You Might Also Like: That's So Criminal

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**Lynden Blake** (1:01)
David will stand trial for the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. During a disturbing preliminary hearing in Los Angeles, grim details were revealed about how the pop star slew the 14-year-old girl before storing her away in his Tesla for months.
What new bombshell evidence was shared by the prosecution? What did the defense zone in on as they prepped for trial? I'm Lynden Blake and you're listening to That's So Criminal.
If this is the first you've heard about this horrific case, we covered the full story back in May. But for now, here's a quick recap for all of you. Prosecutors say the alleged communication between David Anthony Burke, who professionally went under the name D4VD, which is pronounced David.
His relationship with Celeste began back in 2022, when she was just 11 years old. They say that a sexual relationship started in late 2023, when she was 13 and he was 18 Celeste's remains were discovered in September 2025, dismembered and packed into two body bags stacked on top of each other in the front trunk of David's Tesla.
Investigators estimate that she had been dead for roughly four months before they found her body. At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, Judge Charlene Olmedo ruled that the case had enough evidence to move to trial. The preliminary hearing ran for five days, well beyond the roughly three days investigators had expected heading in. The extra time though gave both sides room to put more on the record than most hearings at this stage. David faces first degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child, and unlawful mutilation of human remains. On top of all of that, prosecutors added three special circumstance allegations, murder of a witness, murder for financial gain, and murder by lying in wait. David remains in custody without bail. His arraignment scheduled for August 31st, with the trial likely to follow two to three months after that. There's still one major question in all this. District Attorney Nathan Hockman has not said whether his office will pursue the death penalty. Former Prosecutor David Gellman explains why.

**David Gellman** (3:22)
Well, I think it's for negotiation purposes, first off. I mean, it's still a new case. He hasn't even been arraigned. So his arraignment's not until late August, I believe. So, and I think they're probably still collecting more evidence.
I think that they'll probably add that on the table, for sure. And that's a major tool for any prosecutor, to have the death penalty on the table, because if you add that on the table, you're able to potentially get a plea a little easier.

**Lynden Blake** (3:53)
So speaking of evidence, let's start with what the forensic evidence showed. Detective Joshua Byers testified about the condition of Celeste's remains. Both of her limbs were missing, along with two fingers. Investigators believe those fingers were removed because one of them had a tattoo of David's name. Another unsettling detail that surfaced in David's booking photo was that he has a tattoo of Celeste's name visible on his own skin. The physical evidence extended beyond the remains themselves. LAPD criminalists testified that they found potential blood matching Celeste's DNA beneath mats in David's garage. Purchase records show that David bought a chainsaw before Celeste's death. When officers examined this Tesla, they described a strong odor of decomposition. And they found 11 separate air fresheners placed throughout the car.
Some of those air fresheners were right next to the body in the fronk of the Tesla. Now the fronk of a Tesla is just the front trunk of the car. It's a very tiny space. To give you a picture, my hand takes up about a fourth of a fronk. And this is where the body was found. And the body was found under maggots, under dead flies.
This was all revealed in the preliminary hearing. There was even a photograph showing that air freshener in the fronk covered in dead flies. Now I can't imagine what Celeste's parents had to be thinking when they were sitting there in that courtroom as they had to witness what their daughter's body was found like.