Judge hears evidence against D4vd in killing of Celeste Rivas Hernandez

[00:00:00]Happening right now, the murder case against a famous Tik Tocker and celebrity is unfolding in a downtown LA courtroom. Good morning everyone. Thank you for joining us. I'm Annabelle Sedano. Singer David Burke is charged in the death of 14-year-old Celeste Reebas Hernandez. The preliminary hearing is underway right now to determine if he will stand trial for this murder. We have team coverage and a legal analysis.

[00:00:23]Let's begin with NBC4's Britney Hope.

[00:00:25]She's outside the courthouse. Britney, so this started a couple of hours ago.

[00:00:29]what has happened so far.

[00:00:32]>> Hi, Annabelle. It's been a really disturbing morning inside that courtroom. NBC4 Investigates Eric Leonard is inside right now and he tells us that Celeste's parents are sitting in the front row. And they're sitting in that front row as evidence is begun to be shown. Now, that includes incredibly graphic photos of Celeste's body dismembered, decaying, covered in flies and maggots when it was discovered in a Hollywood towyard. Prosecutors right now continuing to lay out the evidence that they have in this case against David.

[00:01:02]District Attorney Nathan Hawkman is inside the courtroom listening to the proceedings. We saw him walk into the courthouse earlier this morning. He has called this case a parents nightmare.

[00:01:12]Also inside the courtroom are members of the public who entered a lottery system to try to get a seat inside. One man tells me he came today as a concerned citizen.

[00:01:22]>> I'm born and raised in Hollywood, so I'm a Hollywood native. I've been coming for like the last maybe three hearings. I came today because I want justice for Celeste. I want to see what's going on firsthand. Um I don't want to hear rumors or other people's opinions. I want to see for myself what's going on out here in my home, you know.

[00:01:40]>> So cameras are not allowed inside the courtroom today. The prosecution this morning also showed body camera footage from a welfare check done at David's home in February 2024 when authorities were looking for Celeste, who had been reported missing. You see in that video, David tell deputies she told him she was 18 years old, although she was only 13 years old at the time. Ahead of this hearing today, David's legal team had asked the judge if he would be able to be unshackled for the proceedings. The judge decided that he can have his hands free, but he is still shackled by the waist and under the table at his feet.

[00:02:15]Again, NBC4 Investigates Eric Leonard is inside. We will have coverage on this all day here on air and online. For now, we're reporting in downtown LA. Britney Health, NBC4 News.

[00:02:24]>> Just so disturbing. Britney, thank you so much for that. And for more context, let's bring in our legal analyst, Royal Oaks. Royal, thank you so much for joining us today.

[00:02:32]>> You bet.

[00:02:33]>> So, Royal, we know this prosecution is going to continue to lay out the evidence they have, and we just heard Britney describe how horrific it is. How much of the evidence will they have to show, and is there a benefit to holding some of it?

[00:02:45]Well, there is a benefit to holding back in the sense that the district attorney knows this is just a preliminary hearing, a mini trial, an overview. The only question for the judge, there's no jury. And the question for the judge is, is there probable cause that Burke committed this murder? Meaning, would a reasonable person suspect that he's guilty? Which is far from the trial standard, which is guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

[00:03:11]You know, so lawy royal his lawyer had asked the judge for an order to unshackle him for the proceedings, and we just heard Britney say that that didn't happen. So, let's talk about the psychology behind that. I mean, there aren't any jurors in there, and of course, no cameras are allowed.

[00:03:24]>> Well, that's right. The district attorney's strategy, I think, is to start sending a message to the world, the community, including prospective jurors. We got our man. This guy is so dangerous. He's in a jail jumpsuit. He can't leave his chair. And in that sense, the district attorney is showing that he's being aggressive. Now, you know, there is no necessity for all of this gruesome, grizzly evidence to be presented at this point. The judge is almost certainly going to agree with the DA that the matter should go to trial.

[00:03:54]The fact the DA is being aggressive and ruling out this evidence, I think, means that the district attorney just wants to send a message. We're extremely serious about this case. We have the goods on this person. Of course, the defense position is just because a body is in somebody's car doesn't mean that owner of the car did it. Where's the DNA?

[00:04:15]Where's the eyewitness testimony? Where are the fingerprints? So, you're seeing the battle lines drawn in this mini trial, >> Royal. So, the murder charge, I want to talk about that. It carries special allegations. What role do they carry in the prosecution?

[00:04:28]>> Well, that can turn this from a murder in the first degree case where he could be set away for life to capital punishment. Now, as a practical matter, it's tough to get the death penalty in California, but the DA still may want to go for it. And there are special circumstances alleged here that could justify the death penalty. For example, did you murder a witness who was going to testify against you? Did you do it for financial gain? And this is intriguing. If you bump somebody off because they've got a million dollars you want, that's for financial gain.

[00:04:58]What if Burke killed someone allegedly because he wanted to protect his income stream in the future? Because remember, allegedly Celeste was arguing with him, saying, "You're exclusive with me, or else I'll tell the world and you're going to be in a heap of trouble. All of these arguments are going to be rolled out by the district attorney in this mini trial."

[00:05:17]>> I'm going to ask you a question here, Royal. Based on your expertise here and on everything that's been disclosed so far, do you think the judge will agree to a trial? You know, I think you should uh get the deed to your house, go to Las Vegas, bet the house on the fact that they will be going to trial because it isn't a matter of guilt or innocence at this point. It's just probable cause.

[00:05:39]And in fact, the defense may hold back some of their strong arguments because they know they're almost certainly going to lose at this stage. They may want to have an element of surprise when and if the matter goes to trial.

[00:05:51]>> All right, Royal, as always, thank you so much for sharing your expertise with us. You bet.

[00:05:56]>> All right. And we know there's high interest in this case. NBC4 investigator Eric Leonard is inside that courtroom.

[00:06:02]He's going to be updating us throughout the day on NBCLA.com and the NBCLA app.

[00:06:07]We'll have another live update for you on the NBC4 News at 3.