D4vd Faces Horrific New Charges in Teen's Dismemberment

A parent's nightmare is a situation. where your daughter goes out one night. and never comes back. Their grief is. uncalculable. The LA County District. Attorney has just made a big [music]. decision regarding criminally charging. singer David in connection with the. murder of 14-year-old Celeste Riveras. Hernandez. It was a shocking press. conference [music] where we learned. never-before-heard details of this case. and investigation and where some of the. questions we have had for the last 7.

[music] months have been answered. Welcome to Sidebar presented by. Law&Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. Hey, real quick before we go any. further, I got to tell you about [music]. this app that I think you're going to. love. It's our partner Upside. So, Upside gets you cash back. Yes, extra. cash back on everyday purchases like. gas, groceries, takeout. Here's what you. do. You download Upside for free. You. claim an offer at one of their. 100,000-plus locations. You pay like. normal with your card. You verify the. purchase and just like that, money back. So, say I need to get gas or want. takeout one night. I'll search for.

Upside offers first and after I spend, money appears in my app that I can. transfer right into my bank account. Upside's frequent users, they earn an. average of $254. back a year. So, to start getting your. cash back, click the link in the. description or scan the QR code, but. make sure to use our promo code Sidebar. because you'll get an extra 25 cents. bonus on every gallon on your first tank. of gas. All right, huge day in David. news. There was a big press conference. that was held by the Los Angeles. District Attorney's Office. I'm talking.

about LA District Attorney Nathan. Hochman. This is in conjunction with the. LAPD. In this room, they were flanked by. a mug shot, a new mug shot of David and. a picture of Celeste Riveras Hernandez. We have finally learned whether David. will be criminally charged and with. what. And remember, this comes on the. heels of what we reported last week, the. arrest of the 21-year-old romantic. homicide singer on suspicion of the. murder of 14-year-old Celeste Riveras. Hernandez. Seven months ago, her. reported decomposed and dismembered body.

was found in the trunk of a car. reportedly registered to the singer. And. it was confusing because he was arrested. but not charged last week. And we. thought that's strange because our. reporting was and we saw this from TMZ. and other outlets that a grand jury had. reportedly been hearing evidence for. quite some time in this case when the. arrest came down. So, why was he. arrested and not charged? And we. speculated and wondered, did the grand. jury not believe there was enough. evidence to charge him with a crime? Maybe it wasn't a grand jury with the.

power to indict, maybe just to hear. evidence and lock in testimony. Maybe. they were still hearing evidence when. the arrest came down. And that's why you. saw and we heard this a little bit from. TMZ, too, whether or not the LAPD and. the DA, maybe their offices were not on. the same page. You go to this press. conference, that was not the case. I'll. get to it in a second. So, remember what. also happened last week. The LAPD, the. PIO, released a statement. "Detectives. from Los Angeles Police Department. Robbery-Homicide Division have arrested.

David Burke, a 21-year-old resident of. Los Angeles for the murder of Celeste. Davis. Burke is being held without bail. The case will be presented to the. District Attorney's Office on Monday for. filing consideration." That's today. Now, this also came in from the LA. County District Attorney's Office last. week. Greg Risling, "Good evening. Our. office is aware of the arrest of David. Anthony Burke by the Los Angeles Police. Department. The case is expected to be. presented to the Major Crimes Division. at which point prosecutors will review. the facts and evidence to determine. whether there is sufficient evidence to. file charges. At this time, additional.

information is not available. We will. share an update on Monday once a filing. decision has been made." So, you hear. that language and you wonder, again, were they on the same page? Now, LAPD. Captain Scott Williams told NBC last. week regarding David's arrest at his. home in the Hollywood Hills, "We did the. best we can to keep tabs on him, but. once we developed probable cause to. arrest him for murder, then we were on. him pretty diligently. And he told the. California Post they had a probable. cause warrant with them when they made. the arrest. And there were photos of. armed police outside the residence.

making the arrest. Per reporting from. the California Post, David appeared to. be in handcuffs. He was led away. A. neighbor told the outlet there were so. many cops. There was apparently an. officer on a loudspeaker shouting. surrender. It was a big scene. We also. heard from David's attorney. So, Blair. Berk, Marilyn Banarsky, and Regina. Peter, they released a statement saying, "Let us be clear. The actual evidence in. this case will show that David Berk did. not murder Celeste Riveras Hernandez, and he was not the cause of her death. There has been no indictment returned by. any grand jury in this case, and no.

criminal complaint filed. Although, you'll hear Nathan Hochman maybe suggest. otherwise about a criminal complaint. David has only been detained under. suspicion. We will vigorously defend. David's innocence." Now, again, this was. from last week. We got to talk about. what happened today. Okay? By the way, before I even get into today, TMZ. reported that their source told them. that the ME, the medical examiner's. office, determined Celeste's manner of. death to be homicide. Okay? Takes us now. to today. Los Angeles District Attorney.

Nathan Hochman held a press conference. alongside members of the LAPD, including. Scott Williams, who I mentioned before. Even indicated Beth Silverman will be. the lead prosecutor on this case, which. is interesting because we had previously. reported she was the one who was. apparently presenting evidence to this. grand jury. She's a career prosecutor, particularly in homicide cases. And this. was the moment, after 7 months, when. Nathan Hochman announced the charging.

decision for David Anthony Berk, David. Today, I am announcing the charges. against David Anthony Berk, the musician known as David, spelled. D4VD, in connection with the brutal and. horrific murder of Celeste, a. 14-year-old at that time. These charges include the most serious. charges that a DA's office can bring. That is first-degree murder with special.

circumstances. The special circumstances being lying in. wait, committing this crime for. financial gain, or murdering a witness. in an investigation. Uh the special circumstances uh carry. with it, along with the first-degree. murder charge, a maximum sentence of. life without the possibility of parole. or the death penalty. The determination on whether or not the. District Attorney's Office will seek the. death penalty will be made at a later.

time. Before I get into the actual charges, and there are additional charges against. Mr. Burke, including continuous sexual. acts, lewd and lascivious sexual acts. with with an individual under 14 years. old, and mutilating a human remains of a. body. Before I get into the description of. these charges and their seriousness, I want to look at this as a parent.

I am a parent of three children, and a. parent's nightmare is a situation where. your daughter goes out one night and. never comes back. As we will show in a court of law, and. what I also want to make sure about that. the understanding of these charges is. clear, is my description of these. charges is not evidence that we are. going to present in court. These. charges, in fact, will not be evidence. in the in the court. Evidence will be.

the witness testimony, the documents, and different types of admissible. testimony that we will uh admit into. court in the prosecution, and if it. leads to the eventual trial of Mr. Burke. to convince a jury of 12 people beyond a. reasonable doubt that each and every one. of these charges is true. as well as the special allegations and. circumstances that have been alleged. Okay, first of all, we suspected that.

David would be charged with murder after. that was what he was arrested for and in. other court documents that came out a. couple months ago, we know that he was. being investigated for murder. But. first-degree murder with special. circumstances, lying in wait to kill, murdering a witness as part of an. investigation, murdering for financial. gain, and now facing the possibility of. the death penalty even though it's my. understanding there was a moratorium on. executions in California. That is a huge.

deal. And in a minute we're going to get. to the reasons the DA believes the. evidence purportedly shows that. But. what you're seeing are different. alternative theories on how to prove the. murder charge here. And clearly, they. believe David is at the center, that. David is the one responsible. Now to be. clear, he is innocent until proven. guilty and we don't know the exact. evidence that the prosecution is going. to produce. But also, the sex charges? This is something we have talked about. before. Steve Fisher, the private.

investigator who has been representing. the owner of the property where David. had reportedly been staying at in the. Hollywood Hills, reportedly near where. the Tesla was found, he has been saying. for months that David could already be. charged with sex crimes. That aside from. the alleged murder, that there's. evidence that David was allegedly having. a relationship with a minor. And you. heard Nathan Hochman say continuous, meaning more than one time over a period. of time. And you're going to hear later. when Hochman talks about digital.

evidence. Are we suggesting here text. messages showing this relationship? Photos? Videos? Witness statements of. those around the two maybe? And I'll. tell you what, this is the part of the. press conference where Hochman talks. more about the alleged crimes and he. goes into the different theories. Again, lying in wait, murdering a witness. Take. a look. On April 23rd, 2025, as been. alleged by the complaint, Celeste, a 14-year-old at that time,

went to Mr. Burke's house in the. Hollywood Hills. She was never heard from again. On September 8th, 2025, as alleged in. the complaint, Mr. Burke or excuse me, Miss. Celeste's remains, her dismembered. and decomposed remains, were found in. two bags inside of a front truck trunk. of a car registered to Mr. Burke.

Thereafter began an investigation. The investigation was to determine who. killed, who murdered Celeste months and. months before. That investigation was carried out in. unison and in partnership between the. LAPD's Robbery-Homicide Division and the. District Attorney's Office. At every point in the investigation. through the arrest and the filing of. charges, the LAPD and the District.

Attorney's Office have worked in. lockstep. There's been no disagreements. amongst these entities in deciding how. to proceed with this case, ultimately. leading to these charges today. So, what you have as well with these. charges is that again, there are three. sets of charges that have been brought. The first-degree murder with special. circumstances and again, those special. circumstances are lying in wait.

That Celeste went to Mr. Burke's home on. the night of. April 23rd, 2025, as alleged in the complaint, at his. invitation, and again, was not heard from again. The second is a special circumstance. being that these this murder was. committed for financial gain. As the evidence will show in court, the. financial gain was for Mr. Burke to. maintain his very lucrative music.

musical career. that Celeste was threatening. on that particular night. The third charge, in addition to lying. in wait and for financial gain, is murdering a witness to an. investigation. In this particular case, as the evidence. will come out in court, the the in the. witness to the investigation. was Celeste. And the investigation was. into the lewd and lascivious sexual acts. committed by Mr. Burke, that is the.

subject of count two of this complaint, uh. with Celeste while she was under 14. years old. Wow. So, it seems a fair. interpretation would be she allegedly. goes to this house, this property, that. David, you know, they're going to be. saying allegedly lured her there, got. her there, invited her there, and either. he allegedly wanted her there because he. planned to kill her, again, if the. allegations are true, these are the. allegations put forward, but that she. was what? Planning on going public or.

telling someone about their. relationship? Planning to go to. authorities about this relationship? I. don't know. But that this was. essentially going to risk his career, so. he allegedly kills her to keep her. quiet, make sure his album, his. endorsements, his tour wouldn't be. affected. I'm wondering if that's going. to be the argument. I wonder if that's. going to be the theory of the case, and. I assume that's going to be the. argument. Now, how will they prove that? How will they prove that intent based on. the circumstances and timing of this. alleged killing, text messages, witness.

statements? We shall see. But again, different theories here. And. remember, I just go back to this, and I. don't know if this is for sure, but. during the grand jury, it was reported. by certain outlets that this record. executive had testified. I mean, again, allegedly, what do the. people around David know? What were they. told? What did they communicate to him. about his career, about his finances? Just things I'm thinking about right.

now. And then we go into where Hawkman talks. about Celeste's family. I had the chance. to meet with some of the family members. of Celeste, and their grief is uncalculable. as to what happened to their daughter. What they have demanded, what we have. assured them that the District. Attorney's Office, working with LAPD, would give them. is the D is the is the proof beyond a. reasonable doubt. on who.

killed their daughter, on how their daughter was killed, when. their daughter was killed, and bring. that killer to justice. That killer that we have now charged is. David Anthony Burke. Now, at one point, Nathan Hawkman brings on LAPD Chief of. Police Jim McDonnell, who not only talks. more about the investigation, but also. addresses the frustration the public has. had with law enforcement regarding this. case and a lack of public comments or.

transparency. Throughout the 7-month. investigation, this department has faced. criticism for how we handled the case. and for our decision not to provide. details. I want to be clear about something. My duty is not to fuel speculation, it's. to deliver justice, and that requires. patience and discipline on everybody's. part. This investigation was driven by a. single purpose to secure justice for. Celeste River and for those who loved. her.

We had to be certain that nothing we did. or said would ever jeopardize this case. Ms. River was a reported runaway from. Riverside County. During the course of our investigation, detectives learned that she had been. involved in a sexual relationship with. Mr. Burke when she was a minor and he. was an adult. On April 23rd, 2025, Ms. River arrived. at Mr. Burke's home in the Hollywood. Hills. That's the last time she was.

known to be alive. On September 8th, 2025, Ms. River's. dismembered and badly decomposed body. was discovered in the front trunk of Mr. Burke's impounded Tesla. From that moment forward, our. investigators faced an extraordinary. difficult and complex case. The condition of her remains delayed the. medical examiner's ability to be able to. determine cause of death. The substantial amount of time that. passed between her death and the. discovery meant that crucial evidence.

had degraded or disappeared. And as detectives worked to uncover the. truth, they also had to sift through and. debunk a great deal of false information. circulating publicly. These challenges were real and they. required patience, precision, and an. unwavering commitment to the facts. Despite these obstacles and despite. intense public pressure, our. robbery-homicide division detectives. remained steadfast in their duties.

They recovered and analyzed a. substantial amount of digital and. forensic evidence. They stayed focused, disciplined, and. committed to uncovering the truth. Their work, in close collaboration with. the District Attorney's Office, has. brought us to this moment today. I want to thank the District Attorney. and his team as always for their. partnership. This case demanded. coordination, persistence, and a shared. commitment to justice. And that makes. sense. He's not wrong. You don't want to.

say too much that could jeopardize a. case, give a criminal defendant. ammunition to say the investigation was. tainted or the prosecution is tainted or. that you had blinders on and we're only. looking at one person without looking at. exculpatory evidence. But you also have. more about cause of death, right? Which. hasn't been publicly released because of. a court order. The medical examiner's. records have been sealed. In fact, Hackman took questions about a lot of. things and he took questions about this. And he talked about how details of the. allegations regarding the special. circumstances, they're going to be.

produced in court. He didn't talk so. much about it. But he did talk a little. bit more about the coroner's report. So. with respect to the coroner's report, uh. we will be seeking uh quite quickly to. uh provide an order to the court that. will now allow us the coroner to release. that report to the public. So once that. report is released and we will see what. the coroner's finding or conclusion is, that's going to be a piece of the. puzzle. I mean, I hate to say this, but. again, it's it's tough to think about. cause of death and how you analyze that.

when you're dealing with reportedly. dismembered and decomposed remains. So, could they be able to determine, let's. say, asphyxiation or poisoning or blunt. force trauma or gunshot wound? And I. don't even want to think about this, but. is the cause of death. the alleged dismemberment? And by the. way, you heard the defense attorney say. he's not the cause of death. Is that. because they have their own. interpretation of what the cause of. death could be? Is this going to be a. battle of medical experts? Or are they. going to point the finger at somebody.

else and say that person is the cause of. Celeste's death? And Hackman was asked, why did it take so long to make an. arrest here given, again, and body was. allegedly found in David's car, and you. look at the state of Celeste. I think. the police chief got it right. That in a. situation where you don't have an. eyewitness account or we can't put point. to a video that that shows the killer. killing someone, you have to go through. the very rigorous and thorough. investigation to look at all the digital.

and forensic evidence. You have to speak. with witnesses often who are cooperative. and some who are not cooperative in. order to obtain all the information. necessary to decide who did what, when, how, and what their mental state was at. the time. Uh that is what we've been. doing over the last between September. 8th roughly. uh and today when we bring these charges. on April 20th. So again, it's the it's the type of case. that you want to make sure you get.

maximum information. And by the way, if. there's anyone out there that has. material information about this. particular murder or any other actions. uh taken by Mr. Burke, uh please come. forward to the Los Angeles Police. Department, come forward to the LA. County DA's office, uh and report that. information. So gives us an idea of the. evidence, maybe lack of evidence. You. talk about a smoking gun, that one. thing. No, totality of the evidence, all. of the evidence, not one thing. Some.

cooperative and non-cooperative. witnesses. Is anyone working under an. immunity agreement to provide testimony? We talked so much before about Neil. Langston, David's purported friend, how. he was arrested in Montana for allegedly. failing to appear as a witness, seemingly in this case. What was it, in. front of the grand jury? TMZ had. reported that he had only testified for. 30 to 40 minutes. If that's the case, was he uncooperative? Is he a witness? I. can't say for sure. Neil Langston did. not come up today. Now, according to.

Hackman, the investigation is ongoing. They believe they have a strong case. because of the totality of the evidence. that was obtained by the LAPD. Robbery-Homicide Unit. They talk about. the work that the DA's office has done. They believe they can prove these. charges, the special allegations, the. special circumstances. And this is where. Nathan Hochman discusses whether anyone. else will be charged. Is it possible. that you will be arresting other people. within his circle, and did he act alone. in this death? Again, with respect to whether or not. there's any other individuals or going.

to take any other actions, you will know. about them if we do, but at this point. I'm not commenting. Do you believe that. you know how she was killed beyond it. being homicide? The actual cause of death. The coroner's. report will be released shortly. Because. it is not currently released, I'm not. going to be commenting. >> But was it determined not that. if you won't say what it was, but but. has it been determined how she was. killed beyond it being homicide? The. coroner has made a determination on how. Celeste died, and at the point that the.

coroner's report becomes public, we'll. be able to comment. Was there a specific. breakthrough last week? Is there. physical evidence that ties David to. this murder? There There is physical evidence, and. there is forensic and digital evidence. that we intend to present in court to. prove these charges beyond a reasonable. doubt. >> Only a couple more questions. Yes. In. your investigation, and just to his. question, are you able to tell us. exactly what the smoking gun is? And.

also, if you can address the issue of. his visit to Santa Barbara, and is that. how does it connect to the murder? So, with respect to the actual details of. the evidence we're we're going to be. presenting in court, I'm not going to do. that today. As far as the concept of a smoking gun, the smoking gun is the totality of the. evidence that we're going to bring to. prove any case, whether it's this case. or any case, beyond a reasonable doubt.

It. An investigation is ongoing. If. investigation comes information comes. forward on any with respect to any. additional crimes, we will certainly. investigate it. What makes us confident is the totality. of the evidence that has been obtained. by the LAPD robbery homicide. by the work that the district attorney's.

office has done. that has led us to the point where we. believe we can prove each and every one. of these three three charges and the. special circumstances and the special. allegation beyond a reasonable doubt. >> So, I guess it's possible someone else. could be arrested or charged. I don't. know, maybe if someone refuses to. cooperate, refuses to provide testimony. We will continue to stay on top of this. case wherever it will go. Thank you so. much for joining us here on Sidebar. As. always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you.

should get your podcast. You can also. check us out on NBC's [music] Peacock as. well. If you want to follow me, X, Instagram, my NewsNation show Jesse. Weber Live, 11:00 p.m. Eastern, Monday. through Friday. [music] I'll see you. next time, everybody.