D4VD Morgue Leak Torpedoes Celeste Probe, Case Dropped?

Summary

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Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

Episode: D4VD Morgue Leak Torpedoes Celeste Probe, Case Dropped?
Date: July 8, 2026

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Overview

In this gripping episode, Nancy Grace delves into a bombshell revelation: a confidential leak from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office has thrown the high-profile homicide case against D4VD (David Anthony Burke) into jeopardy. The leak of lurid details about the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas could potentially lead to the entire case being dismissed, with the defense poised to argue government misconduct. The panel explores the legal implications, the emotional devastation for Celeste’s family, the broader impact on trust in the justice system, and the disturbing behavioral cues of the accused.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Case Status and Nature of the Leak (02:23–10:12)

• Nancy Grace announces the “bombshell” that a leak from the Medical Examiner's office has critically undermined the prosecution.
• The defense has seized on details that were illegitimately leaked—some seemingly fabricated or exaggerated—about the condition and treatment of Celeste’s remains.
• Dave Mack (08:47): Elaborates that up to 12 ME staffers are under investigation for possible involvement in the leak.

Nancy Grace [09:44]: “This is a murder case of a young girl. The medical examiner’s office equals the state. And when the state is proven to have done prejudicial wrongdoing to the defendant, the whole case conceivably can be dropped.”

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2. The Leaked Information: Rumors, Reality, and Damage (06:48–13:23)

• Initial reports alleged gruesome acts—“rendering” and “disarticulation” (the removal and separation of body parts), with rumors about a kiddie pool in the garage.
• Later, LAPD and prosecutors denied specific aspects, but the confusion and sensational details persisted in the public realm.
• The alleged leak led to a gag order for the Medical Examiner's office, indicative of the gravity the prosecution attributes to this breach.

Nima Rahmani [10:12]: “It’s a huge problem... The defense is going to have a field day. They’re going to file an outrageous government conduct motion... Instead of being on offense, [prosecutors are] in a defensive position, having to explain all this in open court.”

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3. Legal Ramifications: Possible Dismissal “With Prejudice” (11:21–14:38)

• Nancy shares a personal example of a past prosecutorial error, driving home that any government error, even inadvertent, is borne by prosecutors.
• Discussion of “with prejudice”—a dismissal that makes it impossible to ever retry the case.

Nima Rahmani [13:23]: “With prejudice means that it can’t be refiled... The prosecution is always responsible for the conduct of government employees. So they’re the ones that are going to be paying the price.”

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4. Breach of Trust and Procedural Fallout (16:55–21:31)

• Joseph Scott Morgan explains how the ME’s Office is supposed to be a “sacred trust” and details how even low-level employees could have participated in the leak.
• Concerns are raised about whether someone received payment for leaking the gory details to tabloids.
• The leak has created a rift between LAPD detectives and the ME’s office—one that may take “forever to repair.”

Joseph Scott Morgan [19:14]: “The trust has been so eroded between LAPD and the MEO that this is one of these things that it will take forever to repair.”

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5. Impact on Jury, Remedies, and Defense Strategy (21:56–24:49)

• Remedies under consideration include changing venue, dismissal or recusal of prosecution, and intense cross-examination of ME witnesses.
• Nancy cites O.J. Simpson’s case as an example where government misconduct led to jury nullification.
• Nima: Defense will seek every procedural advantage, file motions for sanctions, and highlight law enforcement misconduct in front of the jury.

Nancy Grace [21:56]: “Remember what happened in O.J. Simpson, right? Furman and others on the force made the jury so upset about their personal behavior that it ended in a jury nullification. We’ve seen it many, many times.”

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6. Psychological and Emotional Elements (25:38–26:52)

• Dr. Bethany Marshall highlights the narcissism, desire for notoriety, and lack of ethics behind such leaks; compares it to infamous medical breaches in celebrity cases.
• Raises how this compounds the trauma for Celeste’s family.

Dr. Bethany Marshall [25:38]: “The wish for the notoriety to gossip took precedence over ethics. And there are just such widespread ramifications for this, unfortunately… it’s trauma upon trauma for [the family].”

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7. Police Perspective: Betrayal and Fury (26:52–28:33)

• Dan Murphy (ex-NYPD): Emphasizes the heartbreak and anger detectives feel when their work is undermined by misconduct from a partner agency.

Dan Murphy [27:39]: “You cannot trust them, you cannot work with them. It’s that simple.”

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8. Current Court Proceedings and D4VD’s Courtroom Behavior (29:01–31:21)

• Lauren Conlon (LA Magazine): Case set to begin preliminary hearings on July 21. Defense fights for D4VD not to be shackled.
• D4VD’s behavior in court—appearing “relaxed,” unkempt, his pants sagging below his rear, laughing, and even showing his rear end—sparks outrage and speculation regarding disrespect.
• Nancy and Nima agree that such appearance can be prejudicial and is not tolerated by most judges.

Nima Rahmani [05:56]: “You don’t want to be showing your rear in court to the jurors. That’s disrespectful to the court and a surefire way to get yourself convicted pretty quickly.”

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9. Graphic Account of Celeste’s Death (31:21–33:21)

• Joseph Scott Morgan gives a detailed forensic explanation of Celeste’s injuries, describing a slow death from a liver injury, the subsequent dismemberment, and the body being left to decompose in the trunk of the Tesla.

Joseph Scott Morgan [31:21]: “This was a long and languishing death... After that, he disrespects her remains... takes her body and allegedly places it into this trunk of this vehicle... literally all of the soft tissue has liquefied.”

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10. Legal Standards for Shackling & Prison Attire (35:43–38:20)

• Nima Rahmani clarifies that, generally, defendants cannot appear before a jury in shackles or prison clothing to avoid prejudicing jurors; standard is strictly enforced, especially with cameras in the courtroom.
• Nancy ridicules the irony of D4VD’s superficial image concerns compared to the gravity of the allegations.

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11. Social Media, Evidence, and Post-Crime Behavior (39:26–47:30)

• New video evidence: D4VD reposted a TikTok featuring Matthew McConaughey in a luxury car; he did this immediately after Celeste’s alleged murder.
  • Used as potential evidence of narcissism, lack of remorse, and “glorification” of the crime.
• Dr. Bethany: Such behavior is typical of perpetrators seeking satisfaction after murder.
• Video emerges showing Celeste hiding her face in the back of an Uber—interpreted as an attempt to conceal her identity, likely due to being underage.

Lauren Conlon [46:00]: “Her hands, her little hands, they just look so small. She looks like a child to me... It’s breaking my heart even more, especially amid all of these issues.”

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12. Premeditation and Dump Site Analysis (46:47–47:30)

• Allegations that D4VD made trips to Santa Barbara to search for a dump site, then purchased tools online when initial efforts failed—strong indicators of premeditation.

Dr. Bethany Marshall [46:50]: “Preparing for a dump site is one of the things we assess for when we try to determine how premeditated was a crime... When one plan failed, he went to the next. That was plan B, the disarticulating of her body.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Nancy Grace [09:44]: “When the state is proven to have done prejudicial wrongdoing to the defendant, the whole case conceivably can be dropped.”
• Nima Rahmani [13:23]: “With prejudice means that it can’t be refiled.”
• Joseph Scott Morgan [19:14]: “The trust has been so eroded between LAPD and between the MEO that this is one of these things that it will take forever to repair.”
• Dan Murphy [27:39]: “I would be beyond livid... It would scar my relationship with the ME’s office for the rest of my career.”
• Lauren Conlon [46:00]: “She looks like a child to me... my heart is broken.”
• Dr. Bethany Marshall [42:01]: “This is glorification in the death of another person. This is triumphing over the... victim. This is total disdain and disrespect towards her.”

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Important Timestamps

• 02:23 – Initial reveal of the ME office leak; case potentially torpedoed
• 10:12 – Discussion of legal fallout and defense strategy
• 16:55 – Breakdown of how ME office leaks occur and their implications
• 21:56 – Remedies, impact on jury, reference to O.J. Simpson
• 25:38 – Psychological analysis of why people leak at ME’s office
• 27:39 – Detectives’ emotional response to the betrayal
• 31:21 – Graphic forensic explanation of Celeste’s death
• 35:43 – Law on shackling and attire in court
• 39:26 – Social media evidence and its interpretation
• 46:00 – Discussion on Celeste’s behavior in videos and premeditation

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Conclusion

Nancy closes with a reminder: the presumption of innocence remains with D4VD until proven guilty, and the upcoming preliminary hearing will be crucial. The episode powerfully illustrates how a single breach of protocol can jeopardize justice for a victim and devastate public trust, with heartbreaking context for all involved—especially Celeste’s family. The panel’s expert insights expose both the technicalities and the deep moral injuries at stake.

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Transcript

[Nancy Grace]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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[Nancy Grace]

Bombshell tonight in the case against D4VD, aka David Anthony Burke Amorg leak. That's right, the Medical Examiner's office leak has torpedoed the case against Burke and the Celeste Rivas homicide probe. Tonight, will the entire case be dropped because of this? Good evening, I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us.

[Joseph Scott Morgan]

He has ripped her apart and there she sits in this house.

[Nancy Grace]

He blames the smell of this child's decomposing body on his bathroom.

[Joseph Scott Morgan]

Hell yeah, it stinks. This is human remains that are decomposing. A true child, a human being.

[Light True Crime TikTok Reporter]

He had his beard growing in his pants were, you know, kind of, he was doing that look where his pants were dragging below his bum. You could say his orange prison pants. He again, just seems way more comfortable in court and in this setting now in his prison outfit.

[Nancy Grace]

Let me understand, does David Anthony Burke, aka D4VD actually Shift show his rear end in court? That's from the Light A True Crime on TikTok. With me, an all star panel. Very quickly to that, Lauren Collins joining us, investigative reporter, LA magazine, star of Pop crime tv. Lauren, you've been covering this extensively. Did he actually show up to court showing his rear end?

[Lauren Conlon]

Well, per the LA magazine source inside, she did say David appeared very, quote, relaxed. Nancy, so you can kind of use your imagination there a bit. But his hair was a bit unkempt. He was shackled. And also our reporter said that Blair Burke appeared to be rubbing his back a bit as they kind of laughed and talked and he even greeted the judge.

[Nancy Grace]

I appreciate that and I'll circle back to that, but my question is, does he literally show his in court?

[Light True Crime TikTok Reporter]

He had his beard growing in his pants were, you know, kind of, he was doing that look where his pants were dragging below his bum. You could say his orange prison pants. He again, just seems way more comfortable in court and in this setting now in his prison outfit.

[Nancy Grace]

Again, from the Light True Crime on TikTok. I've got a lot bigger problems with this case than D4VD. David Anthony Burke literally showing his rear end in court. But very quickly to an esteemed expert trial lawyer, Nima Rahmani, former federal prosecutor turned trial lawyer, former president of the west coast trial lawyers, author of Harvard to Hashtag. Nima, thank you for being with us tonight. I've got bigger legal issues, very complex legal issues to discuss with you, but really showing your ass in court, really, what are the defense lawyers for, for Pete's sake? Can't they say, pull up your pants, idiot?

[Nima Rahmani]

Well, they should, because your appearance in court matters a lot. So I think this is probably going to be the end of it. Nancy, I think David's gonna have to understand that if you're gonna appear in court, everything matters. There's a reason everyone from Luigi Mangioni to Sean Diddy combs, they wear the same, those sweater vests, those neutral colors. You don't want to be showing your rear in court to the jurors. They that's disrespectful to court and a surefire way to get yourself convicted pretty quickly.

[Nancy Grace]

Let me see. Nema Romani, please Nima, we have a very serious and complex legal issue that has just reared its ugly head for the state. Bombshell tonight. Torpedo directly into the state's homicide case. And who's going to suffer for this? Celeste. 14 year old Celeste found decomposing in the trunk of D4VD David Anthony Burke's Tesla. Okay, Her.

[Dave Matt]

Her.

[Nancy Grace]

Here's the problem. In the last days, we now learn why the LAPD insisted the morgue be slapped with a gag order. A gag order on the morgue. And I gotta tell you, Nima, I have deep respect for the medical examiner's office. They are some of the best witnesses ever. Juries love a medical doctor on the stand. They know what they're talking about. And when you get the chief of the ME's office up there on the stand, the prosecutor can just sit down and twiddle their thumbs because they will run with the ball. They're brilliant. I think we can all agree with that. So I naturally sided with the Morgue, with the ME's office when I heard LAPD wants to slap them with a gag order. And now we know why. Hold Nima. For those of you that don't know what's happening, the giant stink bomb in the courtroom. Out to Dave Matt. Crime stories investigative reporter Dave. A morgue leak.

[Dr. Bethany Marshall]

What?

[Dave Matt]

As we were covering this story in the beginning, there was certain information that was coming out that was very specific about the condition of Celeste Rivas remains. And talking on and off the air, we were wondering, where is this information coming from? They're not releasing official information, so it has to be somebody is making it up or somebody's leaking it. And now we've got official notification that employees of the office are now going to be required. We're talking 12 different employees, Nancy, being required to sit for recorded interviews as the department investigates itself to determine the who in this office is and was leaking information about this 14 year old child and her remains to somebody in the public.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, you know, think back, think back. Nima Rahmani, one of the best in the business, by the way. Remember at the beginning we kept getting information that all these horrible things had been done to her body? You know, I'm talking about rendering disarticulating a kiddie pool in the garage used for that very purpose. It was horrific. And then we were told, well, that's not true. That didn't happen. She was not rendered, she was not disarticulated. That's all a lie. Okay, so there was a lot of confusion. Now we know what was happening. According to Reports the medical examiner's office was leaking information. And then the LAPD was quickly saying, that's not true. That's not true. It's all true according to the state. Here's the problem. This is not for prurient interest to read in the National Enquirer or in a tabloid. This is a murder case of a young girl. The medical examiner's office equals the state. And when the state is proven to have done prejudicial wrongdoing to the defendant, the whole case conceivably can be dropped. Nima.

[Nima Rahmani]

Nancy, it's a huge problem. And Blair Burke and the defense are going to take this and they're going to run with it. And it's not only a problem from a leak or discovery perspective, it's a violation of a court order. So months and months ago, LAPD went to the judge to get an order, a non dissemination order, so that members of the media, they couldn't get this report subject to a Public Records act request. And the judge sided with LAPD and said that this report should not be made public. So now, if you have members of the government, and even though it's not the prosecution, the prosecution is responsible for these employees disseminating information unlawfully in violation of a court order to the media and other members of the public. Believe me, the defense is going to have a field day with this. They're going to file an outrageous government conduct motion. They're going to do everything they can to get this case dismissed. There can be terminating sanctions. They can be other types of sanctions for the DA's office. Now, all of a sudden, instead of being on offense, they're in a defensive position, having to explain all this in open court.

[Nancy Grace]

Nima, I want to tell you a true story, okay? I was working on a death penalty case, and suddenly I got subpoenaed to testify in court. Okay. It hadn't gone to trial, obviously, I was stunned. Why would the prosecutor get subpoenaed? But of course I showed up. I had no files with me, nothing. I just went, guns. And the entire defense fleet was there. And the judge was looking at me, accusing them like what? And they said, have you withheld evidence? And I said, no. I handed over my entire file, everything I had, which, of course, you need to do in a death penalty case, because if you do get a conviction, there's going to be all sorts of appeals. Well, then they handed me some papers I had never seen before, and I went, I've never seen these. Where did they come from? They came out of the homicide file down at APD Homicide, they had unwittingly left out about 20, 30 pages in what they gave me. So when I handed over the whole file, I didn't have those 30 pages. Well, we immediately handed it over and there was, you know, well over a year. I had already left the office and gone to Court TV before the case went to trial. So they had plenty of time to digest those 30 or so pages. The point is, even though the investigator, truly, inadvertently, because the papers really were not that probative, inadvertently left out those pages. It was still my fault. See? And even though the medical examiner's office leaked, and that's horrific, that's deadly, it's still the prosecutor's fault. Ergo, therefore, prosecution misconduct cases can be dropped for that. NMEA dropped, never to be brought back again if it is dropped with prejudice. Now, please, regular people talk, explain what I'm talking about. With prejudice.

[Nima Rahmani]

With prejudice means that it can't be refiled. And Nancy, this happens all the time. It's not just you. As prosecutors, we are responsible for the government's conduct. And there was a huge case recently where this was a big issue. Lori Valo Debel in Idaho because of some discovery violations, guess what? The judge struck the death penalty in that case. Chad Dell, he's on death row. Lori Valow is going to spend the rest of her life in prison because of some discovery violations there in Idaho. So this is a huge deal. And when you have good defense attorneys, they're going to use every advantage that they can. So if there was a violation here, and I'm saying If, then the DA's office is going to be in a world of work, obviously. Look, not a death penalty case, but that doesn't mean that this case can't be dismissed. There can't be all sorts of other sanctions here. And like you said, the prosecution is always responsible for the conduct of government employees. So they're the ones that are going to be paying the price. And of course, it all comes down to Celeste Rivas and her family. I hope they're not the ones who suffer because of some misconduct of some government employees.

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[Nancy Grace]

Joining us now. And I met him when he was at the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office, which has a huge crush of a caseload. With me, renowned forensic expert Joseph Scott Morgan, professor, Forensics, Jacksonville State University. He's the author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon. He is the star of the hit podcast Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan. But for our purposes, Joe Scott is a death investigator with over 10,000 death investigations under his belt. I don't know how to explain the reverberations that will occur because of the medical examiner's legal term. You may not be familiar with this F up. Yeah, it's worse than an F up because an F up suggests, oh, I screwed up. Sorry. No, this was an intentional leak, providing lurid, upsetting information about a little girl's rendering of her body. The disarticulation of her body in a kiddie pool. A leak of that volatile, incendiary, upsetting information for what? That leads me to the specter. Did they get paid for the leak? Are they like the anonymous tipster to the Daily Mail? I mean, people get paid for information. Hey, guys, right here. Look at this. Thank you, control room. Here's shots from our friends at tmz. That is the garage where we believe the kiddie pool was placed for the rendering of Celeste. And I'm putting it as euphemistically as I possibly can can, right there in his home. So thank you, TMZ for that. But think about it. Where does this go? What if they were paid for the information to leak those very sensitive documents? Joe Scott, you worked in a medical examiner's office. It could be anybody. It could be one of the doctors, it could be an assistant, it could be a secretary, it could be cleaning lady, it could be an intern that quickly xeroxed the files or email them to someone. This is going to be a full blown thing.

[Joseph Scott Morgan]

Yeah, it is. And one of the things that I'm hearing, Nancy, is that they use the term plural investigators, which they have a huge staff of investigators at the ME's office, ME corner in LA, and also other personnel. So you've got a huge, huge section of individuals that have, Nancy, nothing to do with this case that are looking through these files and Lord only knows what happened to them. And were there photocopies made? Were there actual snaps of individual images that people were taking with their phones? Has this stuff been disseminated? Because when you're working with a medical examiner, Nancy, there will be one investigator assigned to this case from the meo, okay? And that is the only person, along with, along with the pathologist that is working the case, the forensic pathologist that did the examination. Those are the only people that really need to know at this point in time. This is like a sacred trust within our community. And what's so very disturbing about this, Nancy, and this goes beyond this case right now, right now, the trust has been so eroded between LAPD and between the MEO that this is one of these things that it will take forever to repair. Not to mention all of the criminal and civil repercussions. Because, Nancy, this is what it comes down to. This child, this child, as if the family hasn't had enough on them, is now being drugged before people putting eyes on this case that have no business in it. And they are seeing this over and over again. It becomes a sideshow. And that's something that we take very, very seriously.

[Nancy Grace]

Well, I got to tell you something, Nima Rahmani, if I were the prosecutor in this case, it would be like my hair was on fire. Getting into that medical examiner and finding out what happened because they are this close to getting the case thrown out because of misconduct for which somebody may have been paid,

[Nima Rahmani]

no question. So obviously there's going to be an investigation here. And I wouldn't be surprised if there's criminal charges because that's how serious this is. But even shorter misconduct, I mean, this is fodder for cross examination when the M.E. takes the stand. This will probably be discussed. When we're talking about jury selection, you're talking about prejudicial information, information that might not be admissible, that's already been leaked. So this affects Voir Deer as well.

[Nancy Grace]

Name a. Look at your screen. Look at her. Look at her. She is a little girl. She is dead. She has had her body rendered down, left in two plastic bags and the front. The front trunk of D4VD. David Anthony's Burke Tesla. And her body rotted. There's no nice way to say it. That is what is at stake. You mentioned cross exam. Okay, that's a potential remedy for what has happened. But I've made out a list of what I think are possible remedies. Number one, change a venue. They may want to change a venue so people that have heard about this won't be on the jury. But wouldn't you agree that's going to be a bad move for D4VD. They don't want to change a venue. They're in one of the most lenient jurisdictions in California. You get a change of venue and you hike up to Northern California. You will get convicted up there. Yeah, forget it. I doubt they want to change a venue. They could try to get the prosecution thrown off. Won't work. They may try to get the medical examiner's office recused. Unlikely, because they're the ones that did the autopsy. The medical examiner is going to be reprimanded. That for sure. There will be a searing cross examination. That's a given. Here's a concern. Remember what happened in O.J. simpson, right? Furman and others on the force made the jury so upset about their personal behavior that it ended in a jury nullification. And we've seen it many, many times. The jury says, you know what? He probably did it. But screw it. The state was horrible. We're not convicting. It's a punishment for the state. Of course, you could ask each individual juror ON Void do they know about this? And if they say no and they can keep an open mind, the case moves forward. What do you think is going to happen?

[Nima Rahmani]

I think they're going to try all those things except the change of venue, like you said. And LA county is by far and away one of the best venues for defense lawyers. And like he said, the defense is going to put law enforcement on trial. This is Defense Lawyering 101. It started from the O.J. case, but there are a lot of people here in LA county where I'm sitting that don't trust law enforcement, don't trust our government. And this is going to feed into that. But disqualification motion for the DA's office. Absolutely. We saw this in the Tyler Robinson case for Charlie Kirk. This is something the defense is going to do get, try to get the whole prosecution team kicked off and again bring this in every possible stage of the case they can. Jury selection. Ask the potential jurors, have you heard about this leak? Do you have any views about the LA County ME and the misconduct allegations here that are going to affect your ability?

[Nancy Grace]

And they have a complete right to do that. Voidir questioning Voidair French for to speak the truth. It's known to us as jury selection. You know, I got Another question to Dr. Bethany Marshall. Joining us, renowned psychoanalyst, she's the author of Deal Breaker. She of course has her own psychoanalysis clientele. She has a full on practice. You can see her not only on Peacock, you can see her on Hulu, you can see her on Bravo, you can see her on Netflix. Now she's a star of a new podcast on the couch with Dr. Bethany Marshall. Okay, all that said, Dr. Bethany, why, why would you leak sensitive information is so clandestine? Setting it up, providing the information, why?

[Dr. Bethany Marshall]

You know Nancy, this is their job. They see bodies on a daily basis and yet they go home and brag to their family and friends. They call tmz. Whatever they did. This reminds me of your friend Joan Rivers when there was the wrongful death lawsuit. What came out is that her ENT took selfies of her while she was under anesthesia. And the, the wish for the notoriety to gossip took precedence over ethics. And there are just such widespread ramifications for this, unfortunately that not the least of which is that her family now knows about the disarticulating, the, the rendering, what happened garage. So it's trauma upon trauma for them. You know, Nancy, I have to go back to something. If his was showing in court, if he is sending the message kiss my to the judge, how did he treat an 11 year old little girl? What kind of power did he have over her? And what did the ME see when they were investigating this? What did get leaked? It probably is a lot worse than we even know.

[Nancy Grace]

Dan Murphy. Joining us, former NYPD Detective Sergeant, Joint Terrorism Task Force, former Chief Security Officer and co star of Gold Shields podcast, author of Workplace Safety, so much more. Dan, how deflating is it that you work your rear end off literally blood, sweat and tears to create a case? Because when they got this case, all they had was a decomposing body in a trunk. That's it. You bill the case like the LAPD did and then the whole case can be thrown out because of someone leaking information out of all places. The medical examiner's office.

[Dan Murphy]

Disgraceful. LAPD Robbery Homicide has a great reputation that's been hard earned by doing some incredible work over the years. Anybody around the country who works as detective knows about them and knows about their professionalism. They put their heart and soul, I can guarantee you those detectives focused on nothing but this case from the minute they found that little girl in the car. They built a great case. They followed all the breadcrumbs of evidence. They didn't just say he had to have done it, they are proving it. Their evidence is substantial, significant and they should be proud of it. And they're going into court prepared to testify to what they have learned and convince a jury and they feel good about that. And then this happens. I would be furious. I would be beyond livid. And as you mentioned earlier, it would scar my relationship with the ME's office for the rest of my career. You cannot trust them, you cannot work with them. It's that simple.

[Nancy Grace]

It's horrible because they're one of the most respected people Arms of the state. Back to investigative reporter who is publishing one article after the next regarding D4VD David Anthony Burke in the LA magazine. She is the star of Pop Crime TV. Lauren Conlon has been on this case from the very beginning. Lauren, we just came out of court. What happened?

[Lauren Conlon]

Yes, Nancy. So everything finally, after many, many delays is ready to go for July 21. We are going to begin what they believe is a five day preliminary hearing where the prosecution is going to present all of the evidence that they deem relevant to get this case to the point where David can stand trial for murder. Now the other thing I noticed is that Blair Burke was very, very adamant about not having David shackled during these proceedings. And the judge did not make a decision at the bench. She Just pulled Blair Burke to file a motion about it.

[Nancy Grace]

Lauren Conlon.

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[Nancy Grace]

Everybody's just getting out of that California courtroom where it was determined this case is going forward. No more weighty Katie. No whining, no complaining. Both sides claim we're ready to go forward with the preliminary hearing. At that time, evidence will be revealed. It has to be by the same state. But you brought up correctly. Again, Lauren Conlon. Somebody was whining.

[Light True Crime TikTok Reporter]

The defense brought up a shackling issue that they wanted to talk about when it came to David and the. The guards. So it basically, the judge, you know, there wasn't a motion brought up already, so the judge said to bring up the motion and she will address it. My assumption is they may want to maybe limit some of the shackling that he has, maybe when he comes in or something.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, that's from our new friend at the Light. True Crime on Tick Tock. Just Scott Morgan before I go to Nima Ramani on this legal issue. D4VD, aka David Anthony Burke is in

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court

[Nancy Grace]

whining that he shackled number one. There's not a jury. You can't have somebody shackled in front of a jury. Constitution, could you just give us a little reality check in regular people talk, okay? No big medical examiner words, please.

[Troy Millings]

Gotcha.

[Nima Rahmani]

Yeah.

[Nancy Grace]

What happened to Little Celeste, age 14? What happened? And he's whining about shackles. Go ahead.

[Joseph Scott Morgan]

She has a sharp force injury on the right aspect of her ribs. Okay. And it passes through there, doesn't touch the lung. It just goes over the top of that rib. However, if we go to the right side and all of our friends out there, if you will, take your right hand, your fingertips, and find the base of your ribs on the right hand side, okay? That's where your liver is. This sharp force injury passed into the liver. And a lot of people think that if you sustain an injury to the liver, that perhaps you would die suddenly. Nancy, this was a long and languishing death. I've worked multiple cases involving trauma to the liver. It's a slow bleed. I find that very interesting, considering some of the language we've heard in the past about this case, to watch her bleed out. And this would have not been immediate. Okay, Then after that. Then after that, he disrespects her remains after she is dead and begins to render them down. How does he do that? Well, we've heard the term saw chainsaw. We've heard all of these different things. And then if that's not bad enough, Nancy, he takes her body and allegedly and places it into this trunk of this vehicle, drives it around. And Nancy, what we have heard is that they have used the term, they've used the term liquefied. So she's been in this vehicle, her remains, until literally all of the soft tissue has liquefied to the point where it's, she's the remains that are still intact. She's floating. She's actually floating in her own liquefied tissue. So that's how horrific this is. That's what he did. I don't give a damn about your shackles.

[Nancy Grace]

I don't think I could put it any better. Some of that video from our friends at Fox 11.

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[Nima Rahmani]

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[Nancy Grace]

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[Troy Millings]

This is Troy Millings from Earn your leisure when traveling for events or festivals throughout the country, every dollar matters. We compare flights, prices, hotel rates and restaurant options. So why wouldn't we compare rides? Personally, I always check Lyft before booking a ride. Prices can change throughout the day depending on traffic, weather and what's happening in the city. If you're headed to A concert, out to dinner, or catching up with your friends on a Friday night, taking a few seconds to check Lyft could leave you with more money to enjoy the experience. Save money. Check. Lift

[Nancy Grace]

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace Nima Rahmani jumping from Joe Scott's accurate and heartfelt X explanation. What is the law on whether a defendant can be shackled? Wear prison attire, you name it, in a courtroom.

[Nima Rahmani]

So a criminal defendant can be shackled, certainly. And can wear prison attire. But generally speaking, when a jury is present, they are going to be allowed to wear civilian clothes. It's just too prejudicial when it comes to the shackles. Generally speaking, again, it's up to the judge. When a jury is present, they will not be shackled. It is too prejudicial. And of course, here in la, we have cameras in the courtroom. Those cameramen and women, they are instructed not to film a criminal defendant shackled. So oftentimes you won't see them coming into the courtroom because they will be shackled. Those shackles will be undone. You'll see LA county sheriffs behind the defendant. And only when the shackles are undone will that defendant be allowed to be recorded. Because again, we're talking about appellate issues, prejudice to the potential jurors. And this is why the defense is.

[Nancy Grace]

Please stop. Please, please, please stop. Are you looking at your monitor? Can I see that?

[Nima Rahmani]

Yes.

[Nancy Grace]

Oh, talk about worried about how he looks. Here's a guy, quote, dating a little girl he, quote, met at age 11 wearing I love boobs. Let me see. Nima Romani. So this little girl is ordered up like a pizza by him on an Uber to his house, just like, ordering Chinese food. She comes over. I love boobs. Really? And now he's worried about how he looks, his clothing. He must not be that worried. He's showing his ass in court with his pants pulled down in the back. But yet they're whining that his shackles is bad. That's a bad look. Really? Do you not see the irony here? Can I say more clearly for you, Neymar?

[Nima Rahmani]

I do, Nancy, but these are criminal defense lawyers, and they're going to push every advantage they have. And one of them is pretrial publicity. That's why this Emmy leak is a big deal. That's why being filmed in prison garb and shackles is a big deal. And that's why judges do everything they can to protect their rights.

[Nancy Grace]

She's rubbing oil on him. Oh, my goodness. He's got somebody to rub oil on.

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You know what?

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, just okay, Lauren Conlon. The case is going forward. The defense claims they're ready with much bravado. Then they give a little. They say something about, but we haven't gotten all the discovery yet. There you go. There's an opening for them right there. Come showtime. Go time. They're going to say, we didn't get all the discovery. They want to appear as if they're ready to go forward, but they're giving themselves an out. Did you hear that?

[Lauren Conlon]

Yes. I mean, I definitely think if you listen sort of between the lines, you can pick that up. However, the prosecution stated at the status conference that the defense has everything relevant as to what they would need to make this into a case so they could defend it. They said everything that they need digitally, even all of the written police and detective reports. So I have no doubt here, Nancy, that they are ready to go. They cannot delay. Delay this any longer.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, we'll see what happens. And in the last days, new video has emerged of D4VD. David Anthony Burke apparently driving home, quote, straight up after killing someone. He's videoing himself, POV that drive home

[Nehemiah 9q]

after straight up killing someone. And as you can see, David reposted it. But shortly after she was actually, actually found, he went and unreposted it. And, I mean, who is this target audience even for, for the original post and the fact that he reposted it and then what he's being accused of doing is just crazy.

[Nancy Grace]

That from Nehemiah 9q on tick tock. Okay, Dave Mack, what are they talking about?

[Dave Matt]

Nancy, what they're actually dealing with here is not a video created by D4VD, but it is a repost, meaning he saw this and he thought it was really great, and so he reposted it. Which, I mean, think about the deliberate nature of that, of seeing something somebody else has done and going, I identify with that. I need to share this with all my peeps. Which is exactly what he did. And I would imagine at some point, one of his inner circle and hey, dude, probably not a good look for you. You know, pull that down. Which Burke did, but he. He reposted it. It's just in it. I mean, capable of understanding what's going through a man's head that thinks it's okay to do this at any level, but he did it. And then, like everything on the Internet, it stays forever. Nancy.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, let me understand. Am I seeing Matthew McConaughey? I'm sure he's so happy that he has been made a part of this, part of the D4VD David Anthony Burke murder case. So let me see it again. So the night we believe Celeste is killed, 14 year old Celeste, his mind is way past that. According to the state, he is D4VD is identifying with Matthew McConaughey, the guy who's worked his rear end off to be a Hollywood star. And he is identifying with McConaughey driving a luxury car. Okay, fine. But the point is, this is right after, according to the state, hours after Celeste has been killed. What is this telling you? Help me, Bethany.

[Dr. Bethany Marshall]

Nancy, this is glorification and the death of another person. This is triumphing over the love object, triumphing over the victim. This is total disdain and disrespect towards her, just like he showed towards the judge in court today. And what I would be interested in is his digital footprint in terms of how he represented Celeste to his fans. Did he put her down? Did he degrade her? Did he beat her? But how did he represent her to the public? It seems like she was somebody that he routinely degraded in multiple, multiple ways. And this is the ultimate degradation is to show that he just doesn't really care after her death. He just doesn't care. He. In fact, what we do know about domestic homicide is often after a victim is killed, the perpetrator feels a great sense of relief. And I think that's going to be a part of the court case is what happened in the hours after her death and how relieved and glorified and delighted he was that she was no longer around so he could continue with his career.

[Nancy Grace]

I mean, help me out. Dan Murphy, former detective sergeant, NYPD. According to the state, D4VD has just killed Celeste and he's posting luxury car videos. I mean, he's barely, according to the state, barely wiped the blood off his hands and he's gone to a PR event, now he's posting online. Then he gets a sense to unpost it and then later reposts it.

[Dan Murphy]

This is not a criminal mastermind. This is somebody who is so wrapped up and self absorbed in himself that everything revolves around them. And she was just as you alluded to before, she was just something in his life that was expendable. And when she became problematic, she had to go. He is so wrapped up in his image. You mentioned earlier about wearing the, the orange suit prison jumpsuit down below his. His, his ass, as you say, that's, that's a prison yard thing, but it's worked its way onto the street to become part of the street culture. Him doing that in My opinion is his way of saying to anybody he's going to be in prison with because he knows he's going to be in prison. I'm like you. I'm a street guy, I'm a tough guy, I'm a rapper, I'm this, I'm that. I'm not some soft, spoiled thing.

[Nancy Grace]

I'm willing my stars. Dan Murphy. This defendant was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He is not gaining street cred to me by literally showing his ass in court. That said, they plot thickens. The deception intensifies. I want you to see something that we've just found. This is D4VD with Celeste in the back of an Uber. Watch. Keep looking. Keep watching. Watch Celeste. Once again, she's covering her face. I mean, keep it up. To Lauren Collin and control room. Oh, that is from our new friend and operative Ordon U on Tick Tock while Lauren is talking. I want to see that. I want to see the other pictures. Very calculated. Where she's always hiding her face in pictures. Lauren Collins. Why would she be hiding her face other than to hide the fact she's underage?

[Lauren Conlon]

Well, I think you nailed it right there. And Nancy, I had never seen that video of her in the back of the Uber. And my heart is broken. Her hands, her little hands, they just look so small. She looks like a child to me. And I. Oh, it's. It's just. It's breaking my heart even more, especially amid all of these issues, these procedural issues that are going on right now. And I also want to point out, Nancy, that video of. Of Matthew McConaughey that David reposted, it's giving me the chills because David went back and forth to Santa Barbara, the alleged dump area where her ID was found. I'm seeing all of these parallels between other notorious killers.

[Nancy Grace]

Dr. Bethany Marshall, what about it?

[Dr. Bethany Marshall]

Well, it shows consciousness of guilt, premeditation. Preparing for a dump site is one of the things that we assess for when we try to determine how premeditated was a crime. And usually that involves a lot of driving, looking for just the right spot. I'm going to guess he drove to Santa Barbara, drove back, couldn't find an appropriate dump site. And that's when allegedly, he bought the kiddie pool, the chainsaws. And as Dan said, he's not exactly a mastermind. He ordered those off of Amazon. But when one plan failed, he went to the next. That was plan B, the disarticulating of her body.

[Nancy Grace]

Reminder to all, David Anthony Burke is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, that presumption remains with him, shrouding him unless and until the state pierces the presumption with evidence sufficient to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. We will be in the courtroom when the preliminary hearing starts. If you know or think you know anything about this case, please dial 213-486-6890. We remember American Hero Officer Trevor Howard of marked Tree PD, Arkansas, just 25 years old when killed in the line of duty, leaving behind grieving parents Don and Joni. American Hero Officer Trevor Howard. Thank you to our guests for being with us, but especially to you for being with us tonight and every night as we seek justice in our own way. For Celeste Rivas. Nancy Grace signing off for tonight, but but I'll see you tomorrow night and until then, good night, friend.

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[Nancy Grace]

Edu.

[Troy Millings]

This is Troy Millings from Earn your leisure when traveling for events or festivals throughout the country, every dollar matters. We compare flights, prices, hotel rates and restaurant options, so why wouldn't we compare rides? Personally, I always check Lyft before booking a ride. Prices can change throughout the day depending on traffic, weather and what's happening in the city. If you're headed to a concert, out to dinner or catching up with your friends on a Friday night, taking a few seconds to check Lyft could leave you with more money to enjoy the experience. Save money. Check Lyft

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[Nancy Grace]

This is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.