's so true.
But ultimately, the way that I think this thing will play out, if in fact it goes to trial, which if you're listening to what his attorney is saying, it sounds like it's going to.