Should D4vd get the death penalty if convicted? | Mom allegedly shoots man hiding under kid’s bed – TCN Sidebar

**Joshua Ritter** (0:11)
Hello and welcome to The Sidebar, presented by True Crime News, taking you inside the courtrooms of high-profile and notorious cases from across the country. I'm your host, Joshua Ritter. I'm a criminal defense lawyer based in Los Angeles, and previously an LA County prosecutor for over a decade. We are recording this on Wednesday, July 22, 2026 In this week's episode, a Tennessee mother charged with murder after allegedly shooting a man she found hiding under her 13-year-old daughter's bed.
Plus, the woman at the center of a salacious murder plot involving her husband and her 15-year-old lover seeks a new trial more than 30 years after her conviction. But first, the preliminary hearing for singer David, who has been charged with murdering an underage runaway that he allegedly had a sexual relationship with. Today, we are joined by Jason Goldman, a high-profile criminal defense attorney and legal analyst you can catch on multiple outlets. Jason, welcome, my friend. How are you?

**Jason Goldman** (1:09)
Thank you for having me, Josh. I'm great. How are you?

**Joshua Ritter** (1:11)
I'm doing very well. And I'm glad that we have a criminal defense attorney on to talk to us today, because some of these issues are a little nuanced and they're very serious cases, especially the first one. So let's jump right in. Out of Los Angeles, California, my neck of the woods, singer David was back in court for a preliminary hearing as gruesome details in the slaying of Celeste Rivas Hernandez revealed to her family and a small pool of onlookers. David, whose legal name is David Burke, is charged with murder and the continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, along with unlawful mutilation of human remains in the death of Rivas.
The victim's mutilated remains were discovered in a Tesla register to Burke back in September of last year, one day after what would have been her 15th birthday. Prosecutors claimed that Burke fatally stabbed Rivas the day after the couple had an argument with Rivas allegedly threatening to oust the pair's illicit relationship and Burke fearful of the implications on his burgeoning music career. Prosecutors began to lay out their case this week as a judge determines if there's enough probable cause to move forward to trial.
Evidence included graphic photos of Rivas' body, which drew strong reactions from her family in the courtroom. Additional exhibits included allegations that Burke purchased items to dismember and dispose of her body online, including a shovel, chainsaws and a body bag, along with an inflatable pool to contain her blood. While no cameras or recording devices are allowed inside the courtroom, 10 members of the public will be allowed to do the proceedings each day, determined via lottery at the courthouse. The preliminary hearing is expected to last through the week, and we will continue to keep you updated as this case moves forward. Jason, just about one of the most horrific and heartbreaking cases you can imagine. But explain to us a little bit exactly what a preliminary hearing is for our listeners, so they understand. And then why would it be necessary, in your opinion, to include so much graphic evidence at this stage?

**Jason Goldman** (3:20)
Yeah, well, I think first and foremost, just to educate the listeners, a preliminary hearing obviously takes place in California, some other states. Unfortunately, in my state of New York, we don't have one. But it's a way to just establish that there's enough to go forward. It's not about guilt or innocence or someone being guilty or not guilty. It's to show, quite frankly, the court that's presiding over the case that there's enough evidence to move forward to the next stages and ultimately head towards a trial. So it establishes evidence, it establishes a record. It establishes that, again, that there's enough to at least maintain the charges right now.

**Joshua Ritter** (3:57)
What do they do in New York? Is it all by indictment, grand jury?

**Jason Goldman** (4:00)
It's all by indictment. There technically is a statute that does allow for a preliminary hearing.
There are some interesting stuff happening during COVID with some issues with getting grand juries impaneled, but 99.999% of the time, it's an indictment and we don't have a preliminary hearing. So we don't have a shot at having live testimony. Obviously, there are suppression hearings at some point in time, closer to trial where we can examine constitutional issues. But nothing like this, nothing like a preview of the evidence and the trial as a whole. It's really my understanding specific, of course, California and I believe some other states have it as well.

**Joshua Ritter** (4:38)
I'm curious about this and I don't want to get too much into the weeds. But because it is different, I'm used to a prelim process. A lot of states have it. I just came from Utah where they had the prelim of Tyler Robinson. So it's kind of pick your poison, I guess, depending on the state how they want to do it. But even on the low level, kind of straightforward felonies, do those all still go in front of a grand jury?