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Hi listeners, it's Vanessa Richardson. Real quick, before today's episode, I want to tell you about another show from Crime House that I know you'll love. America's Most Infamous Crimes. Hosted by Katie Ring. Each week Katie takes on one of the most notorious criminal cases in American history. Serial killers who terrorized cities, unsolved mysteries that keep detectives up at night, and investigations that change the way we think about justice. Listen to and follow America's Most Infamous crimes Tuesday through Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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This is crime house.
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Good morning everyone. We have multiple breaking true crime cases this morning that you need to know about. And we're starting with the biggest one. We have major developments in the David case this morning. The Los Angeles County Medical examiner has released the autopsy report for 14 year old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. And for the first time we know how she died. And another court hearing on Thursday brought new and troubling details to light. This is crime house 24 7, your non stop source for the biggest crime cases developing right now. Make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Vanessa Richardson and we have quite a lineup for you today. Here's what you need to know. Lately I've been trying to take the stress out of getting dressed. Just focusing on pieces that feel easy, comfortable and still put together without a lot of effort. That's really what's been pulling me toward Quint. Their stuff just fits that effortless everyday vibe. 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One year ago, on April 23rd, 2025, prosecutors alleged that 14 year old Celeste Rivas Hernandez walked into singer David's Hollywood Hills home and was never seen alive again. And it was in a Los Angeles courtroom Thursday on that one year mark that some of the most disturbing details yet in this case came to light. Let's start with the autopsy. On Wednesday, April 22, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's office released its report on Celeste's, which had been signed in December but sealed for months at the request of law enforcement. The cause of death was listed as multiple penetrating injuries caused by an object or objects. The manner of death was ruled a homicide. According to the report, Celeste had wounds on her chest and abdomen with smooth edges that, in the medical examiner's words, may represent sharp force injuries. A forensic pathologist who reviewed the report told CNN the injuries were most consistent with stabbing Celeste's arms and leg. Legs had been severed and blue plastic fragments were embedded in the cut surfaces and submitted into evidence. The pathologist said she was likely dismembered after she died. The report also contained a detail that drew immediate attention. A tattoo reading shh. Was found on the inside of Celeste's right index finger. It's similar to a tattoo that David, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, has on his own finger. Then came Thursday's court hearing. Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman told the judge that prosecutors had found a, quote, significant amount of child pornography, end quote, on Burke's iPhone and icloud account. Prosecutors also revealed that a wiretap was involved in the investigation which took place last year, though no further specifics were offered. The total amount of digital evidence investigators have compiled from multiple devices amounts to between 20 and 40 terabytes, an enormous volume of material. The hearing, which had been scheduled as a preliminary hearing, was postponed. A new date of May 1st has been set. Burke's defense team told the judge prosecutors had not yet turned over all of their evidence and they're waiting on that material before proceeding. Under California law, Burke is entitled to have a preliminary hearing within 10 court days of his arraignment, a right he chose not to waive. Defense attorney Blair Burke said, quote, we believe the actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Revis Hernandez. Burke added that, quote, we would like to have the evidence come into the light of day at the earliest opportunity, end quote. Burke appeared in court shackled and wearing an orange jail jumpsuit. He was calm throughout, speaking only briefly, telling the judge, yes, ma' AM when she explained how the preliminary hearing process works. He remains in custody without bail. Burke is being held in a segregated single cell with limited movement and no contact with other inmates. He reportedly gets three hours of recreation time with fre air per week, has no access to television or visitors, and reportedly has no funds in his inmate account. As a reminder, 21 year old Burke was arrested on April 16 and charged on April 20 with first degree murder with special circumstances, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and mutilation of human remains. Prosecutors allege that Burke had been in a sexual relationship with Celeste when she was under 14 and that he killed her after she she threatened to expose that relationship, a move that the DA has said would have devastated his music career. Celeste was a seventh grader just 13 years old when her family first reported her missing on April 5, 2024 from Lake Elsinore in Riverside County. According to the Riverside County Sheriff's Office, she was reported missing three times in the final year of her life and last contacted her family in May 2024. Prosecutors allege she was killed on or about April 3, 2025, the day she was last seen arriving at Burke's home. She was 14 years old. The murder charge carries special circumstances of lying in wait, murder for financial gain and killing a witness, making this case death penalty eligible. Burke has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Celeste's family attended Monday's arraignment. They've asked for privacy as they grieve through their attorney. They've said they're committed to ensuring that Celeste's voice is heard throughout this the case moves toward a preliminary hearing on May 1st. We'll continue to bring you updates as this case develops. From Los Angeles, we go to Wichita, Kansas, where a young woman who served her country as a Marine and built a career in public broadcasting was shot and killed outside her home by the man she had been trying to leave. Ivy Unruh was 25 years old. She was a U.S. marine Corps veteran with a background in radio frequency and satellite communications, skills that made her, as her employer put it, a perfect fit for her job as a broadcast engineer at PBS Kansas in Witchita. By all accounts, from those who worked with her, she was smart, driven, dependable and someone who genuinely connected with the people around her. On the morning of Friday, April 17, she was shot outside her home and now her estranged husband, who prosecutors allege killed her, is in custody and appeared in court for the first time on Tuesday, April 21. According to Witchita, police officers responded to an apartment complex in the northeast part of the city. Around 8am they found Unru with a gunshot wound to her upper body. She was rushed to the hospital in grave condition. She fought for her life for three days, but on Monday, April 20, she died from her injuries. Her estranged husband, 29 year old Joshua Orlando, was arrested at the scene and in a detail that has raised questions. Orlando was the one who called 911 himself. When officers arrived, they took him into custody and recovered a firearm. He was initially booked on a charge of aggravated battery, but after Unru's death, prosecutors upgraded that charge to first degree murder. Court records show he's now facing intentional and premeditated murder charges. He made his first court appearance on Tuesday and is being held on $1.5 million bond. Authorities are treating this case as a domestic violence homicide. Witchita police said the couple were married but separated. According to Unruh's co workers at PBS Kansas, the station had been made aware that she was experiencing some issues with her estranged husband in the time leading up to the shooting. PBS Kansas President Victor Hogstrom described the moment he found out in Raw. Hogstrom told local ABC affiliate kake, when I heard about it and I was first informed, the first thing I did was slam the desk with my two hands. Bang. What? That was my reaction. I couldn't believe it. Hogstrom went on to admire her work ethic and said, quote, she was smart and very intelligent. She was a good employee. We're all missing her from here. A very dependable person, end quote. A fundraiser set up for Unru's family described her as a strong, courageous woman who served her country with honor, strength and selflessness. It added to those who knew her. She was more than a Marine. She was a daughter, a sister and a friend who brought light into the lives of others. In a heartbreaking addendum, the fundraiser later shared that Unru had become an organ donor and that in death she saved six lives. The update read, quote, six pieces of her that will live on. Six humans that still have life and get to go home to their families because of her. Joshua Orlando is expected to face his charges in the coming weeks as that case moves through the courts. From Wichita, we head to Utah, where a jury just delivered a verdict in a murder case that involved an entire family turning against one of its own.
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Think about some of the cases that defined true crime in America. Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart, the Karen retrial. Some crime cases are so shocking, they don't just make headlines, they forever change a country. I'm Katie Ring, host of America's Most Infamous Crimes. Each week I take on one of the most notorious criminal cases, whether it's unfolding now or etched into American history, revealing not just what happened, but how it forever changed our society. Serial killers who terrorized cities. Unsolved mysteries that kept detectives up at night. Right. And investigations that change the way we think about justice. Each case unfolds across multiple episodes, released every Tuesday through Thursday, from the first sign that something was wrong to the moment the truth came out or didn't. These are the stories behind the headlines. Listen to and follow America's Most Infamous Crimes available now wherever you get your podcasts.
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Matthew Rastelli drove from California to Utah believing he was picking up his wife and kids and bringing them home. He was shot dead within seconds of walking through the door. We've been following this case closely here on crime house 247 and earlier this week, the woman prosecutors called the mastermind behind that plan was found guilty. On Tuesday, April 21, a Utah county jury convicted 60 year old Tracy Grist of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and obstruction of justice, and two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child. After just over five hours of deliberation. To understand that verdict, we have to go back to that very night. On the evening of July 12, 2024, 42 year old Rastelli had driven from the family's California home to American Fork, Utah to pick up his wife Catherine, Grist's daughter. Their two children had been staying with Catherine at Grist's home for several weeks. Prosecutors said Catherine told him over the phone that the door would be unlocked when he arrived. At approximately 10:07pm Matthew arrived. He took off his sandals at the door. Less than two minutes later, he was shot seven times, three in the back. Grist didn't call 911 until 10:15pm a full eight minutes after Matthew was shot. Catherine's brother, 35 year old Kevin Ellis, was inside the home that night. Ellis claimed he shot him in self defense. His first words to officers were that guy had a knife. A knife was found in Matthew's hand when officers arrived, but investigators determined it had been placed there after the shooting blade was facing the wrong direction and Matthew was left handed. Investigators eventually traced the knife to an online purchase linked to Grist and she had obtained it back in April 2020, four months before Matthew's death. The planning, prosecutors argued, was extensive. Before Matthew even left California, Catherine had placed an airtag tracker on his truck so the family could monitor exactly where he was and when he would arrive. Prosecutors also alleged that in the hours before Matthew got there, Grist prepar repaired the scene, clearing children's toys from the main area and laying down blankets. According to testimony, Catherine told her mother at some point that she didn't want to go through with it. Grist allegedly replied, I'm doing it anyway. Prosecutors argued Grist was the architect of the entire plan, the one who coordinated, organized and set the trap. Investigators found that in the lead up to the killing, Grist had been searching online for details about the Donna Adelen case, another high profile murder conspiracy. Prosecutors suggested she was researching how similar plots unfolded. Prosecutors also pointed to texts Grist had sent in the months before the killing, including one where she wrote she would drive nine hours and strangle Matthew and another saying, Matt made it so I want to kill him. On the stand, Grist called them jokes. Before Tuesday's verdict, Catherine Restelli pleaded guilty to murder, conspiracy to commit murder and felony discharge of a firearm and was sentenced in September 20to a term of up to life in prison. Kevin Ellis was convicted of murder in a separate jury trial in January 2026 and sentenced on March 31 to 15 years to life in prison for the murder along with additional consecutive sentences. Tracy Grist will be sentenced on June 10th. And now from Utah, we close this morning in downtown Los Angeles where a murder charge has been filed in a case that has shaken the city. Our final story this morning comes from downtown Los Angeles where prosecutors have filed a murder charge in the death of an 84 year old Korean man with dementia who had wandered away from his senior care home and was attacked on the street. In a case that has horrified the city, the victim, identified as Bong Cho, was attacked just before Midnight on Sunday, April 19th near the intersection of 6th and Hope Streets in downtown Los Angeles. According to prosecutors, Cho had wandered from his convalescent home and while disoriented, grabbed a bag belonging to the suspect. What followed, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, was a brutal and unprovoked escalation. The Suspect, identified as 40 year old Levanta Martell Wilder. A homeless man, allegedly punched and kicked Cho repeatedly, then lifted the elderly man over his shoulder and slammed him to the ground. Wilder then allegedly set Cho on fire. Cho was taken to a hospital where he died the following day. Wilder was arrested at the scene and on Wednesday, April 22, he was charged with one count of murder and faces a special allegation of having a prior serious felony. He's due in court for an arraignment next month. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hockman released a statement saying this case involves an elderly man who was disoriented and living with dementia, conditions that made him particularly vulnerable. The level of violence alleged here is brutal, callous and extreme, and our prosecutors will pursue this case with the urgency it demands. In the suburbs of D.C. a woman fails to show up for work and is found brutally murdered.
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We just walked in the door and there's blood in the foyer.
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For the next two decades, the case remains remained unsolved until new technology allowed investigators to do what had once been impossible. A new series from ABC Audio in 2020, blood and water. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, before I let you go, you know we can't end without giving you a little something extra. Over on Murder True Crime Stories Today, Carter's diving into the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. In 2005, an American teenager vanished during a high school graduation trip to Aruba, sparking an international search. Natalie was last seen leaving a bar with three young men and what followed became one of the most widely covered missing persons cases in modern history. Carter examines the disappearance of Natalie, the shifting accounts and stalled investigations, and the long, complicated pursuit of answers that has kept her case in the public eye for nearly two decades. Trust me, you're going to want to hear this one. We grabbed a clip from today's episode. Take a listen and if you like what you hear, don't forget to follow Murder True Crime Stories.
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In May of 2005, 18 year old Natalee Holloway was on the trip of a lifetime. She just graduated from Mountain Brook High school in Birmingham, Alabama with a 4.15 GPA and full scholarship to the University of Alabama where she planned to study premeditation. Head all to say Natalie had worked extremely hard the last four years and was more than ready to let loose. And that's exactly what she did when she arrived on the island of Aruba on May 26. She was there on her high school's unofficial graduation trip, accompanied by 124 fellow graduating seniors and seven adult chaperones. Natalie and her classmates spent the first three days mostly at the beach, the pool and hanging out at the hotel casino. Know the legal age for drinking and gambling in Aruba is 18 and the students were taking full advantage. Sunday, May 29 was Natalie's last day in paradise. It started with a concert on the beach featuring Lauryn Hill and Boyz II Men. After that, the party moved to the casino and finally a bar called Carlos and Charlie's. That was about a 5 to 10 minute drive from the hotel. Help. After the bar closed, Natalie and a friend named Jessica Caola grabbed some street food outside before heading back to their hotel, the Holiday Inn. They were both tipsy from a night of partying, and when Jessica turned around, she saw Natalie darting off away from the food truck. She got into what Jessica described as a white car, which was later identified as either a gray Honda or a silver Nissan. At the time, Jessica assumed Natalie must have found someone to give her a ride back to their hotel. Over the course of their trip, they'd learned that taxis were hard to come by in Aruba, especially after the bars closed. Plus, Natalie was known to be responsible and reliable, so Jessica wasn't worried about her. She figured she'd just see her back at the hotel.
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Help.
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Even when Natalie didn't show up, her roommates weren't too concerned. The students had been sleeping over in each other's rooms the whole trip and keeping the party going after the bars closed. In fact, the group had been having such a good time, the hotel already decided their school was not welcomed back the next year. So Natalie's absence didn't really sound any alarms until the following morning when it was time to head to the airport. The plan was for everyone to meet in the lobby before 10am so all the students could head back to the airport for their flight. But Natalie was nowhere to be seen. When the chaperones checked her room, her suitcase and passport were there, but Natalie wasn't. At that point, the chaperones called her mother, Beth, back in the States, and as soon as Beth heard that Natalie was missing, she sprang into action. Beth was in Hot Springs, Arkansas when she got the news, so the first thing she did was call 911 and later the FBI. The next thing she wanted to do was get to Aruba asap. There weren't any commercial flights that could get her there fast enough, but luckily Beth knew who to call. She and Natalie's father had divorced a long time ago, and in the year 2000, Beth had married a man named George Jug Twitty. He was a big wig in the Birmingham, Alabama metals industry, so the family had some pretty solid connections. One of those connections was able to arrange a private jet for Beth and Jug. They took along two of their friends who they thought might be helpful in the search. They left the remaining seat on the jet open for Natalie. They landed in Aruba around 10pm that night on May 30, 2005, just on about 12 hours after everyone realized Natalie was missing, Beth's plan was to get whatever information they could from the local authorities. She and Jug did speak with the Aruban police that night, but they definitely weren't happy with what they heard. The police didn't seem as concerned as the Twitties were. So Beth and Jug decided to do their own digging. Digging. And almost right away, they learned about the last time anyone saw Natalie. Some of her classmates, who are now back home in Alabama, told the family that they saw Natalie talking to a cute, tall Dutch guy before her disappearance. For some context, Aruba used to be a Dutch colony. And even though it's now a separate country, it's still part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the island has a big Dutch population. All to say, the mystery guy talking to Natalie wasn't necessarily a tourist. And luckily, Jug had a nephew on the trip who remembered him introducing himself as Yoron during a game of poker at the hotel casino. Yoron was around the same age as the Mountain Brook students and had apparently been hanging around the group all week. In fact, they'd all been gossiping about who might hook up with him. But not everyone was impressed. One student, Brian Reynolds, remembered Joran nearly getting into a fight with one of his friends, and Brian had to break it up. This was just a few hours before Natalie vanished. Brian also remembered that before the fight almost started, Joran was talking to Natalie. Not only that, but some of Natalie's classmates said they spotted Yoron in the white car that Natalie got into, the one outside of Carlos and Charlie's. And he wasn't alone. There were also two other guys they didn't recognize. Beth and Jug knew they needed to find this mystery guy right away. So Beth asked a hotel employee if she knew a tall Dutch teenager named Joran who hung around the casino. Not only did the employee recognize the description, she knew his full name. Joran Van Der Sloot. He was a 17 year old local, and according to the hotel employee, he, quote, tends to prey upon young female tourists. Which made Beth and Jug wonder, could he have hurt Natalie? After learning about Joran, Beth and Jug tracked down his address. He lived in the nearby town of Nord, and that night they, along with the Aruban police, paid him a Visit. Joran's father, 53 year old Paulus Van Der Sloot, answered the door. Paulus was an attorney and aspiring judge in Aruba, while Joran's mother, Anita, was an art teacher. According to Paulus, Joran wasn't home, but he brought the group to where they might be able to find him at the nearby Wyndham casino. Oddly enough, Joran wasn't there either. So the group headed back to the Van Der Sloot house where Joran had had mysteriously appeared. He was there with a friend, 21 year old Deepak Calpo. At first Yoron denied knowing Natalie or even recognizing her name. But after some questioning, he changed his tune and admitted that he was with Natalie on Sunday night when she was last seen. According to him, here's what happened. After they met at the hotel casino where Natalie was staying, Natalie invited him to Carlos and Charlie's. Later he got a ride there from Deepak and Deepak's 18 year old brother Satish Kalpo. Euron said Natalie had too much to drink and was aggressively coming on to him after the bar closed. She wasn't ready to go back to her hotel and wanted to drive around with Joran. So they all piled into the Kalpoe brothers car. They ended up parking at a nearby lighthouse where the local teens like to hang out. Yoron said Natalie performed oral sex on him in the car. After that, Yoron insisted he took Natalie back to her hotel. He even watched as she fell over drunk, stumbling back into the lobby. Euron said he saw a security guard helping her out, so he left. Yuron even agreed to go to the Holiday Inn with Beth and Jug to point out the security guard who'd helped Natalie. But when they got there, Euron couldn't find him. Beth thought that was pretty suspicious, but there wasn't much she could do. She needed the police to officially open an investigation. But the next day, Yoron still wasn't questioned by police and the Twitty said the police initially didn't seem to care very much about finding Natalie. Beth even recalled that local detective Dennis Jacobs insisted on having a bowl of Frosted Flakes before he took her statement. Natalie's dad Dave, who arrived on the island on the morning of June 1, two days after Natalie went missing, had a similar experience. He said that when he went to the police to ask about Natalie, that same detective asked, quote, how much money do you have? Beth and Dave agreed that the police seemed to think Natalie was just off partying somewhere. But the authorities told a very different version of the story. They said they agreed with the Holloways from the beginning that Euron and the Kalpos were suspects, but they were just trying to wait for them to slip up. Instead of arresting them right away, they hoped this would help lead them to Natalie. The Aruban police claim that starting on the third day of Natalie's disappearance, Yoran and the Kalpos phones were tapped, their emails were monitored and they were surveilled everywhere they went. Multiple sources close to this case, including members of law enforcement, confirmed that the Aruban police did not open a missing persons investigation until three days after Natalie disappeared. Weird, by the way. On June 2nd, the police officially opened an investigation and announced a $55,000 reward for information leading to Natalie's return. Meanwhile, her photo was plastered all over the news in Aruba and all around the world. In Dave's words, quote, Natalie had become everybody's child. And just a few days later, it seemed like the police finally got got their first lead. On Sunday, June 5, 2005, nearly a week after Natalie was last seen, Police picked up 30 year old Nick John and 28 year old Abraham Jones. The two men had worked as security guards for a hotel near the Holiday Inn where Natalie stayed. But their contracts ended the day before Natalie vanished and they denied that they'd ever seen. In Aruba, suspects don't have to be charged with a crime until 116 days after their arrest unless a judge finds that there isn't enough evidence to hold them longer without charges. So the two security guards while arrested weren't officially charged with a crime. And the police didn't reveal exactly why they arrested them either. Their lawyer told the media that the arrests seem to be based on vague witness statements about seeing Natalie get helped by two security guards at her hotel. But these two guys didn't even work at the Holiday Inn. This made Beth furious. She felt like the police were looking in all the wrong places and she wanted to let the world know how she felt. So Beth started giving TV interviews, openly accusing the Aruban government of covering for the Van der Sloot family because Paulus was a high ranking lawyer on the island. Not only that, but it seemed like Joran got away with a lot of troublemaking. At 17, he wasn't old enough to legally drink or gamble. And yet everyone in Nord, police included, seemed to know he was a regular at the bars and casinos. Even more concerning, Joran had a history of violence. Violence. In his early teen years, Yoron became aggressive towards his two younger brothers, hitting them and even destroying one of their cell phones. At that point, Joran also started lying to his parents. Whenever they caught him, he'd spin more lies to get out of it. Instead of punishing him, Yoron's parents sent him to therapy. But it didn't seem to work and before long, it got to a point where he wasn't just lashing out at his brothers anymore. Once, Euron got into a fight with an unhoused man and threw him off a low bridge into the water below. Another time, he allegedly pushed a classmate through a glass display case at a movie theater. Eventually, Yoron got so bad that his parents moved him into a detached apartment behind their house. While this made things more peaceful at home, it also had a big unintended side effect. Euron now had unchecked freedom to come and go as he pleased, and it seemed like no one had the power to stop him.
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That's Carter Roy on Murder True Crime Stories and that's just a taste. The full episode on the disappearance of Natalee Holloway is out right now. Apple Podcasts or Spotify? Just search Murder True Crime Stories and make sure you follow so you don't miss any episodes. You've been listening to crime house 247 bringing you breaking crime news. I'm Vanessa Richardson. We'll be back Monday morning with more developing stories. Stay safe and thanks for listening.
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Foreign I'm Katie Ring, host of America's Most Infamous Crimes. Each week I take on one of the most notorious criminal cases in American history. Listen to and follow America's Most Infamous Crimes available now wherever you get your podcasts.
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Thanks for listening to today's episode. Not sure what to listen to next? Check out America's Most Infamous Crimes, hosted by Katie Ring. From serial killers to unsolved mysteries and game changing investigations, each week Katie takes on a notorious criminal case in American history. Listen to and follow America's Most Infamous Crimes now wherever you listen to podcasts.