North Carolina mom allegedly poisons family. Singer D4vd arrested. Plus, sexual assault awareness.

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0:44It's the start of another workday for the Dateline team. Let's jump in. Our producers are catching up on breaking crime news. And this happens things this summer, right? He wasn't able to talk about any of his time in jail or what the police asked him. There's a lot of suspicion around the girlfriend. Welcome to Dateline True Crime Weekly. I'm Andrea Canning. It's April 23rd, and here's what's on our docket. In Los Angeles, David, the TikTok star who rose to fame with his song, Romantic Homicide, is charged with first-degree murder. He's wearing a black hoodie. He's behind the glass partition.

1:20He's not showing a lot of emotion. In Dateline Roundup, actor Alec Baldwin is heading back to court in connection to the deadly shooting on the set of his movie Rust a few years ago. And the Utah mom on trial for masterminding the murder of her son-in-law takes the witness stand. I took Katie's face in my hand and I said, Kevin, shot man. Plus, it's Sexual Assault Awareness Month. We'll be talking to Donna Palumba, a survivor who has transformed her own traumatic experience into advocacy and support for others. These crimes are difficult to talk about, but in order to prevent them, we have to be able to.

1:58But before all that, we're heading to Henderson County, North Carolina, where we are learning more about the investigation into a woman accused of poisoning her own children at their Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving is usually a time for friends and family to gather, express gratitude and share a meal. But according to prosecutors, last November, 53-year-old Gudrun Kasper Leinenkugel served up something diabolical to her guests. Wine laced with poison. Gudrun's 32-year-old daughter, Leela, died the next day. The boyfriend of her other daughter became violently ill and was hospitalized. He survived.

2:39Eight weeks later, Gudrun was charged with murder and attempted murder. But that wasn't all, because prosecutors say this isn't the first time she has fatally poisoned someone. Investigators have remained tight-lipped about the case, but Dateline producers Carol Gable and Haley Barber recently obtained newly unsealed search warrants, which provide a first look at what led up to Gudrun's arrest. They are here now to get us up to speed on this complicated case and tell us what they've learned. Hey, Haley and Carol, thank you for joining us. Hey. Hey. And we're glad you're on this story with us because it sure has a lot of twists and turns.

3:16Oh, my goodness. So many twists and turns. It's incredible. So let's talk about these search warrants. Early on in their investigation, detectives went to court and applied for the warrants so they could get access to various medical and cell phone records. In order for the judge to sign off, they had to submit a summary of their case. And that's what you got your hands on, Haley and Carol. You've taken a peek and we are learning a lot more. Yeah, that's right, Andrea. This is really the first time we're piecing this together from the perspective of the investigators and the prosecutors. We're going to get into more details of those cases, but first, can you give us a little more background on Gudrun?

3:53She was actually born Linda Casper, and she grew up in this tiny town in Wisconsin, but later changed her name to Gudrun Casper Leinenkugel. It's sort of a nod to her personal affinity for German culture. Eventually, a romantic relationship took her to North Carolina in the Asheville area, specifically Hendersonville. Andersonville. She opened a restaurant, the Patton Public House, inspired by public houses in Germany. Sort of comfort food, walls covered with beer taps. The other thing that we know, Andrea, is that we believe Gudrun had four children or has now three children because 32-year-old Lila Levis obviously is the victim in this case and has passed away.

4:40And then Maya is another older daughter, and she is 28 years old from what we understand, and there are two little kids, and we don't know much about them. Take us to this Thanksgiving dinner in 2025. Well, we know that there are six adults there. Basically, Goodrin's two older daughters, Leila and Maya, Maya's boyfriend, Richard, and then also another man named Jeff, And then another man named Landon was also at this dinner. According to these search warrants, everything seemed fine at this dinner at first. Goodrin's daughters, as well as Richard, went home. Around midnight, Maya says that Richard started feeling really ill.

5:24He has flu-like symptoms. By 8 a.m., she is dialing 911 and saying he's got to get to the hospital. That morning, Gudrun calls Leela, her daughter, to check in on her, and she's not able to reach her. So she reaches out to the Jackson County Sheriff's Office and requests a welfare check. She also hops in the car and goes to check on Leela. When she arrives at the scene, Leela is dead inside the residence. So did Gudrun say why she reached out to Leela? Was this in response to Richard getting sick? Do we know? Yeah, that's a good question. And the timeline's not super clear to us on all of that yet.

6:02Haley, according to these search warrants you obtained, Gudrun tells investigators responding to Lila's death that she thinks Lila might have fallen ill from wine Gudrun served at the dinner. It's so interesting that before anyone even knows what killed Lila, Gudrun was bringing up the wine. And then when talking with a doctor treating Richard at the hospital, she adds a new detail. That's right. So after she leaves Lila's residence, she goes to the hospital. from what we understand, she brings up sort of this wine again. And she adds in that the wine was stored in an industrial closet where chemicals were possibly kept, including things like rat poison, cyanide that they used in their barn.

6:44And according to this doctor, Goodrin said, the kids play back there, quote, and may have got to it, unquote. So is she trying to say that the younger children might have contaminated the wine? Yeah, it's unclear what theory she's offering here. But Gudrun also tells the doctor that this bottle was already open when she presented it at the party. Gudrun said she served Lila and Richard the wine and also her other daughter, Maya. So why did Maya not get sick if the wine was contaminated? Well, a fly apparently gets in her glass, and she realizes this and spits a little bit out, and that she also reported that the wine tasted off.

7:29So she didn't have as much as the other two. And also, it's interesting, Gudrun did not have any of the wine because she's allergic to grapes. So she had a blackberry wine beverage. So law enforcement definitely zeroed in on the wine. Are they able to test the wine? Landon brings that bottle to investigators and they do conduct testing. Investigators learned that Richard had five times the lethal dose of cyanide in his system. Wow. And one of the detectives talks to the medical examiner who does a toxicology test on Leela. and they report that Lila's blood sample pointed her to the chemical acetonitrile, which basically Andrea converts to cyanide in the body over a period of hours.

8:22Did Gudrun have any of this chemical in her home or did she have any use for it? Yes, so during a police interview, Gudrun actually admits apparently that she did have some of these chemicals in her home, that she had bought this acetonitrile. According to prosecutors, Gudrun took that chemical and intentionally spiked the wine before serving it to her Thanksgiving guests. Have they offered up any alleged motive? I mean, a mother poisoning her own daughter? That is just something we at Dateline really almost never hear. Yeah, that's right, Andrea. And not only that, but from everyone we've spoken to, Gudrun had a very close relationship with her daughters, especially Lila.

9:04And we should say Gudrun has entered a not guilty plea to all the charges against her. But there is a big twist in all of this. This is not the only murder that Gudrun has been charged with, Carol. No, it's not. Investigators learned that there was a man named Michael Schmidt. Gudrun had reported him dead back in 2007. And she is now charged with his death. Yeah, she apparently lived inside the house and he lived in a camper on the property. That's right. And we believe he was actually the owner of the property at this time. And according to investigators in these new documents, they say that Goodwin was actually the last person who saw Michael alive.

9:51But the real twist here is apparently this same chemical, acetonitrile, was found in his system as well. Oh, the plot thickens when you hear the same chemical. And there's still a lot of, I would say, mysteries surrounding his death. At first, Michael's death was ruled accidental. There is a report that this acetonitrile was found in his system, but the cause was maybe accidentally huffing this substance acetonitrile. And we are so early days. We really don't know hardly anything about the defense, except we know that many of her family members are still very supportive of her. I think it's very important to say that Maya, as of the last time that we saw her, was supporting her mother in all of this.

10:41Well, she is. And so is the boyfriend who had to be hospitalized. So I think that's a significant factor to keep in mind at this stage of the case. Gudrun remains behind bars without bond. Do we know when she is due back in court, Haley? Yeah, next week, actually. So April 30th, there's another hearing. So I'd be interested to see what happens next. Yeah, just tons of questions. Thank you, Haley and Carol, so much for bringing us this update. Thanks for having us, Andrea. Thanks, Andrea. Coming up, seven months after the body of a teenager was found in the trunk of a Tesla registered to the singer David, he's arrested in the Hollywood Hills.

11:51We'll see you next time.

11:56Hey, weirdos. I'm Elena. And I'm Ash, and we are the hosts of Morbid Podcast. Each week, we dive into the dark and fascinating world of true crime, spooky history, and the unexplained. From infamous killers and unsolved mysteries to haunted places and strange legends, we cover it all with research, empathy, humor, and a few creative expletives. It's smart, it's spooky, and it's just the right amount of weird. Two new episodes drop every week, and there's even a bonus once a month. Find us wherever you listen to podcasts. Yay! Woo! Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi! Ha!

12:38To realize the future America needs, we understand what's needed from us. To face each threat head-on. We've earned our place in the fight for our nation's future. We are Marines. We were made for this.

12:57Late last week, news broke of an arrest in the Hollywood Hills. Video showed armed police officers in tactical gear walking a man by the name of David Anthony Burke to a squad car. But you might know him by another name, David, but spelled D-4-V-D. a singer with a multi-million dollar recording contract. He went viral on TikTok a few years ago with his song, Romantic Homicide.

13:32Seven months ago, he was on a world tour to promote his new album when police made a frightening discovery in the trunk of his Tesla. After investigators made entry to the car, they found what appears to be the remains of a human being. The remains belong to a 14-year-old girl named Celeste Rivas. On Monday, Burke was charged with Celeste's murder. He has pleaded not guilty. Here to tell us more about the investigation, other charges Burke is facing, and what comes next, is NBC News investigative reporter Andrew Blankstein. Andrew, thanks for being here. Thanks for having me, Andrew. So, Andrew, tell us a little more about David Anthony Burke for people who don't know him.

14:10He's a new kind of artist who broke out on social media. Very successful, right? So for a lot of younger people, David is a really big deal. He has a very big following. And David's born in New York, raised in Houston, raised in a Christian family, grew up listening to gospel. In 2021, he starts making background music for TikToks. And like you said, it goes viral with this hit Romantic Homicide. He opened for artist SZA. He releases his debut album, Withered, in 2025. And he played at well-known music festivals like Lollapalooza and Coachella. So, Andrew, his career was definitely on the rise.

14:50How does Celeste Rivas fit into the picture here? She was from Lake Elsinore, this quiet town in Riverside County. We don't know how they met. He's 21 years old now. According to the prosecution, he was 18 years old. Celeste Rivas was 13 years old. Her family knew she was friends with him. Celeste's family reported her missing in April of 2024. They said she left to go see a movie with David and never came back. A runaway situation. Then according to prosecution's timeline, she's alive until April 2025 when she's last seen by others. And then her body was found in September of 2025, months later.

15:31How was the body even discovered in the first place in David's Tesla? So the Tesla has been parked in the Hollywood Hills. just above Sunset Boulevard, for a number of weeks. And neighbors call, and eventually the car is towed to a tow yard in mid-city Los Angeles. There's an overpowering smell. Police are called to the tow yard, and in the trunk, they discover Celeste's body. But they don't know it's her at that point. There's a coroner's investigation, and eventually she's identified. We mentioned that David was on tour when this discovery was made. How does he react to this? Because he's not immediately arrested, but it is his car, so that doesn't look great.

16:16What does he do? Well, the tour continues for a little bit of time right after the discovery of the body. But as the attention to this case grows, so does the pressure to kind of not continue that tour. So at that point, David's team said he was cooperating with the investigation. But an LAPD source told NBC4 in November that that wasn't the case. During this period, investigators are canvassing for video. There's a grand jury that's convened where there's testimony taken from people in David's orbit. Obviously, grand jury's proceeding is secret, so we don't know kind of the full extent of it.

16:58But they're doing things trying to figure out how she died and whether it was a criminal act. David was arrested, as we said, last week. This is about one year after Celeste was last seen. On Monday, District Attorney Nathan Hockman announced the formal charges against him at a press conference. These charges include the most serious charges that a DA's office can bring. That is first-degree murder with special circumstances. Break those charges down for us, Andrew. Well, the first one, obviously, a first-degree murder is an intentional murder, a premeditated act. The other counts, in addition to first-degree murder, were continuous sexual abuse of a minor and also mutilation of a body in terms of the disposal of that body.

17:43Andrew, what is the defense saying about these allegations? At the time of David's arrest, and this was reiterated during the arraignment and plea, David Burke's attorneys issued a statement that said that when it came to their client, quote, the actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez. and that he was not the cause of her death, we will vigorously defend David's innocence. David appeared in court Monday. He entered that not guilty plea. What was his demeanor like? So David appeared in Division 30 of the criminal court's building in downtown Los Angeles.

18:20He's wearing a black hoodie. He's behind the glass partition. He's not showing a lot of emotion. It's kind of a fairly quick hearing. But one of the things that comes out of it is his criminal defense attorneys go and say, we want a preliminary hearing where the prosecution has to put its evidence before a judge to see if they will go forward with the trial. Members of Celeste's family attended David's arraignment but didn't speak to the media. On Tuesday afternoon, they released a statement thanking the LAPD for their hard work. They said Celeste was a beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance.

18:58We love her very much. We miss her deeply. All we want is justice for Celeste. Andrew, we will continue to follow this case. Thank you so much for bringing us what you know so far. Thanks so much, Andrea. Up next, it's time for Dateline Roundup. We've got an update on Alec Baldwin's latest legal troubles. And the Utah mom accused of murdering her son-in-law testifies in her own defense. Plus, it's Sexual Assault Awareness Month. I'm catching up with a familiar face from one of my Dateline episodes, a survivor who's turned her own horrific experience into advocacy and is sharing what she believes needs to change.

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20:09Hey, everybody. Ted Danson here to tell you about my podcast with my longtime friend and sometimes co-host, Woody Harrelson. It's called Where Everybody Knows Your Name, and we're back for another season. I'm so excited to be joined this season by friends like John Mulaney, David Spade, Sarah Silverman, Ed Helms, and many more. You don't want to miss it. Listen to Where Everybody Knows Your Name with me, Ted Danson, and Woody Harrelson sometimes, wherever you get your podcasts. The wrongs we must right. The fights we must win. The future we must secure together for our nation. This is what's in front of us.

20:55This determines what's next for all of us. We are Marines. We were made for this.

21:15Welcome back. Joining me for this week's Roundup is Dateline producer Sue Simpson. Thanks for being here, Sue. Thanks for having me. First, we're heading to Los Angeles, where there has been a big development in one of the very first cases we covered here on the podcast, the fatal shooting of cinematographer Helena Hutchins on the set of the movie Rust by actor and producer Alec Baldwin. Before we get to what's new, Sue, just remind us of this big story. Such a big story. Back in 2021, Alec Baldwin was rehearsing a scene for Rust. That's a Western he was producing and starring in. And he was pointing a prop gun at the cinematographer Helena Hutchins when it went off, killing her and injuring director Joel Sousa.

21:58Baldwin claimed that it was an accident and he said he was following instructions when he pointed the gun at Hutchins and that he wasn't aware that the gun had a live round in it. Let's take a listen, Sue. Alec Baldwin talked to NBC News in the weeks after the incident. There are incidental accidents on film sets from time to time, but nothing like this. We were a very, very, you know, well-oiled crew shooting a film together and then this horrible event happened. So Baldwin and the movie's armorer were initially criminally charged in connection to the shooting. What happened with those charges?

22:33Yes, that's right. The armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was convicted at trial of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months in prison for her role in the shooting. Baldwin was also charged with involuntary manslaughter, but the case against him was thrown out in a very dramatic way on the third day of the trial after the judge determined that the prosecution hid evidence from the defense. So that was nearly two years ago, if you can believe it. But now, because of a new ruling last week, Baldwin may have to defend himself at trial after all. But this time, Sue, we're talking about civil court.

23:10That's right, Andrea. So a gaffer on the set, Serge Svetnoy, filed a civil lawsuit against Alec Baldwin back in 2021, alleging that the bullet narrowly missed him and that he suffered emotional distress because of that. In his lawsuit, he blamed the shooting on the negligence of the armorer and producers. And that, of course, includes Alec Baldwin. How has Alec Baldwin's defense team responded to these claims? It seems Alec just can't shake what happened. So true. The defense team tried to get the lawsuit thrown out, saying, among other things, that there is no evidence that Baldwin had a duty in his capacity as a producer to ensure everyone's safety on the set.

23:51All right. So bad news for Alec Baldwin. The judge ruled against him and says that the lawsuit can go to trial. Do we know when that'll be? Well, unless the settlement is reached, Andrea, the case is going to go to trial on October 12th. OK, we'll keep an eye on that. Next, we are heading to a Utah courtroom for the latest on a case we told you about last week. This is the trial of Tracy Grist, who prosecutors say masterminded a plot to kill her son-in-law, Matt Rustelli. It is week two of the trial, and Tracy took the stand on Monday. Before we get to her testimony, Sue, just remind everybody about the basics of this one.

24:25So the victim was 42-year-old Matt Rustelli. He was married to Tracy's daughter, Kate. Matt and Kate lived in California. Tracy lived in Utah. In July 2024, Kate and Matt's marriage was in trouble and Kate took her kids and she went to stay with her mom. Prosecutors say that's when Tracy, the mom, came up with a plan to murder Matt. They say she got Kate to lure Matt to her home in Utah and when Matt walked through the front door, Tracy's son, Kevin, shot him. And then they placed a knife in his hand to make it look like the shooting was in self-defense. Investigators did not buy that story, and they arrested all three of them, Tracy, Kevin, and Kate.

25:07Kate pleaded guilty, and she agreed to testify against her mom. The prosecution's sue wrapped Monday, and then it was the defense's turn to put on its case. Tracy herself took the stand, and she's really the star witness in this. Absolutely, Andrea. You know what a big deal it is for the defendant to take the stand. So Tracy denied plotting the killing or even being in the room when Matt was shot. Tracy says her son-in-law came barging into the house uninvited. I didn't hear the doorbell. I didn't hear a knock. And I didn't expect him to walk into the house. Within a few short period of few moments, I heard gunfire.

25:49And then what happened? I went to the foot of the stairs, and that's where I saw Matt laying down where he had fallen down. And I saw Kevin, and I said, Kevin, what happened? What happened? What did Kevin say? He said he had a knife. So when you went upstairs, what did you do? I said I took Katie's face in my hands, and I said, Kevin shot Matt. The defense attorney also asked Tracy why she thinks her daughter, Kate, decided to testify against her. Tracy accused the prosecutors of intimidating her daughter. I suspect she was intimidated by the government and by the evidence, which I don't blame her for being intimidated because it sounds like there was a lot.