The Chaser - 07/26 D4vd Preliminary Hearing Conclusion

Hey there! So Cal Slaughters here with the latest update on the conclusion of singer David’s preliminary hearing today. Don’t forget to follow and also subscribe on YouTube so you never miss an update.

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Transcript

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Hey guys, dropping in again to give you another update. The preliminary hearing continued today with testimony from LAPD detective Corey Pharrell, who walked the court through thousands of text messages exchanged between David Burke and Celeste Rivas Hernandez in the months leading up to her death. The messages stretched from November of 2023 all the way through April 23rd, 2025, the day investigators believe Celeste was killed. Most of the testimony focused on the final 48 hours of communication between the two. According to Detective Pharrell, things escalated on April 22nd after the two got into an argument over another girl David had become friends with. Celeste made it clear that if David continued seeing the other girl, she didn't want to continue their relationship. As the argument intensified, prosecutors say Celeste began making threats. According to the detective, she said she would tell her father things that would ruin David's music career and damage his life. Investigators testified that she also made several violent threats toward him during the exchange. Despite that argument, the two were back in contact the very next morning. They spent most of the day texting, making plans for Celeste to come over to David's Hollywood Hills home later that evening. David agreed to send her an Uber from her home in the Inland Empire around 8 30 p.m. that night. But as the day went on, yesterday's fight resurfaced. Around 5 p.m., David reportedly asked why he had to show Celeste everything that happens in his life. Her response referenced something prosecutors had already introduced during last week's hearing. She replied, Because I had your embryo in me. That message appeared to reference testimony that Celeste had previously become pregnant and underwent a pregnancy termination roughly a year before her death. Later that evening, the text turned into what prosecutors believed was their final conversation. At approximately 10.02, Celeste texted David saying she was almost at his house and asked him to open the door. About eight minutes later, David responded, telling her that the gate was open and the front door was unlocked. Then, about 20 minutes after that, David texted her again, saying the Uber app showed she had already arrived, but asking where she was. When she never responded, David continued sending messages throughout the night. One message reportedly read, Bruh, you're scaring me. Detective Farrell testified that Uber Records confirmed Celeste's ride arrived at David's home around 1010. Phone data then showed David leaving his home around 11:30, driving north toward Santa Barbara County. During cross-examination, however, the defense challenged several parts of the prosecution's timeline. Attorney Blair Burke questioned Detective Farrell about prior messages in which Celeste had allegedly represented herself as older than she actually was, claiming to be 16 at one point and even 18 during 2022 and 2023. The defense also highlighted text messages they say showed Celeste becoming increasingly jealous over David's friendship with the other woman and pointed to several messages in which she allegedly threatened violence against him. Perhaps the biggest issue the defense raised was the timeline itself. Blair Burke argued that while Uber records show Celeste arrived at the house around 1010, investigators have no surveillance video and no eyewitnesses who can actually place her walking into the home. According to the defense, investigators believe Celeste died sometime between 1010 and 1031 that night. If that's accurate, it would leave only a 21-minute window in which David would have had to commit the killing, clean up enough of the scene to avoid immediate detection, and begin covering up the crime. The prosecution, however, maintains that the evidence collected from the home, including blood evidence, DNA, digital records, and the condition of the scene, supports their theory that the killing happened inside the residence. The hearing also included difficult testimony from the Los Angeles County Deputy Medical Examiner, Dr. Ho, who performed Celeste's autopsy. Dr. Ho testified that her remains were in an advanced state of decomposition when they were recovered, limiting some of the inferenic methods normally used to estimate exactly how long she'd been dead. He told the court that her body had been extensively dismembered. According to his testimony, her upper body had been separated in one location, her lower body had been dismembered in two additional locations, two of her fingers had also been removed, and both legs appeared to have been amputated using a power tool. The autopsy revealed two fatal penetrating wounds, one to the chest and one to the abdomen. Dr. Ho ultimately ruled Celeste's cause of death as multiple penetrating wounds. During cross-examination, the defense questioned Dr. Ho about whether he had discussed the case with detectives or criminalists before conducting the autopsy. A line of questioning that appeared aimed at exploring whether any outside information could have influenced aspects of his examination. The defense also asked the medical examiner whether it's possible that at least one of Celeste's stab wounds could have been self-inflicted. To be clear, the medical examiner did not say that he believed this happened. This was to imply the defense is exploring another possible explanation for the injuries in a common effort to raise doubt. It's a common defense strategy. Rather than proving exactly what happened, they try to show there may be other possibilities the jury should consider. And if you ask me, that's giving a little look at what they might be trying to put together for the trial. After hearing five days of evidence, including the forensic testimony, the digital evidence, and thousands of text messages exchanged between David and Celeste, the judge ruled that prosecutors had met the burden of proof. The defense's request to dismiss the case was denied. David was ordered to answer to every charge and every special circumstance filed against him, and the judge also ordered that he remain in custody without bail. That means this case is officially moving to trial, ladies and gentlemen. An arraignment has now been scheduled for August 31st, where David will formally enter his plea to the charges. Under California's speedy trial rules, the trial itself is expected to be scheduled within about 60 days of that arraignment. While murder cases of this magnitude often take years before reaching a jury, David has exercised his constitutional right to a speedy trial, meaning this case could move much faster than anyone expected. Because cameras aren't allowed inside the courtroom, everything the public has seen from these proceedings has come through courtroom sketches and testimony reported by journalists inside. So thank you. One major question still remains, and it could dramatically change the direction of this case. Now that David has officially been held to answer on all charges and special circumstances, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has confirmed he is legally eligible for the death penalty. That does not mean prosecutors have decided to seek it. Right now, the district attorney is still reviewing the case and considering arguments from both the prosecution and the defense before making that decision. Even if prosecutors ultimately decide to pursue the death penalty, and even if a jury were to return that verdict, that doesn't mean it would automatically be carried out. There are still years of appeals and court reviews that have to happen first. And in California, no executions have been carried out in years. So even a death sentence doesn't necessarily mean it would actually be carried out. So while the preliminary hearing may be over, this case is really just entering its next chapter. From here, all eyes turn to the arraignment, the district attorney's decision on punishment, and eventually the trial itself, where for the first time a jury will hear all of this evidence and decide whether the prosecution can prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. We'll continue following every development as it unfolds. If there's another update, we'll be back to break it all down. If you've been following this case, let us know what you think in the comments. Until then, you can like, follow, and subscribe on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, watch us on YouTube, listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and email us at thegirls at soakhouselaughters.com.