A Missing Teen and a High-Profile Arrest: The Evidence, Silence, and Selective Claims with Guest Lauren Conlin
Zone 7 with Sheryl McCollum
iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline
4.7 • 792 Ratings
🗓️ 4 February 2026
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
An active investigation into the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez has left the public with a timeline, a Tesla, and an extensive list of unanswered questions.
In this episode of "Zone 7," Sheryl McCollum is joined by journalist Lauren Conlin to review what has been said publicly about Celeste’s initial classification as a runaway, her connections to older individuals, and why the continued absence of a named person of interest raises concern.
They also turn to the arrest of actor/director Timothy Busfield and discuss what can and cannot be concluded from selective “evidence” releases, how credibility gets weaponized in public, and why child abuse allegations demand careful, methodical evaluation rather than internet verdicts.
Guest Bio
Lauren Conlin is a New York-based journalist covering true crime and high-profile investigations. She contributes reporting to Los Angeles Magazine, hosts investigative podcasts, and appears as a legal and crime commentator on platforms including Court TV, Fox News, and "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace."
About the Host
Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an active crime scene investigator for a Metro Atlanta Police Department and the director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, which partners with colleges and universities nationwide.
With more than 4 decades of experience, she has worked on thousands of cold cases using her investigative system, The Last 24/361, which integrates evidence, media, and advanced forensic testing.
Her work on high-profile cases includes, in part, the Boston Strangler, Natalie Holloway, Tupac Shakur. Her work on the Moore’s Ford Bridge lynching led to her Emmy Award for "CSI: Atlanta" and induction into the National Law Enforcement Hall of Fame in 2023.
Social Links:
• Email: coldcase2004@gmail.com
• Twitter: @149zone7
• Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum
• Instagram: @officialzone7podcast
Preorder Sheryl’s upcoming book, "Swans Don’t Swim in a Sewer: Lessons in Life, Justice, and Joy from a Forensic Scientist," releasing May 2026 from Simon and Schuster.
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Highlights:
• (0:00) Sheryl McCollum opens the episode on the death of Celeste Hernandez and why the case is “driving her crazy”
• (1:30) Lauren Conlin’s case status framing: no official person of interest, grand jury activity, and what “imminent indictment” does and does not mean
• (3:00) Celeste’s runaway classification, age, and how early labels can shape urgency, resources, and risk
• (7:15) Behavior after the discovery: canceled tour, transferred home ownership, legal strategy, and public silence
• (10:00) Publicity economics: spikes in streams/downloads and the reality of scandal- driven attention
• (15:15) Homicide indicator vs. Evidentiary barriers when decomposition complicates cause-of-death determinations
• (17:45) Tesla cameras, event data, and why Sheryl expects a digital trail around movement and access
• (21:45) Why runaway youth are at elevated risk and how dependency becomes leverage for exploitation
• (27:00) Timothy Busfield: prior allegations and the optics of how he presented himself
• (29:15) The alleged history patterns, witness context, and credibility disputes around the parents
• (33:00) “Tickling to me does not absolve you from being a pervert.”
• (36:00) Predatory access: why being near adults does not guarantee safety and how abuse can occur quickly and covertly
• (39:15) Sheryl and Lauren address recantation, selective interview clips, and why child abuse cases require restraint, context, and patience before judgment
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an IHeart podcast. |
| 0:02.6 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:12.1 | Y'all, there's an ongoing investigation into the death of a 14-year-old girl. |
| 0:19.3 | And I got to tell you, this case is driving me crazy. I do not understand |
| 0:24.7 | how they do not have more information, how they don't have a person of interest that they've named. |
| 0:31.4 | I don't know how there ain't an arrest in this thing. I am talking about the murder of Celeste Hernandez. She was found in the front, |
| 0:41.2 | which I still think is a ridiculous name, but in the trunk that's in the front of the Tesla, |
| 0:47.1 | of David Anthony Burke. And y'all, we are so fortunate tonight to have Lauren Conlon back with us. |
| 1:15.9 | Y'all know her. Y'all love her. She's beautiful. She's smart. She's funny. She's vivacious. You know, you only hang out with people that are like you. I mean, that's all there is to it. But she is going to be. Sorry. This is the way I join your show, Cheryl. I's you're amazing you're just so amazing I love you no but everything I said about you is true you know that but you know you have been doing some just |
| 1:21.9 | gumshoe work on this thing and I want people to know about the phone calls you've made and some |
| 1:28.2 | information that you have. So if you will just give a little bit of background for everybody that |
| 1:33.4 | doesn't know, you know, when Celeste first went missing, she was classified as a runaway, how old |
| 1:39.9 | she was, anything just to kind of bring them up to speed. And then I want to get right into what |
| 1:45.5 | you have been finding out. Yes, of course. And, you know, Cheryl, this case is very complicated. |
| 1:50.8 | It's very nuanced. And I have to give credit to the internet sleuths. I mean, the people on Reddit |
| 1:57.4 | and on YouTube, they've uncovered a lot of stuff and it actually was a source or a |
| 2:03.2 | sleuth who first made me aware of a resurfaced video of David, which we will get into later. |
| 2:09.8 | But just some background on the case. And I think what you said, it's important to note that |
| 2:16.0 | a person of interest has not been named by the LAPD |
| 2:20.9 | officially. They have never named David, although we know that this case has been presented to a |
| 2:29.3 | grand jury in Los Angeles, and David's name has been brought up. We know for certain witnesses that are |
| 2:37.5 | connected to David that have testified like his manager. And also, I have had a source or two who have |
... |
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