Inside the Reiner Family: Love, Fear & a System That Made Intervention Impossible

A Kentucky sheriff shot and killed a judge inside his own courthouse chambers — and according to court documents, the warning signs were everywhere. Witnesses say Mickey Stines hadn't slept in days. He'd lost a massive amount of weight. He was convinced unnamed people were going to kill his wife and daughter. He woke his wife up at night to whisper because he believed their home was bugged. And on the day of the shooting, he reportedly tried calling his grandmother — who had been dead for three years. Coworkers saw it. An attorney saw it.  The local police chief said "that son of a bitch has lost his mind." His friends even took him to the doctor the day before. And still, nobody stopped what was coming. In this segment, psychotherapist Shavaun Scott breaks down what these behaviors actually mean clinically — what paranoid psychosis looks like, why people miss or dismiss the warning signs, and what Stines' insanity defense might actually hold up to. We're not here to excuse what happened. We're here to understand it. Because this case is a brutal lesson in what happens when someone falls apart in plain sight and no one knows what to do about it. #MickeyStines #JudgeKevinMullins #TrueCrime #KentuckySheriff #CourthouseShooting #MentalHealthCrisis #InsanityDefense #WarningSigns #Psychosis #ShavaunScott Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Three days before Sheriff Mickey Stines allegedly walked into Judge Kevin Mullins' chambers and shot him nine times, an attorney contacted the Kentucky Bar Association asking what he could do to intervene. He'd already warned Mullins directly. Told him Stines was "losing it." The local police chief had seen enough to say Stines had "lost his mind." Staff inside the sheriff's office watched their boss make phone calls to relatives who had been dead for years. They got him to a doctor. The doctor sent him home with a diagnosis of "acute stress reaction." Twenty-four hours later, Kevin Mullins was dead. This isn't a story about people who didn't care. It's a story about people who saw a crisis developing, took action within the limits of what they could actually do, and discovered those limits weren't anywhere close to enough. Kentucky has no red flag law. Involuntary commitment requires proof of imminent danger — not paranoid delusions, not rapid weight loss, not bizarre behavior. And when the person in crisis is an elected sheriff, nobody has the authority to suspend him, disarm him, or override his denials. Court documents exposed this week reveal just how many people recognized something catastrophic was happening — and how the systems we've built gave them almost no power to stop it. The widow's civil lawsuit now asks whether three sheriff's office employees should be held liable for failing to warn Judge Mullins. Their defense: Kentucky law imposed no duty to warn or protect. Everyone did something. It wasn't enough. And the gap between "someone should do something" and anyone having the power to actually do it is where Kevin Mullins died. #MickeyStines #JudgeMullins #TrueCrime #KentuckySheriff #CourthouseShooting #MentalHealthCrisis #RedFlagLaws #TrueCrimeNews #SystemicFailure Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Here's what no one wants to say out loud: Rob and Michele Reiner probably knew they were in danger. Friends say Michele had been confiding for months that Nick's mental health was deteriorating. Neighbors say there had been violent incidents before. The night before their deaths, Nick got into a screaming argument with his father at a Christmas party. Everyone saw the signs. No one could legally do anything about it. In the United States, you cannot force a competent adult into treatment. You cannot commit someone because you believe they're dangerous. You have to wait until the danger becomes imminent — which usually means you have to wait until someone gets hurt. Rob and Michele Reiner lived inside that impossible gap for eighteen years. And then the gap killed them. Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott joins us to examine the systemic failures that leave families like the Reiners without options. We discuss what parents can actually do legally when an adult child is spiraling — and where their authority ends. We look at why the threshold for involuntary commitment is so high that families often recognize danger years before the law will act. We ask hard questions about whether the rehab industry itself can make certain patients worse. And we talk honestly about what would need to change for cases like this to have different outcomes. This isn't about assigning blame to a grieving family. It's about understanding why our system forces parents to choose between respecting autonomy and protecting themselves — and why that choice shouldn't exist. #RobReiner #MentalHealthLaw #TrueCrime #SystemicFailure #InvoluntaryCommitment #FamilyViolence #ShavaunScott #MentalHealthReform #AddictionCrisis #CrimePsychology Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

LIVE COURTROOM COVERAGE — NO COMMENTARY This is the raw, uninterrupted courtroom feed from The Trial of Brian Walshe, presented exactly as it unfolds inside the courtroom. Brian Walshe is standing trial in connection with the disappearance and death of his wife, Ana Walshe, a case that has captured national attention and raised urgent questions about digital evidence, marital dynamics, and investigative timelines. This series provides unfiltered access to the testimony, exhibits, expert witnesses, and courtroom decisions as they happen. There is no editorializing, no added narration, and no commentary — just the court, the attorneys, the witnesses, and the judge. Viewers can follow every moment as the prosecution lays out its timeline, the defense challenges the state’s case, and the court works through a complex and highly scrutinized trial that has been years in the making. If you’re watching our live companion analysis on Hidden Killers or catching up with the highlight segments later, this raw feed serves as the complete, original source for everything happening inside the courtroom. #BrianWalshe #AnaWalshe #Courtroom #TrialCoverage #TrueCrime #LiveTrial #HiddenKillers #CourtFeed #LegalProceedings #TrialUpdates Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Rob and Michele Reiner spent nearly two decades trying to save their son Nick from addiction. They sent him to rehab seventeen times. They let him live in their guesthouse. They made a movie together about his struggles. And when counselors warned them that Nick was lying and manipulating them, they eventually rejected that advice — publicly apologizing for ever believing the professionals over their own son. Now Rob and Michele are dead, allegedly stabbed by Nick in their Brentwood home the night after a Christmas party where they'd asked the host if they could bring him just to keep an eye on him. This isn't a story about demonizing people in addiction. It's about understanding how addiction rewires family systems — how the people who love an addict the most can become the most vulnerable to manipulation, enabling, and ultimately, danger. It's about how boundaries aren't abandonment. How love without limits can become the weapon used against you. And how sometimes, the only way to survive is to walk away — even when every instinct tells you to stay. The Reiners had every resource imaginable. Money. Connections. Access to the best treatment programs in the country. None of it was enough. Because there's no amount of money that can force an adult to get sober. There's no love powerful enough to override someone's autonomy when they're using that autonomy to destroy themselves — and you. This is the story of what happens when parents refuse to give up. And what it cost them. #RobReiner #NickReiner #MicheleReiner #TrueCrime #Addiction #FamilyTragedy #Brentwood #BeingCharlie #MentalHealth #Manipulation Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Rob Reiner didn’t ignore his son’s struggles — he built a movie around them. He talked openly about the guilt, the missteps, the decades of trying. Michele carried the emotional weight of nearly 20 years of crisis. They were present, involved, and doing everything our system tells families to do. And still, they were left defenseless. In part two, former FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke explains the darkest truth: families are often fully aware someone is dangerous — but the law ties their hands. Parents cannot force an adult child into long-term treatment. They cannot limit their movements. They cannot compel medication. Without a documented, immediate threat, the system defaults to the rights of the individual — not the safety of the family. We explore: – How chronic crisis distorts judgment but also eliminates legal options – Why guilt, hope, and fear coexist in families trapped by mental-health laws – How caregivers often become targets because they are the safest emotional outlet – Why brutality in familial murders reflects years of psychological deterioration – The painful reality that love does not override a broken system This isn’t a story about blind parents. It’s a story about a system built to wait until the worst happens — and only then allows intervention. #ReinerMurders #RobinDreeke #TonyBrueski #HiddenKillers #MentalHealthCrisis #FamilyViolence #SystemicFailure #TrueCrimePodcast #ParentalGuilt #LegalLimitations Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Jesse Butler pleaded no contest to ten rape-related charges, got youthful offender status, and walked out of court with probation and community service. No prison. No sex offender registry. And if he makes it to his 19th birthday in August without incident, his record gets sealed forever. But the case isn't over. Attorney Rachel Bussett just filed a motion that could change everything. In this breakdown, we examine every legal avenue that could still put Butler behind bars. The Marsy's Law challenge arguing victims' constitutional rights were violated when the plea deal was struck minutes before the hearing. The untested statutory argument that "reverse certification" from adult to youthful offender may not even be legal in Oklahoma rape cases. The probation violation path—Butler has already missed two check-ins. The federal grand jury investigation being pushed by State Rep. JJ Humphrey. And the possibility that new victims could come forward with fresh charges. We also look at the research that makes this a public safety issue. Studies show victims of intimate partner strangulation are 750 percent more likely to be killed by that same partner. Court documents describe one victim as being 30 seconds from death. Police found video evidence of Butler strangling her unconscious—because according to affidavits, he wanted to watch it later. The DA defends the deal. The families say they were blindsided. Bussett says the system failed from beginning to end. The February 3rd hearing could reopen everything—or nothing changes and the clock runs out. This is about more than one case. It's about whether victim's rights actually mean anything, and whether the justice system protects survivors or shields the connected. #JesseButler #MarsysLaw #StillwaterOklahoma #VictimsRights #YouthfulOffender #TrueCrime #PayneCounty #CriminalJustice #RachelBussett #JusticeForSurvivors Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Rob and Michele Reiner spent eighteen years trying to save their son. Seventeen rehab facilities. A feature film about his addiction. A guest house on their property so they could watch over him. And still, on December 15th, 2025, they were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home. Nick Reiner, 32, has been charged with their murders. This isn't a case about parents who didn't see it coming. It's about parents who saw it coming for nearly two decades and couldn't stop it. Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott has spent thirty years working with families in crisis, perpetrators of violence, and people trapped in cycles of addiction and mental illness. She's the author of "Nightbird" and "The Minds of Mass Killers," and in this interview, she breaks down what was likely happening inside the Reiner family long before that final night. We discuss why Nick's own words — that his drug use was never about the drugs, but about "killing the noise" — reveal something critical about what treatment was missing. We examine what happens to parents psychologically when they've exhausted every resource and still live in proximity to a volatile adult child. We look at why wealth and access to the best facilities offered essentially no protection. And we explore the warning signs that families often see but can't bring themselves to act on — because acting means treating your own child as a threat. If you've ever wondered how a family can do everything right and still end up here, this conversation offers uncomfortable answers. The Reiners aren't a cautionary tale about neglect. They're a cautionary tale about the limits of love when you're up against something love can't fix. #RobReiner #NickReiner #TrueCrime #FamilyViolence #AddictionRecovery #MentalHealthCrisis #ShavaunScott #Parricide #CrimePsychology #HollywoodTragedy Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Two cases this week that expose exactly how broken the American legal system is — in completely opposite directions. In Arkansas, Aaron Spencer is heading to trial for stopping Michael Fosler, a 67-year-old man with 43 felony charges who was out on bond and actively taking Spencer's 13-year-old daughter in the middle of the night. Fosler had already assaulted her once. A no-contact order was in place. The system knew he was dangerous and let him walk anyway. When Spencer's daughter ended up in Fosler's truck heading toward Fosler's house, Spencer did what the system refused to do — he protected his child. Now prosecutors want to use body cam footage from three months earlier to argue premeditation. They want a jury to believe a father in shock, processing his daughter's disclosure, was actually planning something. The defense says this was a kidnapping in progress and Arkansas law justified every action Spencer took. In California, Rob Reiner's son Nick is accused of taking both of his parents' lives after years of addiction and mental illness that the family publicly tried to address. They had money. They had access. They had every resource available. But California law doesn't let you force an adult into treatment — no matter how sick they are, no matter how many times they've been hospitalized, no matter how obvious the trajectory is. You just wait. The Reiners waited. And now they're gone. One father acted because the system let a predator walk. One father couldn't act because the system tied his hands. Both families deserved better. This episode breaks down the legal fights in both cases and what they reveal about a system that fails victims at every turn. #AaronSpencer #RobReiner #SystemFailed #TrueCrime #FathersRights #MentalHealthLaw #ChildProtection #JusticeSystem #DefenseOfOthers #HiddenKillers Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Mickey Stines just admitted in court filings that he shot and killed Judge Kevin Mullins. Nine bullets. Seven of them fired while the judge was already on the ground. It's all on video. But now Stines is claiming he "had no control" over his actions—and his defense is pointing to a rare neurological disease caused by bug bites as part of the explanation. For over a year, no one could explain why a Kentucky sheriff walked into a judge's chambers and executed a man he'd worked with for decades. They'd eaten lunch together that same day. Stines used to be Mullins' bailiff. And then, after a seven-minute private conversation, Stines locked the door and opened fire. Now court documents reveal what was happening to Stines in the days before the shooting. He'd lost 40 pounds in two weeks. He was making phone calls to dead relatives. He told staff that shadowy forces were coming to kill his wife and daughter. He made someone put a bulletproof vest on his wife. His own employees believed he was in a psychosis. An attorney warned the judge directly that Stines was "losing it." The local police chief said he'd "lost his mind." But here's the problem: the day before the shooting, Stines saw a doctor. And according to medical records, he denied experiencing any psychosis or homicidal thoughts. The doctor diagnosed "acute stress reaction" and sent him home. Twenty-four hours later, Kevin Mullins was dead. Now Stines is building an insanity defense that includes claims of California encephalitis—a tick-borne illness that can cause confusion and aggression. Whether that's a legitimate diagnosis or a legal strategy remains to be seen. What's clear is that this case is about to get a lot more complicated. #MickeyStines #JudgeKevinMullins #Letcher County #KentuckySheriff #CourthouseShooting #TrueCrime #InsanityDefense #CaliforniaEncephalitis #TrueCrime2025 #JusticeForMullins Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872