David Heilberg

“	Ms. Chandler's frequent and sometimes over the top presence on the internet is partly a product of mental health issues causing misguided attention seeking and often provocative engagement with others	”
Heilberg on Chris

“	I've let Heilberg do his work; He hardly keeps me updated or communicates with me. HE's frustrated at Region 10 Doing Absolutely Nothing	”
Chris on Heilberg

David Heilberg
Information
Name	David Leonard Heilberg
Also known as	Dave
Gender	Male
Known for	• Defense lawyer for Chris on his incest charge
Nationality	American
Occupation	Lawyer
Saga	Jail

David Leonard Heilberg is the defense lawyer who was assigned to Chris for his August 2021 incest charge. Heilberg was assigned due to Chris being too poor to hire a lawyer, causing the court to grant him one. Heilberg spent the next year and a half on this case, eventually invoking the autism disorder deferred disposition to get Chris's charge dismissed.

Heilberg has been a lawyer for more than 50 years, and has won multiple awards for his work. Heilberg was also the attorney for one of the 2002 D.C. snipers, John Allen Muhammad, who was executed in 2009.

Assignment

On 5 August 2021, Kenneth Sneathern, a judge from Greene County's General District Court, assigned Heilberg to represent Chris. On the same day, Chris and Heilberg appeared in court, which did not go well for David. Chris interupted the proceedings by loudly shouting, "I'm famous on the internet!", after which Heilberg told him not to speak until spoken to. Heilberg told the court he'd be requesting evaluations of Chris, to which Chris started yelling about how he needed to get everything back home, and that he wouldn't feel safe until he gets his things back.

News Interviews

Shortly after being assigned, Heilberg interviewed with the news sources Insider and Newsweek about Chris. These interviews provide insight into Heilberg's opinion on the situation, primarily that he seemed to not trust Chris's admission of guilt due to his mental health issues and frequent troll manipulation. He asked the public to not believe everything on the internet, citing how information is often twisted.

Insider Interview

The lawyer representing Christine Weston Chandler, known online as Chris Chan, criticized Virginia's "critical shortage" of mental health facilities and said that mental health issues have played a role in Chandler's complicated online history. "Ms. Chandler's frequent and sometimes over the top presence on the internet is partly a product of mental health issues causing misguided attention seeking and often provocative engagement with others," David Heilberg said in a statement provided to Insider on Friday. Chandler, a popular online figure for over a decade, has been charged with a single count of incest after a leaked audio recording alleged she had sex with her 79-year-old mother. Chandler is known for creating the comic character "Sonichu," a cross between Pikachu and Sonic the Hedgehog, as well as being the target of trolling campaigns online since 2007. Chandler obsessives then spent years documenting her online history on a forum and Wiki page called CWCiki. Heilberg referenced the harassment faced by Chandler, who has said she has an autism spectrum disorder, and warned followers against blindly believing information about Chandler shared to online forums. "Under ordinary circumstances, people should not believe everything they learn on the internet," the statement said. "Everything you find there should always be filtered by skepticism that is not pursued enough. This applies even more to somebody who is legally disabled with mental health issues." Heilberg also suggested that online trolls who document Chandler's life have reached out to him for information on the case and said that "legitimate inquiries from journalists, supporters and nuisance trollers will be handled the same way." The lawyer added that "the criminal justice system is a poor vehicle to help people with mental health issues" and said that there is a great deal of "misinformation" circulating online about Chandler. "There are few people with actual personal knowledge about what happened," Heidelberg said in his statement. "Just because you heard or read something does not make it true." Heilberg asked those with "reliable information or evidence" to contact the Greene County Sheriff's Office. Chandler is currently being held in a Virginia jail without bond and her next court date is September 16.

Newsweek Interview

The lawyer representing Christine Weston Chandler, the YouTube star also known as Chris Chan online, says it is important "not believe everything they learn on the internet" about his client and her case. Chandler was arrested on Sunday, August 1 and charged with one count of incest after the Green County Sheriff's Office received information about alleged "sex crimes against a family member, who resides in the Ruckersville area." In a statement issued to Newsweek, Chandler's attorney, David L Heilberg said much of the information being put out online in relation to the case needed to be "filtered by skepticism" especially as his client is "legally disabled with mental health issues." "Ms. Chandler's frequent and sometimes over-the-top presence on the internet is partly a product of mental health issues causing misguided attention seeking and often provocative engagement with others," Heilberg said. "Like almost anything on the internet, it is difficult to determine what is true. These principles hold no matter if you are a supporter, a legitimate journalist, or a trolling hater." Heilberg also indicated that online trolls had been in touch with him and trying to get information about Chandler's case. He said "legitimate inquiries from journalists, supporters, and nuisance trollers will be handled the same way." Chandler is currently being held at the Central Virginia regional jail without bond and is next due in court on September 16. In a hearing held to determine whether she would be granted bond, the 39-year-old reportedly stamped her feet after a request to gather personal belongings was rejected. Chandler's lawyer criticized the lack of support for his client in light of her well documented mental health issues. "The criminal justice system is a poor vehicle to help people with mental health issues," he told Newsweek. "There is also a critical shortage of mental health treatment facilities in Virginia. Providing somebody with the help that they need is complicated and will take time." Heilberg added that the "volume of misinformation" found on the internet about Chandler and the case online made it a "poor place to learn the truth." "There are few people with actual personal knowledge about what happened. Just because you heard or read something does not make it true." If found guilty of incest, she could face anywhere between one and 10 years in prison as well as a fine of up to $2,500 under Virginia state law. Heilberg has urged anyone "with actual personal knowledge about the people involved and the facts of what happened" to contact the Greene County Sheriff's Office.

Mentions by Chris

In Jail Letter - 19 September 2021, Chris mentioned that he wanted the letter to be forwarded to Heilberg. He also claimed that he had spoken to Heilberg about his beliefs of being Jesus Christ, though Heilberg's response to this is unknown.

In Jail Letter - 11 May 2022, Chris mentioned writing to Heilberg to tell him negative stories about Barbara's character, including a claim that Barbara had offered herself for sex to Chris in 2012. Chris believed that Barbara was never questioned on account of her age.

In Jail Letter - 27 June 2022, Chris wrote that Heilberg told him he'd be going home soon.

In Jail Letter - 29 July 2022‎‎, Chris complained about Heilberg and the legal system:

“

I've let Heilberg do his work; He hardly keeps me updated or communicates with me. HE's frustrated at Region 10 Doing Absolutely Nothing, Social Workers in Greene County and anywhere Do Absolutely Nothing, AND Western State Hospital, in his words, were Supposed to place me in a Group Home, BUT to simply Free Up a Room, they Sent Me Back to Jail

”

Mentions by Others

On 11 March 2023, Praetor was interviewed. In the interview, Praetor claimed that Chris's "second coming" involved plans to put Heilberg on retainer, and also that Praetor was in contact with Heilberg, who advised them to keep any "ill-meaning folk" away from Chris, so that no one visited Chris in jail. The truth of these claims is unknown.

Sealing the Case

Heilberg on Chris's case being sealed

On 5 August 2022, Heilberg filed a motion for autism disorder deferred disposition. This led to a grand jury hearing, which ended with a continuance. Shortly after this, the court decided to seal Chris's court records, which Heilberg explained in an email to a Christorian:

RE: Reporting on Christine Chandler Mr. Brown: The reason that the case was sealed was because there was so much intense legitimate and illegitimate external interest about Ms. Chandler. Greene County is a small rural place. In a unique situation like this, there is case authority (attached) to keep all pre-trial materials sealed so that it will later be possible to select a local jury for a fair trial if and when this is needed. The application of the Depasquale remedy to prevent prejudicial pre-trial publicity is probably the only story that you can tell. This relief is rarely sought and allowed. However, the unique intense interest in this case, including inaccurate online disinformation, required this infrequently used remedy. In our current age of unregulated online disinformation about almost anything and everyone, this remedy might be needed now more than ever. Dave David L. Heilberg, PLC Attorney at Law

Jail Hoax

In September 2022, a 4chan user claimed that Chris escaped through the window of a courthouse bathroom. Despite the lack of evidence presented, the claim went viral across social media, and numerous news articles were made about the rumor. On 16 September, USA Today posted an article debunking the claim, citing an interview had with Heilberg.

A representative for Chandler, whose arrest was covered by People, CBS 19 and other news outlets, said reports of an escape were false. “I am unaware from any source that Ms. Chandler ‘escaped’ and any contrary stories or rumors are untrue,” attorney David Heilberg told USA TODAY. Heilberg added that there was “unique intense interest” and "online disinformation" surrounding the case.

External Links

https://www.heilberglaw.com/, Heilberg's website. Note that he specializes in sex offense allegations.

References

    People