D4vd Faces Off Against 'Sniper' LA Prosecutor

It's a case about greed. It's a case. about lust. This defendant, who was the. mastermind behind her own adoring. husband's gruesome murder. That is the. prosecutor leading the murder case. against [music] David. I'm talking about. Deputy LADA Beth Silverman. We wanted to. better understand who she is, what cases. she's handled, and what we can expect. from [music] her in her prosecution of. the 21-year-old singer for the alleged. murder and dismemberment [music].

of a 14-year-old girl. Welcome to. Sidebar, presented by Law & Crime. I'm. Jesse Weber. Okay, we talked [music] about the. defense yesterday in the David case. Now. we want to do a deep dive into the. prosecutor in the David case. Now not. necessarily all of the evidence, all the. prosecution evidence. We already did an. episode about that regarding the charges. facing 21-year-old singer David Anthony. Burke. We're talking 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. Reeves-Hernandez, whose decomposed. dismembered body was found in a Tesla. out in LA on September 8th of last year, a Tesla reportedly registered to David. He's innocent until proven guilty. Okay, these are just allegations. We already. did episodes as I said all about all the. evidence in this case or the supposed. evidence. But what I want to do right. now is focus on the lead prosecutor in.

this case, Beth Silverman, Deputy. District Attorney for LA County, a. career homicide prosecutor. According to. the LA Times that cited LA Mag back in. 2022, at one point she was nicknamed. Sniper for not having lost a murder. case. She's the recipient of the. Centurion Award for excellence in cold. case investigations with technical. support. I mean, did you know that she. successfully prosecuted Samuel Little,

widely regarded by the FBI as the most. prolific serial killer in United States. history? The guy who admitted to killing. over 90 women over a 35-year period. That was a trial, by the way, that was. filled with surviving victims and. pathologists and scientists and criminal. investigators and others. And she was. able to secure convictions on three. counts of first-degree murder against. him. So, this is just a sample of the. cases that she's handled what we're. going to get into. And you're going to. get a sense of her style. You're going. to get a sense of what evidence she has. presented in the past, what cases she's.

handled in the past, and you'll see. correlations between the current. charges, the current allegations facing. David, and what she's done in the past. But, I'll tell you what, even before we. go into her past cases, her history, we. actually saw her in court in the David. case. So, after defense attorney Blair. Burke, who's representing David, and we. did a whole episode about her and the. defense strategy, we did that yesterday, you can check it out on Law & Crime's. YouTube channel. After she made the. argument that, "Look, we haven't been. given any discovery in this case so far.

The prosecution hasn't turned things. over to us. There's no evidentiary. materials. We don't have the autopsy. report." This was a hearing right after. his arrest, by the way. I want you to. listen to Beth Silverman, again, the. prosecutor. Listen to her respond. Your. Honor, as I indicated to counsel, there's approximately 40 terabytes of. discovery in this case. Moreover, in. order to obtain the transcripts from a. grand jury investigation, counsel has to. file a motion. She knows the way this.

system works. I'm not able to gather. those. Uh they have to be provided after. the court orders their release because. it was an investigation. Second of all, uh if counsel plans on. going to a preliminary hearing within. the 10 days, uh it is unlikely that. there will be very much discovery. provided within that period, given the. voluminous nature and how long it's. going to take to copy all the drives. In. addition to that, the corner's report. was sealed in this case.

uh in order to prevent it from tampering. uh truthful testimony from witnesses. that testified at the grand jury. So, an. an order will also have to be obtained. in order to get the corner's department, which is now the medical examiner's. department, to release those materials. Your Honor, it's surprising news given. that the district attorney's office held. a press conference this morning where. they discussed the cause of death uh.

apparently under seal and not released. by the corner's office, as did uh the. robbery homicide unit to the press. So, we would again reiterate we believe that. Mr. Burke is entitled to discovery. >> [clears throat]. >> Um we have served the people with. notice. They have 15 days. uh to uh produce discovery in this case. We would ask that they do that in a. conscientious earnestness and as quickly. as possible. I ask the court to uh make.

an order today. We'll take a copy of the. minute order ordering Department of. Medical Examiners to release. their corner's report in this case. So, that's her actually speaking in. connection with this case. But, there's. also what she represents in the court. filings, right? Because. in any of the episodes that we've been. doing on this case in the past uh like 2. weeks, we talked so much about this. pretrial prosecution brief that was. filed, and we cite so much to it. And. this is a pretrial brief that was filed.

by Beth Silverman. And by the way, you. can check out the full brief on uh our. case files in the Long Crime Plus app. It's all up there. We're starting a. David whole page on that. When you read. this, it lays out the potential evidence. against David. And you get a sense of. what this case is like, how it's. structured, maybe get a sense of how. she's going to argue it. So, surveillance footage, cellular data, text messages, DNA analysis, online. purchase history, witness testimony, law. enforcement reports. So, this is going. to be a very expansive case stemming.

from Celeste life in Lake Elsinore all. the way until the discovery of her body. in that Tesla in September of 2025. By. the way, talking about Beth Silverman, this was a little caveat before we go. into more footage of her. Did you know that she was involved in. one of the strangest, wildest stories. out in Los Angeles? So, there was this. murder of a 16-year-old Martha Puebla, and authorities ended up arresting. 24-year-old Juan Catalan, and he claimed. he didn't do it. And his alibi was, "I. was at a Dodgers game with my young.

daughter." That was the alibi. Now, how. did he prove it? Well, apparently, Curb. Your Enthusiasm was filming that day at. the stadium, you know, the HBO comedy. show from Larry David. So, his lawyer. calls up HBO, gets the footage, and Juan. is right there. The timestamp showed. 9:10 p.m., an hour before the shooting. The cell phone record showed that Juan. was near the stadium at the time of the. shooting. So, after spending months in. jail on a false charge, he was released.

I will tell you, where does Beth. Silverman come into this? She was. prosecuting this case. And she wasn't. initially convinced at first by the. tickets. And according to Snopes, not. even the footage convinced her. So, this. was, by the way, all featured in a. Netflix documentary called Long Shot. But you kind of get a sense of how. tenacious she reportedly can be. But I. want to go now back to some cases, and I. have footage of Beth Silverman in. action. So, we'll revisit some of her. past cases, past work, and this will. give you, hopefully, a sense of what we. can expect with David. I want to start.

with her work on a very famous trial. Did all Prime Crime on it. Monica. Semantelli. So, this was the woman. convicted of first-degree murder and. conspiracy to commit murder in. connection with the 2017 killing of her. hairstylist husband, Fabio. Oh, and. similar to David, she was found guilty. of first-degree murder with special. circumstance allegations of financial. gain and lying in wait. Those are the. two same special circumstances.

allegations in the David case that he. allegedly lured Celeste out, that it was. premeditated, that he allegedly killed. her to prevent her from exposing him. about their purported illegal sexual. relationship, she being a minor. So, in. other words, Silverman has experience. not only murder cases, but has. experience with those particular sets of. special circumstances allegations. And. the reason those are important cuz you. can get a higher penalty, life in prison. without the possibility of parole or. even the death penalty. Monica was. sentenced last year to life in prison.

without the possibility of parole. Oh, and by the way, she wasn't alone. Her. lover, Robert Baker, pleaded no contest. to murder and conspiracy to commit. murder charges, has kind of the same. effect as pleading guilty, and was. sentenced to life in prison without the. possibility of parole. So, the. prosecutioners we're talking about Beth. Silverman in this case argued that on. January 23rd, 2017, Baker fatally. stabbed Fabio as he sat on his backyard. patio in Woodland Hills and then fled. the scene in Cementelli's Porsche, which.

was later found abandoned. You go back. to Silverman and we have footage of her. during Monica's trial. When the. prosecution began its opening statement, again, Deputy District Attorney Beth. Silverman warned the jury that her. comments wouldn't be brief, and she was. right. Her opening statement ended up. taking days. Now, I'm not saying that's. what we're going to see in the David. case, but two complex cases, and she. basically eviscerated Monica during her. presentation. So, this leads us to the. issue of motive. And as you heard during.

jury selection, motive is not an element. we have to prove, but it's a big issue. in this case. Financial gain as a. special circumstance is is one of the. motives in this case. So she and Baker. decided that Fabio was getting in in the. way of their future plans to be. together, for her to become Mrs. Baker. If she divorced Fabio, she was going to. lose her social standing and many if not. all of her friends, her family would. never forgive her, and they would never.

accept somebody like Robert Baker, who. as I said was nothing like Fabio. But if her beloved husband was murdered, people would feel sorry for her. She would be a victim. And therefore, they might forgive. and accept what they would think were. just poor decisions by somebody who was. a sad, grieving widow. And the defendant. realized that the only way to maintain a.

reputation as Fabio's devoted wife and a. mother to their children without the. risk of turning everyone against her. was to become a victim. The only way to get rid of Fabio and. shed her old life without losing the. lifestyle to which she was accustomed. was to kill her husband. So instead of. being seen as this self-centered, ungrateful, liar and cheat, everyone would feel sorry for her.

because she would become Fabio's. devastated widow who lost the love of. her life. That gives you a sense of the. storytelling, right? Building that. narrative, which is what we expect to. see here from the complex investigation. into Celeste's death. Celebrity, minor, alleged cruel murder, cover-up, dismemberment, a lot of components. there. Now I also just want you to take. a quick listen to the closing arguments. that are made by Silverman at the end of. the trial, and then I'm going to show. you how she cross-examines a witness.

But first, closing argument. It's a case. about greed. It's a case about lust. And. during the trial, I looked up. the definition of betrayal. And the um. judge is going to instruct you. um that you can't do that. You can't. look things up. uh. when you go back into your deliberation. So, I did it for you. And I wanted to see.

what the dictionaries defined. betrayal. as. And And this is. some of the adjectives, the synonyms. that. I came up with. Deception, disloyalty, treachery, duplicity, devious,

cheat, trickery, fraud, cunning, breach of trust, false-hearted, underhanded, unfaithful. Each of those words. perfectly describe. this defendant.

This defendant who was the mastermind. behind her own. adoring husband's gruesome murder. This. was an obsessive, all-consuming. love affair. Where these individuals, these two. depraved people, the defendant and Robert Baker. believed they had found their soulmates.

in each other. And you know what? I think they did. They wanted to be together. They planned a future together. And that included traveling as you heard. and living together. The problem was that in order to get. that future, to live that life that they. so desperately wanted, they had to get rid of Fabio.

And I don't care what the defense gets. up and says. Divorce wasn't going to get them what. they wanted. And that's why you were. provided with that evidence because it. does provide motive. It provides motive for what happened in. this case to Fabio Sementilli. And that. is one critical piece of evidence. No. matter how you want to downplay it.

or cover it up or try to conceal it. The fact. that she lured him into thinking. that their marriage was solid and then. had him murdered. in his favorite place. shows. how evil this crime was. If If really. was a burglary, could have robbed the. house, could have burglarized the home,

taken property and left. They never had. to see Fabio out on the back patio. They. could have taken things from that. bedroom and then fled out that sliding. door that was left. uh slightly uh ajar or unlocked to sort. of stage that as an entry point. Remember that? The only reason. you would go out onto the patio, and.

again, all common sense, is if you wanted to target this victim. And as I said, this was clearly a. targeted hit. It was very personal. They went out onto that patio to kill. him. He had no enemies. So again, who do you start looking at? So a few. things there, right? Going after the. defense's arguments, countering other.

possible explanations, other narratives, trying to fight back against any scent. of reasonable doubt, telling a story for. the jury to follow. But I also want you. to see how she cross-examines key. witnesses. And to give you a sense of. that, got to say, who better to show you. than when she questioned Robert Baker. himself. And by the way, the context. here is she was questioning him, and he. seemed to struggle to explain why he had.

provided multiple versions of this story. of the murder, including statements in a. seven-page letter that he gave to Monica. after he agreed to plead no contest to. the murder. Take a look. You have. repeatedly. changed your story in this case. to fit the evidence. Correct? Officially, no. There's only I don't know what you when. you say officially, I don't know what. that means. I'm just asking you. No. >> repeatedly changed your story.

to fit the evidence in this case. Correct? Are you asking me or are you. telling me what to say? Your honor. Answer the question. I will. On an official statement, I've been. honest with you on everything else is. nothing. What in your mind is official versus. >> When I swear when I swore in. So if you were to have a conversation. with defense counsel where they are.

asking you to tell the truth and you lie. to them, you would consider that to be. unofficial? True. So it's okay that they asked you to tell. the truth and that you repeatedly lied. to them. I did lie to them. Over and over and over and over again, right? >> Some parts here, some parts no. Did you. think at all about the trauma that you. would inflict for a lifetime on these. two young girls in losing their father. in their home in such a horrific manner?

No. >> crossed your mind? No, to make this easy for you, no. Because you didn't really care about. them, right? I cared about them. You cared a lot about them. I cared. about them. You cared about them so much that you. again took their father away from them. in their home. where they lived. The place that's. supposed to be your sanctuary, right?

Can I answer now? I'm trying to answer but you keep going. and going. I do care. >> Jackson, move to strike non-responsive. Sure again. Answer the question. I. A- ask again. Ask again one more time. You cared so much about them. that you destroyed. their feeling of safety in their own. home. Well, I don't know how they felt, but I. did care I did care about them.

Didn't you tell your friends like we saw. in. uh messages last week that once the. girls. uh graduated school, that of you were. going to leave the country? I never saw no text like that. How about traveling once the girls. finish school? I never saw any text like that, either. You didn't? You didn't see that last week when I. showed you Michael Spence and I didn't. see anything about. >> to run away. You were ready to get it.

from Friday. It's hard to keep lies straight when you. tell so many of them, right? Objection, non-responsive. Sustained. Are you finding it difficult to keep. your stories straight? You're asking. four questions at a time when I try to. answer you, cut me off. >> Objection, non-responsive, move to. strike. >> Sustained. Again. One more time. >> it hard to keep all of your stories. straight. Argumentative. Sustained. How many different stories would you.

venture you've told. since your uh first interview. with Monica's lawyers? How many? Give us. an estimate. Um. two. maybe. Maybe? Yeah, maybe two without thinking. too hard. One being the letter, right? One being the letter. How How long would. you say it took you to write that.

letter? I think it's seven pages front. and back handwritten. Hm. A day. A full day. A day. So, did you spend a. lot of time thinking about what you were. going to say in that letter? I did. And. during the time that you spent that. entire day writing this letter, did you think about. uh all of the lies that you were telling. Monica's lawyers?

I was thinking about what I'm writing in. the letter. The lies, right? Whatever I was writing in the letter. But we You agreed last week that. everything you wrote in the letter was a. lie. Not everything, but Which part was. true? I got to look at the letter. We'll do that. >> All right. Approximate how many lies would you say. you told in that letter? >> I don't know. I can't. It's on the rule. I haven't I got to count. Give me an. estimate. I don't have I'm not giving an. estimate cuz I don't know.

>> 10? I don't know. 50? I don't know. 100? The rule. I don't know. I have to see the letter. >> 200? I don't know. I have to see the letter. >> How about 360? I don't know. I have to see the letter. So, kind of gives you an idea about what. it would be like if, you know, David. took the stand in his own defense. You. know, defense attorneys have a long. conversation with their clients before. they decide to testify, and they. probably study the opposing attorney's.

style of questioning. So, I do have to. believe that it's episodes like this. that will be analyzed by Blair Burke. But again, it's really up to David if he. wants to take the stand. I could do a. whole episode on that. Maybe I will. And. one more sense of this, one more thing. to think about. I want you to listen to. her cross-examine Baker about This was. kind of a shocker. Monica's nude photos. while there was a sense of grieving? When. Monica left. after you murdered Fabio to go to.

Toronto for the various funeral. services, the cremation, the. church services, during that time period. while she was in Toronto, you were still. in communication with her, weren't you? I believe so. In fact, during that week, February 3rd. through February 6th, isn't it true that. she sent you numerous photographs of. herself? I don't know. I don't know.

So, if I were to tell you that she sent. you numerous photographs of herself. while she was. uh and um. posing naked, showing off her private. parts, uh and that she sent these to you during. that week, does that refresh your. recollection? >> Not really. But, it wouldn't be unusual, right? For her to send pictures? Yeah. >> No. So, you don't have you don't think. there's a distinction between a time.

when you're allegedly grieving. uh and time when you're trying to be. flirty or. uh. sexy or whatever you want to think. You. don't think when someone's grieving the. last thing on their mind is posing naked. in their underwear. while they're My argument is assistant. She sent you photographs of her uh.

with her. while she was in Toronto? >> I don't know. I don't I I don't know. I. really don't know cuz I'm not looking at. the pictures and I'm not looking at the. dates, so I can't tell you. I don't have. a photographic memory like that. >> Okay. So, now I want to talk about some. other cases. How about the Grim Sleeper. trial? Okay. So, Beth Silverman, alongside Deputy District Attorney uh. Marguerite Rizzo of the Forensic Science. Section, prosecuted Lonnie Franklin. [snorts]. Jr. And this was for the brutal killings. of nine women and a teenage girl. And.

they secured convictions against this. former city sanitation worker on all 10. counts of first-degree murder with. special circumstance allegations. This. one was multiple murders. They also got. convictions for one count of attempted. willful, deliberate, and premeditated. murder. And by the way, this was a. capital case. So, while we wait to see. whether Silverman will move forward with. the death penalty in the David case, Here, in the Franklin case, the Franklin. Jr. case, she successfully argued to the.

jury who agreed to recommend a death. sentence. So, again, she has the. experience in this area as well. And a. death penalty case, the penalty phase, that's a different kind of trial, right? It's actually elongated. It's a second. stage. Goes into considerations if you. want to go that way, and can you find. jurors who are not only going to be able. to decide this case, but are they death. penalty qualified? Can they look at the. evidence objectively and determine one. way or another whether or not a criminal.

defendant should be sentenced to death? Not easy. Now, during the penalty phase. in this case, in the Franklin case, just. to give you an idea when we're talking. about Beth Silverman, the prosecution. introduced evidence tying Franklin to. four additional murders of women between. 1984 and 2006. There was a woman who was. kidnapped and apparently raped by. Franklin and two army buddies in Germany. on April 17th, 1974. They also. testified, this is according to the. LADA's office. So, she has experience. with cold cases and older evidence, and. she still secures convictions and.

penalties. But to give you a better idea. of what she did here, one of the things. that Beth Silverman did, and again, just. keep this in mind when we think about. the Celeste case, the graphic evidence. Silverman in the Grim Sleeper case. showed photo after photo of all the. victims. That's how she started the. trial. That emotional beat. And when you. think about the brutal end to. 14-year-old Celeste, that may be. how she starts this trial with an.

opening statement, showing photos of. Celeste, humanizing her, showing what. she was like. And Silverman, in her. opening statement in the Franklin case, she had crafted the narrative that this. guy took advantage of the young. drug-addicted women. And to give you a. sense of that, in her opening statement, she said, "This was the perfect. opportunity for someone who preyed on. women, someone who knew the streets and. the dark alleys by heart, someone who. lived there and was able to blend in, someone who knew where the drug-addicted.

women and perhaps prostitutes would. congregate and who knew how to lure. potential victims into the darkness and. the isolation of a vehicle through the. promise of crack. Obviously, different. circumstances in the Celeste case, but I. do wonder about common themes of. vulnerability, right? And this one would. be I imagine how young she was, impressionable, musical artist fame. alluring. So, could they come up again. in her opening statement or arguments. against David? In terms of the evidence,

she linked Franklin to the murders. through firearms and DNA and. photographs. And again, in the David. case, we don't have a firearm. It's not. a firearm-related case as far as we see. And we don't know the exact murder. weapon other than it was a sharp. instrument, according to authorities in. the David case. But through the ME's. report and potential DNA evidence, you. see how crucial the physical evidence. will be here. Actually focusing on DNA. evidence for a minute. So, in the David. pretrial brief that I mentioned before,

the one prepared by Beth Silverman, when. she talks about the alleged. dismemberment of Celeste at David's. property, she writes, "DNA evidence. developed from bloodstains collected. from defendant's garage which matched. the victim's genetic profile." So, that's going to be key, right? You go to. the Franklin case, she took the jury. meticulously through the intricacies of. DNA evidence, talked about the odds, quadrillions, quintillions. So, in other. words, how unlikely it would be that it. was somebody else's DNA, right? That can.

be very tricky to explain. That can be. tough to explain to a jury. It's. complicated, but clearly, she has. experience in this, too. And I'm going to highlight one other. powerful moment from the Franklin trial. where she said, "10 of the victims can't. tell you themselves. The defendant took. their voices when he brutally murdered. them. The evidence in this case is the. voice of the victims. Will we see something similar. in the Celeste case from her? Silverman has also prosecuted Sandy Dawn.

Nieves, the mother accused of killing. her four children in a house fire in. 1998. She was convicted. She was. sentenced to death. The death sentence. actually got reversed by the way, but. the big thing to note about this is the. specific circumstances allegations were. part of this case, too. Lying in wait. Lying in wait, part of the David case, too. And the prosecution's case. reportedly relied on and what was. presented, a 911 phone call, first. responder testimony, crime scene. evidence such as the presence of.

gasoline, apparent suicide letters, medical personnel, and much of it. highlighted the defendant's suspicious. and incriminating behavior. When you go. to the David case, a big theme from the. prosecution's pre-trial brief, Beth. Silverman's brief, is trying to explain. what he was doing, what David was. allegedly doing, his behavior. That if. he's completely innocent, is it strange. that he stopped trying to contact. Celeste after she disappeared? Is it. strange that he allegedly took a Santa. Barbara trip late at night? Is it.

strange he allegedly ordered all of. these materials to the property after. they say Celeste died? So, chainsaws, body bag, laundry bags, inflatable pool. Is it strange that he allegedly lied to. those around him about the strong smell. of what they claim is decay, decomposition at the car on the. property? Is it strange that he. allegedly sends a text to Celeste asking. where she is after she reportedly. arrived at his place. Is it a alibi,

right? So, just to give you a sense of. what she's done in the past. And one. more case I got to call out. Beth. Silverman successfully prosecuted, got. convictions for murder, mayhem, and. torture against Blake Leibel. In May. 2016, Leibel murdered his 30-year-old. girlfriend, Iana Kasian, at their. apartment in West Hollywood. She was. tortured, mutilated before she was. killed. Nearly all of her blood was.

drained from her body. And that case, like Celeste, was about the use of a. sharp instrument to kill. Here, Iana. died from blood loss. It's horrific. And. you can see, again, the allegations in. the Celeste case, sharp instrument, brutal crime, stabbing. What are we. talking about here? So, the prosecution. in the Leibel case, that's Silverman, presented evidence of bloody sheets and. clothes that were hidden inside of a. dumpster. Also in the Leibel case, there. was evidence of Luminol and a massive. cleanup. Silverman actually argued that.

the killing, this is interesting, was. based on a graphic novel that Leibel had. developed years before. She told the. court, "The defendant basically handed. us a blueprint. A case of life imitating. art. Sadism is the gratification, obviously, from the infliction of pain. and suffering on another. And we know. that in this case, the defendant. obviously enjoyed it because he. continued to do it for hours and hours. So, this was a brutal case with a brutal. crime scene and autopsy photos. And. again, we are dealing with the same kind.

of thing in the Celeste case, given the. allegations here. Something to think. about. A little bit of a primer on Beth. Silverman. We will follow what she does. next in this case. But, that's all we. have for you right now. Thank you so. much for joining us. As always, please. subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you 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, Monday through. Friday, [music] 11:00 p.m. Eastern. I'll. see you next time, everybody.