D4vd's Location a Mystery After Dead Teen Found in Tesla

Where is David? It's a simple question, but probably a complicated answer for. the man who all eyes are on as the. investigation continues into the death. of the young girl found in his car. As. there's no arrest, no named suspect, no. named person of interest, and now a. statement from the LAPD, possibly. signaling that no one may ultimately be. charged with her death. Why haven't we. seen or heard from him? And what do we. think he's doing right now? Welcome to. Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm. Jesse Weber.

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to go for Tik Tok, shorts, reals. Opus. Clip is your one-stop shop. And having a. tool like Opus means that our producers. can get you viral courtroom updates. instantly. And at Sidebar, we want our. listeners to share their ideas, too. And. this is the most powerful tool there is. to help you edit like a pro. So go to. opus.pro/sidebar. to create your videos today. We're going. back to a question that keeps coming up. Where is David? Where is the romantic. homicide singer as the investigation. into the death of 14-year-old Celeste.

Rivas Hernandez continues? The girl. whose body was found in the trunk of a. Tesla that was registered to David, real. name David Anthony Burke, out in LA back. on September 8th. He has been keeping a. very, very low profile. In fact, as far. as we see, there have been no confirmed, verified public sightings of him in. months. Where is he? Why haven't we seen. him? That is what I want to try to. understand today. Because we go back. here, let's recall the last time that we.

saw or heard from him, right? If you. recall, if you've been following the. story, when all of this broke and. Celeste's body was found, he was on. tour. More specifically, his withered. tour. In fact, the day after the body. was found, he performed in Minneapolis. to a soldout crowd at the Fillmore. Now, obviously, there was no mention of the. investigation or what happened. And then. he would end up canceling the rest of. his tour, including a show he was. supposed to have in Seattle. So, there. was no concert in LA. There was no. appearance at the LA Grammy Museum that.

was scheduled for September 24th. And. since then, we really haven't seen him. His social media presence has been radio. silent, too. I mean, if you look at some. of his past posts in September, right, before this news broke, this is what you. have. And it kind of mirrors what was on. TikTok, too. You go to his Instagram, September 7th, there's a post that. reads, "Wither deluxe messes out. September 19th. Every song written. exclusively by me on my phone, baby. This is a passion project I put together. to make sure I didn't lose the raw.

emotional weight my music carries and. how much it means to you all. Thank you. to all the friends who collaborated with. me on this. Everyone ate their verses. up. September 5th, I start media. training tomorrow, guys. Wish me luck. September 3rd, the first official. Fortnite anthem, Locked and Loaded, is. out now, just in time for Global. Championship. Listen everywhere and. watch the full video on YouTube. This is. about a collaboration that he had with. the video game. And while we haven't. seen him or heard him, there have been.

things going on connected to him. For. instance, in the beginning of October, and this is something we reported on, he. hired prominent criminal defense. attorney to the stars, Blair Burke, talking someone who repped Harvey. Weinstein, Lindseay Lohan, Kanye West, Mel Gibson, Britney Spears. She also has. been relatively quiet on that front, too. We haven't seen any public comment. from her about the case. But to be. clear, to be very, very clear about. this. Him reportedly retaining her. doesn't mean that he's been charged. No, he hasn't been charged in connection.

with Celeste's death. He hasn't been. named a person of interest. He hasn't. been named a suspect. And even him. retaining an attorney doesn't. necessarily mean that he's about to be. charged. Okay? And it should also be. noted that while he hasn't publicly. commented on the investigation, his. spokesperson confirmed to media at the. time this all broke that David was quote. fully cooperating with authorities. By. the way, speaking legal, he also did. something interesting, too. He. transferred property. So on September. 18th, again, this is after Celeste's.

body was found, someone called 911 to. David's parents house in Hemstead, Texas, and what appears to be a fake. report, an alleged swatting incident. >> Waller County Sheriff's Office is Amber. >> Hello. >> Hello. >> Yeah, Waller County Sheriff's Office. Um, hello. I need help. >> Okay. What's going on? Where you at? Oh, >> my address is. Okay. What's going on?

>> Um, I heard like some like gunshots. >> Okay. How close to your residence were. they? >> Um, they were like right outside my. house and I think someone's dead. >> Okay. What's your name? >> Say it again. >> What's your name? >> Okay. What's a good phone number for. you, sir? Okay. And why do you believe that.

somebody's dead? >> I just heard like a loud scream and. there was um gunshots. >> Scream. Okay. After shots. Okay. But you. haven't saw or heard anything else after. that? >> Uh I heard a scream. >> Was it a male or a female scream, do you. think? >> That was like a female. >> Female. Okay. Hey, we're going to go. ahead and get deputies headed out that. way and just confirming you're at.

>> Yes. >> Okay. I'm going to get them sent that. way. Okay. >> Okay. Thank you. >> You're welcome. Bye-bye. >> We actually interviewed an audio expert. who concluded that this call was. distorted, that someone masked their. voice. It's on a previous episode of. Cybar. You can go check it out. But. police end up showing up. They speak to. David's parents. They realize there's no. danger there. They search the property. They don't find anyone. And then we come. to find out that according to TMZ, David. apparently transferred deeds of two. Texas homes to a trust in his mother's.

name. This apparently happened on. September 18th and September 22nd. September 18th was the day of the. alleged swatting incident. And that home. appears to be one of the properties that. we're talking about. So why did he do. this? Well, here's what attorney Matthew. Selson had to say. >> I have two suspicions as to why he did. this. You know, this case, you guys have. been covering this from the start. This. is getting crazier and crazier uh by the. minute. I have two suspicions as to why. he did it. And both of them have to do. with asset protection. Old-fashioned, I. want to preserve my assets in the event.

something happens to me. If he is. charged criminally, and obviously we're. speculating, but if he were to be. charged criminally, there would be a. monetary fine as part of any potential. punishment. If he doesn't have the. assets to pay the fine, then he can't. pay the fine. So, one thing to do is get. rid of your assets and put them in. someone else's name. The other side to. this is related, which is, is there. going to be a civil lawsuit? Celeste's. family could file a wrongful death. lawsuit against him and others. It's a. little premature because there's still a. lot of unanswered questions about this,

but if they were to file a civil. lawsuit, he could essentially try to. hide assets in his mother's name or in. anyone else's name for that matter. Whether he's successful is a whole. different conversation. And talking. properties, as we have reported. extensively here on Sidebar, David was. apparently staying at a reported. multi-million dollar house in the. Hollywood Hills, a property near where. this Tesla was found. This was. apparently rented out by his manager, and law enforcement issued a search.

warrant, collected several items from. the property. E! News reported that law. enforcement sources said that. electronics and computers were removed. Well, David moved out right after this. search. The LA Times reported that the. lease was broken, that there were photos. of movers carrying boxes. And if you've. been following us here on Sidebar, you. know that we have been talking to Steve. Fiser, a private investigator who was. hired by the owner of that rental. property, to look into what role that. house may have played in all of this. We've spoken to him a few times already, and it's a fascinating discussion.

Encourage everybody to go check out. those interviews. But I'll tell you. what, here was one bombshell he dropped. on us. But I will say this, there are. some things that um and I'm talking. physical evidence that was at that house. that is. there could have been greater plans as. far as getting rid of her. And it's. scary sadistic stuff and that's why. we're trying to learn more about that. I. wish I could say more, but for obvious. reasons I can't. But but it doesn't have.

to do with how she died, but maybe how. they were planning on ultimately getting. rid of her and how maybe that Tesla was. just a holding spot at the time and. things just, you know, their timing was. just off as far as getting this done. But there's some there's a few things. that were just like will blow your mind. >> Also, we just spoke to him the other day. and when I asked him about David and. David's whereabouts, here's what Steve. had to say. Have you spoken to anyone in. David's camp? Do you know where he is at. this point?

>> No, I know that early on it seemed like. he was in California because when he. transferred that property in um Texas, it had the the notary seal was a. California uh notary. So, it appeared. that when he signed those documents, he. had come back to California at least for. a while. I have no idea if he's still. here or or where he is. And I've spoken. to some people that are like one step. removed from the initial players, but I. haven't talked to any of the main people. I would like to. All of this to say, we. have no idea where David is, what he's.

doing, when the last time he spoke to. law enforcement was, but what can we. make of that? All right, so let me bring. in Matt Irvine, retired detective, law. enforcement instructor. Matt, good to. see you. Uh, where do you think David is. right now? Let's start right there. Where do you think he is right now? Well, I'll say honestly, Jesse, I have. no idea where David is, but I would say. with absolute certainty that his. attorney, Blair Burke, knows exactly. where he is. And I can say that with. certainty because she is a uh a highly.

soughtafter private defense attorney. She can afford to be very selective. And. one thing that defense attorneys prize. is what they call client control. That. means that your client takes your. advice, doesn't do anything to get. themselves in trouble, and pulling a. disappearing act in the middle of an. investigation like this would be an. absolute uh sign that she does not have. client control, and she just wouldn't. put up with it. >> So, that leads me to the main question I. was going to ask you. Even though, and. let me be clear, he hasn't been charged.

He hasn't been named a person of. interest. He hasn't been named a. suspect. Do police know where he is? I. have to imagine they know where he is. because let's say allegedly that he did. take off. They'd have to alert the. public, right? They'd have to say, "We're looking for somebody that's. connected to this." Um, again, he may. have no role in what happened to. Celeste. He may have no role in her body. being moved. Sure. But I have to imagine. they the police know where he is. They. might be keeping tabs on him. No,

>> I would expect that that would be the. case. uh whether they're actively. keeping tabs on him or not, I can't say. But I would say again, a prominent. defense attorney like this has to have a. working relationship, a relationship of. trust with local police and the local. district attorney. And so if they're not. actively looking at him, they're relying. on her representations that she knows. where he is and she can produce him if. and when that becomes necessary. >> Because again, we haven't had any. verified confirmed public sightings of.

him. In your experience, if somebody is. a part of a case in some way, where do. they typically not where do they. typically hang out? I mean, they have to. be somewhere where I guess it's not. public. I guess it's not in the middle. of LA. Maybe somewhere where it's less. populated, more rural. In your. experience, where would you imagine he. might be? >> Well, that's a great question. And, you. know, there's any number of. possibilities. He is a person, at least. until recently, who had a fair amount. of, uh, means. Uh, and so, uh, I imagine.

that he is someplace that is neither. close to his usual haunts or close to. where his family is because I expect. he'd want to keep them out of this. As. you know, they've already been dragged. into this in some ways. It's probably. very uncomfortable for him and for the. family. So, I imagine that his attorney. has him stashed someplace that is. comfortable uh that is close enough that. he could be produced to authorities if. and when they demand that. >> Do you think they're still in contact. with him? If you take what his.

spokesperson has said is true, do you. think he's still communicating with law. enforcement, cooperating with law. enforcement at this point? Again, this is just speculation, but I. would expect, given that he's got uh. representation, he's not talking to law. enforcement anymore. Any good defense. attorney is going to tell their client. if they're under any kind of suspicion, don't talk to the cops unless there's. some kind of uh deal in place that makes. this advantageous for you to talk to the. cops.

>> So, you he may have no role in this. whatsoever. And that is interesting, right? If he had no connection, nothing. to this, right? I have no idea how the. body got in the car. I have no idea what. happened to her. Would the police say. that? Would the police say? I know. there's been a lot of speculation about. David. We're coming out right now. He's. no way connected. Would you hear. something from him? Would you hear. something from his attorney? >> Possibly. But again, it's it's it's. really not credible to say he has no. connection to this. And I'm not saying.

that he is criminally culpable in any. way for her death, but he had a. relationship with her. unclear exactly. what the nature of that relationship. was, but it seems like he had an. association with her that goes back. years. And she's found in the trunk of. his vehicle nearby a place where he was. staying. So, he is absolutely connected. in some way to what happened to her. And. there's just no way around that. Now, that again, I'm not saying he is. culpable in her death, but he is. absolutely connected to what happened. And I imagine until this thing is.

completely untangled, until this. investigation is complete, nobody's. going to make any definitive statements. about how he's connected. >> And let me be clear about something. else. All this we're speculating. We. don't know for sure, but in your. experience, given something like this, cancels his tour dates, do you think he. relinquished his passport? Do you think. he's in a position where he's saying to. law enforcement, I'm not going anywhere. You know, you want to know where I am, here's where I am. Do you think he. relinquished his passport?

>> That's possible. Uh that's certainly. something that law enforcement could. request of him through his attorney. basically as a kind of act of good. faith. But until he's charged, he's. under no obligation to do anything to. make law enforcement's job any easier in. this. >> Are you surprised we haven't even heard. from him on social media or in some way. about his career, about his songs, about. his album? Or is it seem from a legal. point of view that could be problematic? Or even from an optics point of view.

that could look problematic to be. promoting your album or your tour or. your business in some way while this. active investigation is going on. >> I think it's very much the kind of. second part of what you said. I think. any good attorney is going to advise. their client to shut up at this stage of. an investigation. I think the people. that were managing David's career and. producing his material at this point. want nothing to do with him. And. particularly given that at least some of. his material was confessional, exposed.

some very kind of dark and disturbing, let's call them fantasies or ideations. that he had. It would be absolutely. toxic both legally and professionally to. continue to put that kind of material. out there under these circumstances. >> Let me tweak that and say maybe. allegedly confessional. I'm always weary. of lyrics being used uh as a way to. prove or disprove anything, particularly. when they were recorded and when we're. talking about something. But I hear you. I hear you. Look, a lot of people online. have been talking about the lyrics and. and the songs and and what have you. Um.

I do want to go back to something that. may be complicating this um in one way. or another. It's something I mentioned. the other day and I'm happy to have your. perspective on it because we haven't. talked about it. So, the LAPD confirmed. with KTLA that its prior news release. quote stands on its own. Essentially. meaning this is what they previously. said. There's currently possibly no. other crime other than concealment of a. body that may have occurred. That could. change, right? That could change. But. making that statement, it stands on its. own. No case being sent over to the LA.

County District Attorney's Office for. review or potential prosecution. And one. of the reasons that announcement was. made was because the Los Angeles County. Medical Examiner hadn't yet determined a. manner or cause of Celeste's death. Your. thoughts on that? And does that affect. why we haven't heard from David? >> Well, I think all that just indicates. this investigation is still very much. ongoing. Uh, I mean, the statement they. made recently just said they stand by. the statement they made six weeks ago, which as you said just kind of spoke to.

what is obvious. We clearly have. concealment of a body. We don't know yet. what other crimes may have been. committed and what we can prove. And. you're right, we don't have a cause or. manner of death. There's a lot of. reasons that may be the case, but that. just means that the investigation has to. continue in other directions, looking at. communications, seeking statements from. witnesses and persons with knowledge of. what happened to this child. And it just. takes time. And LAPD very rightfully is. keeping about this so as not to. prejudice the investigation or any. prosecution that might follow. And.

again, I think David is probably wisely. following the advice of council and. probably the advice of the folks who. managed his career and remaining very. quiet as well. >> Do you think it could mean that whatever. happened to Celeste is not clear on its. face? If you were dealing with a case. where it was evident from the crime. scene that someone was shot, someone was. stabbed, someone was beaten to death, they would come out and say that before. the medical examiner would come out and. say, "Listen, this is a homicide. investigation. We see someone was.

brutally killed here. Is there some. circumstance of her body that they're. not sure about and they are waiting for. confirmation? Is that possible? >> That is absolutely possible. And you're. absolutely right. If it was clearly a. homicide on its face because of the uh. the condition of the body, like you. said, a gunshot wound or something. obvious like that, it would be very. likely they just put that out there. Uh. what this suggests is that based on the. condition of horseless body, based on. the status of the uh examination at this.

time, they can't conclusively say how. she died. That could be due to the. amount of time that her body was kept. under um less than ideal conditions in. terms of preservation of evidence. You. know, there have been speculation that. this might have been some kind of a. drugrelated death. controlled substances. can stay in the body of a dead person. for days, maybe weeks, uh, depending on. conditions. We're now hearing that she. may have been in that vehicle or in some. other location for months before her. discovery. That means that we may not.

learn from examination of where Celeste. remains how she died, which means that. the the way in which she died is going. to have to be determined through other. sources. And again, it's may come down. to talking to people with knowledge of. what happened. And that's uh a lengthy. and complicated process uh legally and. uh investigatively. >> I spoke to Steve Fischer, the private. investigator who's on the ground looking. into this for the the homeowner of that. rental property, and he said he kept.

looking at, I believe, the LA County. Medical Examiner's website, and they. were starting to deliver uh cause and. manner of death evaluations for cases. that were in September. So it was his, you know, analysis. Well, maybe we. should expect we'll get an update in. Celeste's case now, right? If they're. backlogged and they're starting to get. to September. Is that something we. should expect? And with such a. highprofile case, the way they would. deliver that information or the way that. information would be publicized, does.

law enforcement handle it differently. when it is time to release the cause and. manner of death from the uh LA County. Medical Examiner? Is there a way that. it's going to be published um that may. be different in typical cases? >> You know, that's an excellent question. I don't know if they can um kind of put. a a lid on the ME's eventual findings, if they can ask for that to be kept. confidential under these circumstances. I know that the LA corer's office uh. communicates and cooperates with.

homicide investigators uh in ways that u. maximize the chance of a uh uh a. successful investigation and prosecution. if that's where the facts uh lie. So uh. the short answer is I'm not sure whether. they could kind of keep a lid on it. I. would say that um in my own experience. when you're looking at um examination of. of evidence from the body of a person, there's often several rounds of testing. that take place, they'll look first at.

the place that they think they've got. the best chance of getting the best. evidence. If they don't find it there, they look someplace else. If they don't. find it there, they look someplace else. There's different tests to test for. different substances. So this could be a. process that just takes a long time by. by process of elimination until. unfortunately maybe you get to the place. where you say we just can't tell. This. body has been under poor conditions for. too long for us to be able to make a. determination. I don't know when or if. they're going to arrive at that place. But that doesn't mean the investigation.

is over at that point. It just means. that the investigators have to look for. the truth in other places. >> and looking for information. This is. something I also asked Stephen. I want. your perspective on it as well. He said. that there's video where that was. provided to law enforcement where you. can see who's moving that Tesla. It. seems that there's an argument that they. may have enough evidence to make an. arrest of somebody for something. Even. concealment of of a body after an. accidental death is a misdemeanor. charge, I believe, in California. But no. reported arrests. I always thought that.

if you make an arrest, that could lead. to further information. You can question. that person. They may not uh give. information, but that could maybe lead. to further search warrants. Why do you. think we haven't seen an arrest at any. level any level that may further the. investigation or are they waiting to. say, "Hey, if we're going to we're going. to move forward with charges, we have to. make sure that the highest level charges. possible.". Well, it's definitely true that in a lot. of cases you start with the lowhanging. fruit or the people that are kind of.

involved around the periphery of an. offense uh and try to basically uh. cooperate them to kind of move up the. food chain in terms of criminal. culpability. Uh I would imagine one. possibility at this point may be that uh. let's say they know who was the final. person to move that vehicle. What they. may not know is what else that person. may have been involved in related to the. death of Celeste. And until they have a. clearer sense of that, they may not want.

to move on that person. You don't want. to uh arrest somebody for a misdemeanor. and give them some kind of immunity uh. in order to get their cooperation and. then realize, oh shoot, this is actually. the killer and we just cut a deal with. them and we lost the opportunity to hold. them accountable. So, um, yes, we're. looking at the misdemeanor concealment. of a corpse, as you and Steve discussed. There's the possible felony, uh, in. terms of some harm that might have been. done to her after her death. I know. Steve Fischer has mentioned that, but.

there were what he called something like. farm implements found in the home. If. any of that. >> Well, he clarified that in terms of what. those instruments might may or may not. have been. >> Yeah. Okay. But if anything was done to. Celeste after her death to make her body. easier to conceal or to get rid of, that. could bring up the felony mutilation. charge, this felony charges for. providing controlled substances to a. minor. And even if her death was due to. something like an overdose, as some. people have speculated, the person or. person who provided her with those.

substances could be held liable for her. death under theories ranging from. involuntary manslaughter all the way up. to first-degree murder. LA DA's office. charged a Hollywood producer earlier. this year with first-degree murder. related to the drug induced deaths of. two women. So, you know, there's a lot. of possibilities here and I would expect. that if they're looking kind of at the. people in uh David Burke's circle and. David Burke himself or any other. persons, they're kind of want to know. the whole universe and the totality of. their involvement before they start.

moving on people and and potentially. offering deals for cooperation. Matt. Irvine, thank you so much for taking the. time. Really appreciate it. >> Thank you very much, Jesse. I appreciate. the opportunity to talk. >> 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. Podcast, Spotify, wherever you get your. podcasts. You can follow me on X or. Instagram. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak. to you next time.