D4vd Private Investigator EXPOSES Drama in Case

The private investigator who has tracked the murder case against singer d4vd from its earliest days is exposing explosive courtroom drama, revealing a heated clash with the lead prosecutor that ended with him ordered out of the preliminary hearing and threatened with arrest.

Private investigator Steve Fischer, who has been investigating the case against David Anthony Burke, the artist known as d4vd, since the beginning, said the confrontation erupted when prosecutor Beth Silverman accused him of breaking grand jury secrecy laws and attempting to approach witnesses. Fischer says the accusation was false, and that the family’s attorney approached him, not the other way around.

The case centers on the death of 14-year old Celeste River Hernandez, whose remains were found in a Tesla allegedly registered to Burke. Prosecutors allege the singer lured Celeste to his home in April 2025, stabbed her to death, and dismembered her body in an attempt to hide an alleged illegal sexual relationship that began when she was 13.

A judge has now determined there is sufficient probable cause to support the charges, officially moving the case toward trial. Burke is scheduled to appear in court again on August 31st for his arraignment, where formal charges will be read. Attorey Patrick Steinfeld, who represents Celeste’s family, said they are relieved the case is moving forward.

Fischer, who represents the owner of the property where Burke had been staying, was present inside the courtroom for part of the multi-day preliminary hearing.

He told Sidebar, presented by Law & Crime, that being near Burke was a surreal and difficult experience, describing the accused singer as very small in stature and appearing unbothered by the proceedings.

“I’ve been right behind David each time, and it’s a really strange feeling to be within feet of somebody that is accused of taking someone’s life in such a brutal manner,” Fischer said. “It doesn’t seem to be weighing too heavily on him. I think there’s maybe some acting going on there.”

The drama escalated in the courthouse hallway, according to Fischer, when Steinfeld approached him to thank him for keeping the story in the news and to discuss how the family was doing. That is when prosecutor Beth Silverman stormed over, physically pulled Steinfeld away, and declared that Fischer was not allowed to talk to him.

Fischer said he was confused by the accusation, particularly because he did not approach the family’s attorney. He went into the courtroom the following day, only to be called out on the record by Silverman, who pointed at him and said he had broken grand jury secrecy laws, attempted to talk to witnesses, and that she was having a warrant issued for his arrest.

“She turned around and pointed to me and said, ‘He is not to be in this courtroom. He has broken grand jury secrecy laws. I’m having a warrant issued for his arrest,'” Fischer recounted. He said the judge handled the situation professionally, allowing Silverman to have him excluded without endorsing the more dramatic claims.

Fischer said he chose to leave voluntarily to avoid disruption, but not before putting on the record that he was actually approached by Steinfeld. The family’s attorney then stood up and confirmed Fischer’s account, telling the judge that he had approached the investigator, not the other way around.

“At that moment when he did that, Beth spun around and just started mouthing things to him,” Fischer said.

“She didn’t even take the time to learn if it was the case that I came up to them. She just made these assumptions.”

Fischer also disputed the arrest warrant claim, saying he was never properly served with any order to show cause, and that the handwritten note he received had no case number and appeared on no docket.

He said the bailiff who walked him out of the courtroom confirmed there was no warrant for his arrest.

“This is not something that is very professional for her to say on the record in an official transcript against somebody who is a licensed professional because it’s not true,” Fischer said. “It raises a number of questions about the prosecution and the evidence in the case.”

The private investigator also revealed that he was never asked to testify during the preliminary hearing, despite having been a witness to the grand jury on two separate occasions. He said he was never subpoenaed, never contacted about the preliminary hearing, and learned of his involvement only through the prosecutor’s courtroom outburst.

Fischer alleges the grand jury subpoena was used as a weapon to silence him.

He claims he was told by detectives that he could no longer speak about the case at all, even to his own client, which he says is not the law.

“The purpose of me being subpoenaed was because they immediately told me, ‘Beth wants to know that you can never speak to the press about this case again, period. You can’t even speak to your own client about this case anymore,'” Fischer said.

“By keeping me under that, saying ‘We’re bringing you back in another couple months,’ it was to say, ‘You can’t talk in those couple months.'”

Beyond the courtroom drama, Fischer offered a detailed analysis of the evidence presented during the preliminary hearing, raising significant questions about the strength of the murder charge. He said the strongest charge against Burke is continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, calling it nearly impossible for the defense to overcome.

“You have the West Hollywood Sheriff’s deputy who told him she was a 13-year-old runaway,” Fischer said. “He knew where she went to school. These phones that were passed to her through classmates at that school.

I don’t see any way of overcoming the sexual abuse charges.”

The prosecution presented graphic photos allegedly found on Burke’s phone showing him and Celeste engaged in sex acts, along with text messages about abortion. Prosecutors argued that even if Celeste lied about her age or Burke did not know her age, it does not absolve him of liability.

 

Fischer noted that the defense may essentially be admitting the sexual relationship, with closing arguments suggesting that Burke was in love with Celeste. He believes the defense strategy may be to paint Burke as a predator who had an unlawful relationship with a minor, but who did not premeditate her murder.

However, Fischer said he has significant doubts about the first-degree murder charge with special circumstances, including allegations of lying in wait, killing a witness, and killing for financial gain.

He pointed to gaps in the prosecution’s case, including the absence of a murder weapon.

“The two chainsaws found in his home tested negative for blood. We don’t have the actual murder weapon,” Fischer noted.

He said there is a question of whether a missing chainsaw might be the key, possibly disposed of in Santa Barbara, where Celeste’s passport was reportedly found on a road.

Fischer also questioned the luring allegation, noting that Celeste allegedly threatened Burke over text and invited herself over, rather than being conned into coming. There is no surveillance footage of her entering the home, and the Uber driver could not say exactly where he dropped her off.

“I think David did this. 100%. I believe that.

I really do. I’ve been very vocal about that,” Fischer said. “However, there is a difference between him doing this and possibly being overcharged.

Can they prove that first-degree premeditated murder?”

Fischer said the defense could argue the killing happened in the heat of the moment, attempting to knock the charge down to second-degree murder. He noted that Burke was playing virtual reality video games while Celeste was on her way to the house, which does not suggest a man rehearsing a murder.

“There was 12 days, according even the prosecution admits, between when these events happened, and I think that’s pretty significant,” Fischer said. “It opens a door for the defense to say, ‘Listen, he did love her. It was inappropriate, but he loved her, and they got there and there was a heat of the moment battle.'”

 

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman defended the case, saying the prosecution presented only “a significant but small fraction” of its evidence at the preliminary hearing. He said additional and significant evidence will be presented at trial, though he declined to specify what it is.

Hochman also used the phrase “percipient witnesses,” which Fischer flagged as potentially significant.

The term suggests individuals with direct knowledge of the events, and Fischer noted that a financial witness during the hearing admitted he initially lied about asking what happened to Celeste before later clarifying that he did ask and was told.

Fischer also pointed to the prosecution’s description of Burke watching Celeste bleed out, which he said implies someone may have direct knowledge of the killing. He said the reference to percipient witnesses suggests there may be other individuals who have not yet testified publicly.

“I do think people had direct knowledge,” Fischer said. “They’re basically saying he didn’t know how much he was worth. It wasn’t the idea that he was killing for financial gain.

I don’t know. We’ll talk about that.”

The case has drawn intense public attention due to the graphic nature of the allegations and Burke’s status as a rising musical artist.

Prosecutors allege he bought chainsaws, a mop system, cadaver bags, and a blue inflatable pool under an alias in the aftermath of Celeste’s death.

The pool, allegedly found in his garage with cuts, reportedly matched blue plastic fragments found embedded in Celeste’s remains. Prosecutors also noted that Celeste had a tattoo on her left ring finger bearing Burke’s name, and that the finger was missing, suggesting an attempt to prevent identification.

Fischer said the mutilation charge appears strong, noting that the alias used to make the purchases, Trayvion Davis, was one Burke used for years and had even disclosed to other minors involved with him. But he maintained that evidence of mutilation is not the same as evidence of premeditated murder.

“These are like technicalities of whether we are talking about death possibly being pled down to life without parole, or life without parole possibly being pled down to something else,” Fischer said.

“It’s not in my mind whether he’s guilty of killing her or not. It’s just a matter of the charging levels.”

For now, Burke remains innocent unless proven guilty.

The case now moves toward an arraignment scheduled for August 31st, where the formal charges will be read and the next phase of the legal battle will begin.