Shortcut: The Case of "D4VD" - ATC International

**Matthew Tankard** (0:03)
This is Australian True Crime International with Meshel Laurie. I'm Matthew Tankard, the producer. And before we start the interview, I just wanted to jump on and give you a quick update as to where this case currently stands.
David Anthony Burke, he's an American singer-songwriter. You're probably more familiar with the spelling of his stage name, which is D4vd. He's charged with the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez in September of last year. He's pleaded not guilty, and last month after a five-day preliminary hearing, a Los Angeles judge ruled that there was sufficient evidence for him to stand trial. So he's currently in custody, and we can expect the criminal trial to start in about two to three months.
It's important to note that David Anthony Burke is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Joining Michelle in this episode is American reporter and host of the podcast, That's So Criminal, Lynden Blake.

**Meshel Laurie** (0:55)
This is Australian True Crime. We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which this podcast is created, the Wurundjeri Woiwarung people of the Kulin Nation. And a warning, this episode of the podcast contains graphic descriptions of violence.
Now, I, like many people, Lynden, first heard of David or D4vd, whatever this guy's name is. When I heard of this, my kids came and told me, well, have you heard about this guy? And there's a human body in the trunk of his car, his Tesla. And I'd never heard of this person, you know, except for this terrible crime. So firstly, how do we say his name?

**Lynden Blake** (1:39)
David. And his real name is David Anthony Burke.

**Meshel Laurie** (1:42)
He's very young, right?

**Lynden Blake** (1:44)
Yeah, very young. And the girl, poor Celeste, the victim was even younger, but he was young. Just to put it in perspective of where his career was at the time this alleged murder happened last April, a weekend before that, the alleged murder took place. He was doing flips and hanging out on the Coachella stage. And he was clearly on that path. And first album had just come out. And that's why when we were digging into the timeline of when this murder actually took place, when you get over the horrific details, because those are insane, I know we'll get to them. But when you start being like, oh, he was on this radio show on this date, that was the day after he allegedly murdered her. Oh, he had friends over on this date and they smelled something and her body was still there. And you're just thinking, what was going on at the end of April, May and June and the start of July a year ago for him to just have this body in the front part of his Tesla.
Let me get this terminology, because I don't have a Tesla that everyone that does, they call it the fronk, like the front trunk.

**Meshel Laurie** (3:10)
Okay, got it.

**Lynden Blake** (3:11)
And it is tiny. That is how cut up Celeste's body was, because it was in a tiny, it wasn't like a car trunk, you know, like this was the fronk, it was tinier.
And that's where the body set until it was discovered months later.

**Meshel Laurie** (3:30)
I believe so he's had this relationship with Celeste. Is it true that her parents did not approve and tried to separate them? I mean, I've heard it described as a grooming, abusive situation. And at one point, he traveled to her school and gave a phone to another kid to give to her so they could get back in touch.

**Lynden Blake** (3:50)
She was so young, so young. And he was young, but he was over 18 You know, he was an adult and it was one of the situations where they've known each other for so long that there's not the proof that it started out romantic, but it turned that way. And it's just so sad because even at a young age, after the grooming went on and the years of this successful older guy talking to Celeste, she still at one point was like, I'm gonna be done. Like I can ruin your career. You were talking to other girls. She got, I mean, jealous is kind of a negative connotation, but she was like, you're not going to be with me and be with other people. And that's what they say led to him killing her because she was saying that she could end his career.
So now we're in April of last year, April 23rd to be exact. And this was the day before his album was released. This is when he allegedly took her life. So that night, April 23rd, David ordered an Uber for Celeste to come to his Hollywood Hills home. And this was around 840 at night. So again, did she sneak out of her house? Were her parents aware she was going to get an Uber? Only 14 years old at the time. But the Uber is called, she gets in the car. It's on a Wednesday night. She drives in a little over an hour. It took to get to his Hollywood Hills home. And she shows up there a little after 10 p.m. The crime allegedly took place shortly after she got to his house. And prosecutors say that after he lured her there, so called the Uber to get to the house, he stabbed her in her torso, that area multiple times in the torso. And then he sat there as Celeste bled out and died on his property. And that same night, he already tries to start covering up his tracks. So he gets in the car to drive around. He starts calling Celeste's phone, even though he knows she's obviously not going to answer, but he's trying to start to start to create that alibi. So he does that. Hey Celeste, where are you sending text? Why aren't you answering my phone call? And then he drives all the way to Santa Barbara County. That's about an hour and a half away from his Hollywood Hills home. And he eventually came home the next morning back to Hollywood Hills. And then what does he do? He goes off to do radio interviews. He goes off to do podcasts. He goes off to talk about his new album within hours after allegedly taking a 14 year old's life. On April 24th, when his album release party happened, he was ordering the tools he needed to get rid of her body.