Why Amazon purchase history may show D4vd's link to teen's murder

[00:00:00] Jonathan Gonzalez: We begin here at 6 o'clock with the gut-wrenching details revealed during the preliminary hearing for the murder case involving the pop singer known as David. We want to thank you for joining us here at 6. I'm Jonathan Gonzalez. [00:00:10] Annabelle Sedano: And I'm Annabelle Sedano. Colleen and Michael are off tonight. David is now facing sexual abuse and murder charges in the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Prosecutors are presenting a summary of the evidence in the case to show the judge there is enough evidence for a jury trial. [00:00:25] Jonathan Gonzalez: Investigative reporter Eric Leonard has been in the courtroom today. He joins us live now, and we should warn you, some of the descriptions from court are graphic. Eric. [00:00:35] Eric Leonard: It's very difficult for any of us to imagine what Celeste Rivas Hernandez's parents went through today as they sat in court and listened to a detective testify on the witness stand while showing photos about the way that their daughter's body was discovered at that tow yard in Hollywood, the condition of her remains, and the beginning stages of this investigation. Prosecutors today really focused on those first few days of the investigation. What detectives found, the clues, they say, even in those first hours began to point them towards the singer known as David and the home he was living in in the Hollywood Hills. These sketches from court show David, whose legal name is David Burke, sitting in the ninth floor courtroom today as prosecutors showed photos of the way 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez was discovered, dismembered, in an advanced state of decomposition. Rivas Hernandez's parents sat in the front row. Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman turned around and warned them about what was about to be shown and, at one point, suggested they put their heads down. Celeste was found last September in the front trunk of a black Tesla in Hollywood. The car, of course, registered to David Burke. And these photos, just part of the presentation of evidence, where the prosecution is demonstrating to the judge that there's enough here for the case to go to a jury trial. An LAPD detective on the witness stand for much of the day recounting how multiple clues pointed immediately towards Burke. Among them, electronic data that shows Burke was the last person to drive his Tesla on July 29, 2025. That was about a month before Celeste was found. Then, search warrants led to online purchase records that the detective says shows Burke bought three chainsaws, a shovel, a body bag, and an incinerator all around the time Rivas Hernandez disappeared. Photos of these items were shown in court. The detective explained how some of the equipment was delivered by Amazon DoorDash and Postmates. No blood was found on those saws. It turns out they weren't tested for DNA. Earlier, an L.A. County sheriff's deputy testified about a welfare check that he was sent to in a home in West Hollywood where Burke was staying. The home was searched for Celeste. She wasn't there. But at one point, body-worn video captured Burke saying that Rivas Hernandez had told him she was 18 years old, and then he learned she was 13 years old. And key to the prosecution's presentation here, they say at the time of the recording, Burke was already involved in an intimate relationship with the teen. On the witness stand this afternoon, a music industry financial executive who managed part of Burke's financial empire. The reason he was on the stand is that prosecutors are trying to show that there's evidence to prove that David, the singer, stood to lose potentially millions of dollars if he became an accused sex offender, which is what they say Rivas Hernandez was threatening to do in text messages. This goes to the potential motive of the case. The music executive said Burke had earned somewhere between 10 and 11 million dollars at the time that Rivas' body was found. Preliminary hearings are usually short. But this one's expected to go on for a couple more days. Live at Criminal Courts downtown, I'm investigative reporter Eric Leonard, NBC4 News. Back to you. [00:03:34] Jonathan Gonzalez: And Eric, what more can we expect moving forward during the week in this hearing? [00:03:39] Eric Leonard: Well, there's a lot more to this investigation beyond the discovery of the remains, which we heard a lot about today, and some of those initial electronic clues that pointed towards Burke, at least according to the police department. There's a lot more forensic work that was done to learn how Celeste died, the mechanisms, what they were able to learn about how she wound up in that Tesla, and some of the other things that happened that the police are saying amounts to a solid murder case. Plus, there's a lot of stuff about the relationship between Burke and Rivas, we should say the alleged relationship here, that prosecutors plan to call another detective to testify about probably as soon as tomorrow. [00:04:19] Annabelle Sedano: And our breaking news coverage continues. The preliminary hearing in the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. And at the center of this case is singer David. [00:04:27] Jonathan Gonzalez: Joining us now to talk more about this case, Manny Medrano, attorney and federal prosecutor. Manny, as always, thank you for joining us. [00:04:33] Speaker 4: Of course. Hi, Jonathan and Abel. Thanks for letting me join you. [00:04:37] Jonathan Gonzalez: Yeah. You know, David Burke sat here now to be in court over the next few days. We say preliminary hearing, but it's really a week long or so. How do you see things evolving over the course of the week? [00:04:45] Speaker 4: Well, first of all, just so our viewers understand, it's a preliminary hearing, which means basically a mini trial to the judge. Probable cause standard, not beyond a reasonable doubt. I expect the hearing will only last about five days or so. But here's the real twist for me. The defendant, Burke, in this case, was only arrested, Jonathan and Abel, about three months ago. So this is really the speed of light to get a case like this of a high-profile nature to the preliminary hearing stage. Clearly, the defense strategy was to catch the DA off guard. That has not worked here because on day one, as we know now, the judge was exposed to some very grisly graphic photographs of the dismembered corpse of the victim, Hernandez, in this case. It's pretty incredible. [00:05:29] Annabelle Sedano: You know, Manny, so as prosecutors are laying out their case, we know some gruesome photos were already displaced in the courtroom. Walk us through the strategy that they could be planning now. [00:05:41] Speaker 4: Well, the DA clearly, with this very brief five-day preliminary hearing, wants to give to the judge the theory of the case. Here's what happened and why, Your Honor. And I think today the DA was off to a good start. These photographs of this, these grisly photographs of the dismembered corpse are really hard to view, to be honest with you. Second, the motivation, according to the DA, is the defendant, Burke, had started a sexual relationship with Hernandez when she was a mere 13 years old. She then was going to out him about that inappropriate sexual relationship. So, the DA is contending that last year, he invited her to his place in the Hollywood Hills, stabbed her to death, and then proceeded to dismember the body. So, that's basically the theory of the case by the prosecution. [00:06:29] Jonathan Gonzalez: Let's talk about the defense now, then. What are the biggest obstacles in defending such a high-profile defendant? Some have argued that his, you know, his art closely mirrors the alleged crime. One of his breakout songs was called Romantic Homicide. [00:06:41] Speaker 4: Yes, well, I've handled high-profile preliminary hearing matters like this. And here's what's not going to happen. A good defense lawyer is not going to show all their cards. What are the defenses? How are they going to combat all the key evidence of the DA's office? That is not going to happen because that would be silly and premature because then that gives time to the DA to refute those defenses later in the jury trial, assuming the defendant is bound over to a jury trial. I think the purpose of today and this five-day preliminary hearing by the defense is just to get a flavor of the evidence to be thrown against the defendant Burke in this case. They just want to look at it, gauge it, and decide how they're going to attack it later at the trial jury stage. [00:07:23] Annabelle Sedano: All right. So, day one of this preliminary hearing. As always, Manny Madrano, thank you so much for sharing your expertise with us.