Bombshell Court Decision Rocks D4vd Murder Case

Accused murderer David Anthony Burke, aka David, was back in an LA courtroom. today, and this has shaken up the entire. case schedule. What exactly happened? What can we expect next? And what does. this mean for the defense and the. prosecution? Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law & Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. Okay, I can't jump into this without. first telling you real quick about our. partner, our sponsor, this app called.

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link in the description or scan the QR. code, and make sure to use promo code. Sidebar to get an extra 25-cent bonus on. every gallon on your first tank of gas. Okay, we got a court hearing in the. David case that happened today. We have. a reporter, an investigative reporter, in the courtroom, going to bring her on. in a minute to talk about what happened. Now, remember where we're at. The. 21-year-old romantic homicide singer, real name David Anthony Burke, David, is. facing charges of first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under. 14, and unlawful mutilation of human.

remains, all in connection with the. death of 14-year-old Celeste. Davis-Hernandez, whose decomposed, dismembered body was found in a Tesla in. LA back on September 8th of last year, a. Tesla reportedly registered to David out. in Texas. And prosecutors have also. alleged special circumstances with. respect to the murder charge. That's. what gets you potentially life in prison. without the possibility of parole, that's what potentially gets you the. death penalty even though there's a.

moratorium on executions in California. Murder of a witness, murder for. financial gain, lying in wait, that he. used a deadly and dangerous weapon, a. sharp instrument, and the ME's office. concluded that Celeste's cause of death. was multiple penetrating injuries. Authorities alleging that David murdered. Celeste to keep her quiet, that they. were in an alleged illegal sexual. relationship, her being a minor, that. she was going to expose him, that she. was going to ruin his career, a. financially lucrative career. I did.

whole episodes on the potential evidence. establishing where he was at in his. career. They also talk about these. alleged text messages the day before the. night before where she was allegedly. angry with him and going to expose him. And the allegation is is that he. murdered her. Murdered her to keep her. quiet. And prosecutors claim that on. April 23rd, 2025, he lured Celeste to. this property in LA, Hollywood Hills, stabbed her repeatedly, watched her. bleed out, and then proceeded to order.

supplies online to engage in the. dismemberment of her body and the. cover-up of this alleged crime. Chainsaws, body bag, laundry bags, inflatable pool. They claim a. combination of forensic evidence, surveillance footage, cellular data, DNA. evidence, witness testimony all ties him. to these alleged crimes. So what. happened in court today? For that, let. me bring on somebody who was in that. courtroom today, investigative reporter. Julia Dang is with us. Julia, it's so.

good to see you. Thank you so much for. coming on to talk about this, really. appreciate it. I'm made of questions. I. know this was a relatively, I think. relatively short hearing, but very. impactful, very important. First of all, how did David look? Let's start there. >> Not great, Jesse, as you can imagine. I. mean, we've talked about how he actually. requested a haircut last time. It. doesn't look to me like he got that. haircut. He walked in wearing this. orange LA County jail uniform, kind of.

lighter than what I'm wearing right now. He had a white long-sleeved shirt. underneath it. He did not look. clean-shaven. Hair looked to be a little. bit longer, very curly. But he he was actively paying attention, you know, he was looking from attorney. to attorney as they were speaking during. this very brief status conference. And. he did speak this morning. This was. actually my first time hearing his voice. live. It was brief. He just said, "Yes,

your honor." when the judge addressed. him. And it was a question about pushing back. the upcoming dates in this case. So, it. is still, you know, a question as to. whether or not this is going to trial. And the big takeaway from this morning's. status conference is that we are going. to have to do this exercise all over. again. So, there's going to be another. status conference June 17th. And then. this preliminary hearing that we've been. talking about, May 26th. And as you've.

been reporting, Jesse, that was supposed. to happen back in April. So, now they've. pushed that back again. That's going to. be June 29th now. So, David Burke was. asked, you know, "Are you okay with. that?". And he just said, "Yes, your honor." and. then he was led back out. >> Okay, so I have a number of questions. about this. There are those who say they wouldn't be. surprised that the preliminary hearing. was pushed back yet again. I mean, even.

if you talk about what's been reported, 40 terabytes of evidence, computers, tablets, iCloud, even in the. prosecution's brief, they talk about. surveillance footage and cellular data. and witnesses and different trips and. all these Amazon purchases. And it's a. big case, and it's one that has been. investigated for quite some time. At the. same time, Julia, I'm trying to. understand why this is happening. because, correct me if I'm wrong, it's. the defense who's asking now to have a.

delay because weren't they the ones who. said Blair Berk, his attorney, was. pushing for a speedy preliminary hearing. as soon as possible? And it was the. idea, we're going to challenge the. prosecution's evidence. We're going to. challenge because in a preliminary. hearing, so everybody knows, right? The. prosecution has to present not their. whole case, but sufficient evidence to. establish probable cause, low standard, but say, "Hey, we got enough here to. support these charges to move forward. towards trial." Preliminary hearing, what's advantage for the defense is cuz. they can challenge that evidence. So,

they wanted the prosecution, "Hey, we. want this a preliminary hearing. immediately. We want to see what you. got. We want to challenge it. We don't. think you have a case here. We don't. think he's the cause of Celeste's. death." And now, and correct me if I'm. wrong, are they the ones today in court. saying, "We need a delay?". >> They are. That is correct. And, Jesse, you're absolutely right. This boils down. to evidence. So, Beth Silverman with the. prosecution, she laid out how there is. just voluminous. evidence here. It totals at this point.

more than 40 terabytes. I mean, if you. think about how much content you. probably have saved on your phone, I. mean, that's not even close to 1. terabyte. They have 40 in this case. So, Beth said this morning during this. hearing the prosecution started. uploading their evidence last Thursday. And that's part of this case. They have. to do that. Sharing that information uh. between both sides, that's part of. discovery. So, Beth says the prosecution.

started that last Thursday. They have. only uploaded at this point about 10. terabytes out of that 40. And then she. went on to say, I actually wrote down. this direct quote from Beth Silverman. this morning. It could take them months. to complete discovery with this much. evidence. So now the defense is pushing. back. This is very much part of their. strategy. This is not surprising. You. know, they would benefit from having. more time just prep their case. So they.

said, the defense, you know, we've. requested DNA evidence. We have not. gotten that yet. They also said they. haven't gotten the witness narratives. they were hoping for. So their argument. is we need more intel to prep before. this can even go to a preliminary. hearing. Um but the prosecution, of. course, also not surprising, they're. pushing back as well. They're saying, you know, is this going to be a real. thing? Is June 29th going to be they.

called it a go date? Or are we going to. have to go through this again? Push it. back again. Um the judge was very stern. about that. She said, you know, we have. to be clear. If we're setting the date. for June 29th this time, if this is. going to be pushed back again, uh a. fourth time now, you know, we have to get that motion in. writing. Um Beth Silverman says this. kind of thing can go on. She's, you. know, in her experience had this kind of. thing go back and forth and be delayed.

for years. The judge saying this morning. she promises this is not going to go on. for years. So I think June 17th is going. to be a sure thing for this new status. conference and then June 29th. >> Well, here's what's tricky about it. It's. prosecutors, seemingly, even though there was reports. of multiple grand juries, and grand jury. could be a way you get an official. indictment. Defense doesn't have a role. in it. It's a secret proceeding. You get.

an indictment, you move forward. You. don't go a grand jury route, and clearly. there hasn't been a grand jury. indictment, even though there have been. reportedly grand juries impaneled to. hear evidence in this case. Now, you. have a preliminary hearing and 100% this. is where it gets complicated because the. defense has an opportunity to challenge. the evidence. It can get pushed back and. pushed back and pushed back and delayed. And just from a point of law, I'll tell. everybody, you know, that's a concern. for the prosecution, right? They believe. that David committed these alleged. crimes. They want justice as soon as.

possible. They don't want to keep. pushing this case along. Evidence can. get stale. Witness testimony could be. upended. So, it's in their interest, too, to have this preliminary hearing. sooner rather than later. I I get And by. the way, when you mentioned DNA. evidence, you go back to the. prosecution's brief. It says DNA. evidence developed from blood stains. collected from defendant's garage, which. matched the victim's genetic profile. So, that was interesting. By the way, you mentioned witnesses. Do we have any. idea, was it revealed today, any idea.

who these potential witnesses are? >> We don't. That is one of those. outstanding questions and I think, Jesse, you actually did an entire. podcast segment dedicated to this. question. We don't. And it sounds like. part of the defense's strategy to just. stall here and buy themselves a little. bit more time to prepare during this. pretrial period is citing the fact that. they don't have any kind of narrative. relating to witnesses. They don't know.

who the possible witnesses might be, who. could be called for this case. And they. don't have DNA evidence. They say they. requested. But let me tell you what the. prosecution did share. Uh they say they. have already shared lab reports. They. have shared LAPD reports. And they've. shared, again, about 10 terabytes of. evidence. So, if it really is 40. terabytes, uh that's about 25%. here. And I don't know what kind of.

server they're uploading this to, but. again, they started doing this last. Thursday. So, open-ended question here. as to how much longer that's going to. take, uh but talking to media crews out. here, we've all been speculating, you. know, there's likely a lot of video. content in that 40 terabyte dump. That's. typically what takes up the most space. So, we already know some of that video. involving Celeste and David and their.

alleged relationship, that cannot, that. will not be played for the jury if this. eventually does go to trial. >> I'm so glad you mentioned that because. as we're understanding what this is, I. remember in one of the initial hearings, the prosecution said they found a large. volume of alleged child pornography on. David's devices. Now, they didn't. confirm that was 100% Celeste, but let's. remember he is charged with a sex crime. with respect to her. This alleged. illegal sexual relationship is not only. its own individual crime, but it goes to.

the murder charge, it goes to the. special circumstances because if they. can prove he was having this. relationship with her, didn't want it. exposed, wanted to keep her quiet, she. was threatening him, that goes into it. And of course, I mean, there's other. digital data, there's cell phone data, there's surveillance footage. Um by the. way, just taking a quick step back since. you're our eyes and ears there, was it a packed courtroom? Like, who. else was there? Was there anybody in. support of David? Was Nathan Hochman. there, the Los Angeles County District.

Attorney? Who was in that courtroom. today? >> It was largely media this morning. We. did look around in the hallway before we. even got into the status conference to. see if perhaps he had any supporters. I. know last time, during his last court. date, David did have at least two. friends, two supporters with him. There. was no family present this morning, nobody for either David or Celeste. I. think it was just the defendant with his. uncut hair, his orange jumpsuit, um and.

then defense attorneys. So, it was. largely media in the back two rows in. this courtroom, um prosecution, defense, and it went by very quickly. They. started within 5 minutes of 8:30, uh the. scheduled start time. Very clear on. directions, you know, no cameras, no. cell phones, and it wrapped up within. about 10 to 15 minutes. >> And by the way, what was his interaction. like with his defense attorneys? I I saw. a report, I think, could be wrong, but.

you'll correct me if I'm wrong. Did he. like wink at his defense attorney at one. point? What was that interaction like? >> This is a fascinating human, Jesse. If I. ever have an opportunity to interview. David, I I've got questions for this. man. Um he seems incredibly comfortable. sitting there. I think he was resting. his elbows on the table at one point. Um. I mentioned earlier he was listening.

actively to the back-and-forth between. prosecution and defense. He was looking. from attorney to attorney. At one point, I think I saw him nodding along. Uh you. know, he made eye contact with the. judge. He spoke once when he was asked. if June 29th would be a good date a good. uh rescheduled preliminary hearing date. for him. He just said, "Yes, Your. Honor." He spoke clearly. Uh he did not. seem shaken. He did not seem like a. defendant being charged with.

first-degree murder. And that's not it. I mean, we're calling this a murder. case, but there are two additional. charges on top of that, including. continuous sexual abuse of a child under. 14. And then it's not just murder, it's. mutilation of that murder victim's. corpse. And I know we haven't delved. into this yet today because we don't yet. know if the DA is going to ultimately. pursue the death penalty, but that's an.

option in this case because of the. special circumstances on top of that. murder charge. And I believe Jesse in. the state of California, you only need. one special circumstance to be eligible. for the death penalty. In this case, it's not one, it's not two, it is three. >> And look, there is a moratorium on. executions in California, but that's. even besides the point. I mean, this. goes to this whole idea of if they. decide to go go that way, it would, you. know, prolong the trial, it would make.

it a little bit more complex, but you're. talking about the ultimate punishment. Not surprising when you talk about this. crime. Yes, he's innocent until proven. guilty, 100%, but you were talking about. the brutal slaying of a 14-year-old girl. who was dismembered and also allegedly. sexually abused. It's a really, really. horrific crime. By the way, I have a. couple minutes with you, Julia. You've. been following this case, I believe from. the beginning. You've been following it. for quite some time. As you're in that. courtroom and you're listening carefully. to the discussions that's happening. between the attorneys and the judge,

what is your biggest questions that you. want answered right now? What are what. are you looking out for in terms of the. evidence? I mean, thank you for talking. about the the episode we did on the. witnesses. I think that's a crucial. discussion. Whether or not it's going to. be somebody like Neil Langston or that's. going to be David's family or it's going. to be the Riverside County Sheriff's. deputies or it's going to be the medical. examiner or members of the medical. examiner's department. I mean, you tell. me what you're looking out for, what. you're keeping an eye to and and ear and. an eye to as you're in court for these.

hearings. >> Number one question, Jesse, is what. you've been covering extensively, who. are the witnesses going to be? What is. their testimony going to entail? I think. another big question is relating to some. of the more definitive language we've. seen in the charging documents, how do. prosecutors know, for example, that. David stood by and watched Celeste bleed. out? My big question is, was there some.

kind of home surveillance video that. captured this? I mean, that wouldn't be. out of the question. Many people have. cameras in their homes. David was also. an individual who is very comfortable. around cameras. I mean, he was. constantly live streaming, snapping. things, recording things. Could there be. footage actually showing that act? And. then I I also want to point out, you. know, the wording of what defense. attorneys have said, you know, they're.

denying the charges. David has entered a. not guilty plea on all of these counts. Um, but they're saying that he was not. the cause of her death. That raises the question, who was? You. know, could there be somebody else. involved? Could somebody else be. charged? When I was waiting to um get. into the courtroom this morning, I was. talking to a couple other journalists. covering this case. That's what we're.

all wondering at this point. Who else. may have helped? Who else could have. been involved? And what additional. cases, what additional charges and. defendants could we see coming out of. this? I think this is just the tip of. the iceberg. I think this defendant is. going to be one of several as Celeste. and her family and her community fight. for justice. >> I'm so glad you mentioned this, cuz it. raises a number of different questions.

I've talked about it multiple times. about is it possible a 20-year-old. singer, the allegations are true, killed. this 14-year-old, took steps to. dismember her body, and ultimately did. it, took that alleged trip to Santa. Barbara to hide evidence, sure. But, is. it also possible he may have had some. help? I asked Nathan Hochman about this. on my NewsNation show, and he wouldn't. obviously confirm one way or another. whether they're looking into any other. people, there going to be any other. arrests. But, it also goes to the idea. of other charges. If there's child. pornography, uh allegedly on his. devices, or you're talking about a minor. who was allegedly brought across state.

lines, and their sexual activity, is. there sex trafficking? I did an episode. on that, too. But, but you also talk. about the cause of death. And I think. that one of the complicating factors. here is her body was in that Tesla for. quite some time. Decomposed, dismembered. How exactly, I mean, will. the defense bring their own forensic. pathologist to try to push back and say, "How do you know definitively it was. multiple sharp force injuries? Is there. something else that might have. contributed to this? Do you have. evidence of maybe the cleanup and the. dismemberment, but not necessarily the. murder?" And going back to that other.

point about, you know, how they know she. bled out. And I'm split on this. I I. interviewed Joseph Scott Morgan, and he. basically said he believes there could. be a witness. A witness to this. He also. talked about the surveillance footage. It's also possible they're just making. an assumption based on they look at the. cell phone data, and they say, "Well, this is when she arrived, right? By the. ride share. This is when her phone. activity stopped. This is when David. allegedly sent the text message to her. 20 minutes later to maybe cover up his. his tracks, maybe create an alibi." And.

that's why they believe that he stabbed. her, or allegedly stabbed her, and just. watched her bleed out because there was. no calls to 911 or emergency services. So, they might be making a guess here. I. I have to ask you one more part about. this. Um you're in LA. I'm not in LA. You're in LA. There has been so much discussion about. the coordination, the cooperation. between the ME's office, the LAPD, the Los Angeles County District. Attorney's Office. As somebody who. covers these stories, and somebody who's.

in LA, whether it's this case or other cases, is there disagreement amongst these. different organizations? Are they. usually in lockstep because there's been. so many questions about why there's been. a delay and why there's information. that's been sealed? No mention of. pregnancy in the prosecution's brief and. yet the medical examiner now had to. change the update to it's not known if. she was pregnant. I think they did that. for other reasons, but I'm just curious. in your experience. What should we be.

thinking about? And and to be clear, I. when I interviewed Nathan Hochman, he. said they're complete completely. lockstep. There's no surprises. They're. in it together. They know what they're. doing. Um. I'm just curious your perspective. >> There is so much to unpack here. There. are so many questions, Jesse, about the. coordination and and the timing. And I. think the biggest thing that happened in. this case that we don't typically see. uh with charges of this magnitude. I.

mean, the LAPD made the arrest on what. was it? April 16th? And it wasn't until. April 20th that charges were filed. So, that alone raises questions about the. coordination. Why were charges not filed. first? Did LAPD do that because they. were trying to force the DA's hand? And. if so, what was the hold-up? What was. taking them so long to investigate when. it seems to all of us like they already. had overwhelming evidence. They had.

probable cause here. So, a lot of. questions, you know, I don't want to. give rise to any additional conspiracy. theories. I think everybody on the. internet is buzzing about all of this. already, but just the facts of the case. here. Arrest on April 16th, charges not. filed until days later, and then now. information being changed. I I think. that part about um Celeste not being. pregnant and then that not being able to. be definitively determined, that may.

have something to do with the state of. decomposition. But that is one of the. questions that I think you've debunked. on this podcast. There does not appear. to be any definitive evidence pointing. to the fact that Celeste was pregnant. Um if that does emerge at some point, that for sure is going to add additional. charges onto what is already a stunning. and an incredibly disturbing case.

against David. >> Yeah, and this is the final point before. we wrap up. I'll say if prosecutors knew. that she was pregnant, they would have. 100% have included that. I mean, what. better way to establish an alleged. illegal sexual relationship to show he. needed to allegedly keep her quiet. You. know, take the allegations are true. I. mean, proof of pregnancy, they would. definitely put that in there. Now, I. will say it seems to me yes, because of. the decomposition, perhaps they can't. definitively say that. And I think also. they have to put unknown considering the.

prosecutors say there were messages, text messages about pregnancy and Plan B. and things like that. So, I think the. investigative portion of that is what. led to it. Julia, thank you so much for. taking the time. I really, really. appreciate it. I would love to I would. love for you to come back when we have. the next hearing now in June, see what. happens. But Julia Dang, thank you so. much for taking the time. Great. reporting. >> Thank you, Jesse. Talk soon. >> And that's all we have for you right now. here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so. much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple.

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