D4vd: What the Autopsy and the Timeline Actually Reveal
About this episode
The episode discusses the autopsy findings and forensic analysis related to the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, highlighting systemic failures in the investigation.
The autopsy was completed months before prosecutors charged David Anthony Burke. It was sealed at LAPD's request — reportedly over the medical examiner's own public objection. Celeste Rivas Hernandez's family waited without answers while the investigation continued behind closed doors. When the report was finally unsealed, it confirmed what prosecutors had been building toward — and what the defense now has to confront. Two stab wounds to the torso, both with smooth edges consistent with a sharp instrument. One perforated her liver. The other damaged her ribs. Her arms and legs had been severed, with blue plastic fragments embedded in the cut surfaces. Toxicology screening found benzodiazepines and what tested presumptive for meth or MDMA. Celeste was fourteen. She weighed seventy-one pounds at the time of examination. She should have been in eighth grade. Retired FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer analyzes the forensic picture piece by piece — what the wound characteristics tell investigators about intent and planning, what the embedded material means for connecting Burke to the dismemberment, and how over forty terabytes of digital evidence containing alleged child…
Topics covered
- forensic analysis
- child exploitation
- homicide investigation
- systemic failures
- autopsy findings
- digital evidence
More episodes of Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
- Richard Allen: The Two Problems Indiana's Attorney General Cannot Solve
- IBLP's Medical Arm Had No Licensed Doctors. Families Followed It Anyway.
- Caleb Flynn: What the Eleven-Count Indictment Tells You About the Evidence
- Don Studey: Why the FBI Left Green Hollow After Three Days
- Sandra Birchmore: The Call That Should Have Saved Her Life
- Nick Reiner: One Brother Grieves, the Other Reportedly Retaliates
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary podcast page.