The 7 Ways California's Conservatorship System FAILED Nick Reiner's Parents | Why the Law Couldn't Save Them

A faculty member at Washington State University allegedly looked at Bryan Kohberger and told colleagues: Mark my words—if we give this guy a PhD, we'll hear about him harassing, stalking, and sexually abusing students. That wasn't hindsight. That was foresight. And according to a new lawsuit filed by the families of the four murdered Idaho students, it was one of at least 13 formal complaints WSU allegedly ignored before Kohberger drove seven miles to Moscow and killed four people in their beds. Former FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke joins Hidden Killers to analyze what this level of institutional awareness—and alleged inaction—means from a behavioral threat assessment perspective. Robin spent 21 years with the Bureau, including time as Chief of the FBI's Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program, and he's seen what happens when warning signs get buried by bureaucracy. The lawsuit details staff developing their own informal "911" alert system to warn each other when Kohberger was nearby. Women needing security escorts to their cars. Students fleeing classrooms mid-lecture. A professor keeping a tally board of his discriminatory comments. Robin breaks down what these behaviors signal, how threat assessments are supposed to function, and why institutions so often choose perceived legal protection over actual safety. We'll discuss whether these murders were truly "foreseeable and preventable"—the exact language from the lawsuit—and what it takes to intervene before someone like Kohberger acts on what everyone around him allegedly saw coming. This is an essential conversation about accountability, institutional failure, and the cost of inaction.#BryanKohberger #HiddenKillers #WSULawsuit #IdahoStudentMurders #KayleeGoncalves #ThreatAssessment #RobinDreeke #FBI #TitleIX #TrueCrimePodcastJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

The prosecution has surveillance footage. A ballistics match. An alleged suppressor. But if you're defending Michael McKee, the holes in this case are where you live.How did McKee allegedly enter the Tepe home with no forced entry? Prosecutors haven't explained it publicly. The aggravated burglary charge suggests they have a theory — but until they disclose it, that's a gap the defense can exploit.There's no disclosed motive. McKee and Monique divorced years ago. Police confirmed there were no prior reports from the Tepe address about McKee — no 911 calls, no restraining orders, no documented threats. No ongoing disputes. So why would a surgeon with everything to lose allegedly drive to Ohio and kill two people?Defense attorney Bob Motta analyzes the defense's options. McKee is a vascular surgeon. Intelligent. Educated. Trained in precision. The prosecution's theory requires him to allegedly commit premeditated murder, use a suppressor — and then keep the murder weapon in his own apartment. How does the defense reconcile that with the profile of a careful, calculating person?McKee "disappeared" in the months before the murders. Process servers couldn't find him. A colleague said he just vanished. The prosecution might call that consciousness of guilt. The defense might call it a man moving between jobs.Both Spencer and Monique were shot multiple times. Does the manner of the killings help or hurt the defense? Could they argue this looks more like rage than premeditation — even with the suppressor allegation? Motta breaks down the strategies available and what it would take for McKee to walk.#MichaelMcKee #MoniqueTepe #SpencerTepe #TepeMurders #BobMotta #HiddenKillers #DefenseStrategy #NoForcedEntry #ReasonableDoubt #CriminalDefenseJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

Rob and Michele Reiner did what most families cannot do. They got their severely mentally ill son into a court-ordered conservatorship—the most restrictive mental health intervention California allows. A judge found Nick gravely disabled beyond a reasonable doubt. A professional fiduciary was appointed. Nick could be forced into treatment against his will.And if the charges against him are true, it still wasn't enough to save their lives.Today on Hidden Killers, we walk through the seven specific failure points built into California's LPS conservatorship system. First: the threshold punishes families who provide support—if you're housing and feeding your mentally ill child, they may not legally qualify as "gravely disabled." Second: future danger doesn't count. California courts have ruled that "probabilistic pessimism" isn't grounds for conservatorship. Third: the one-year expiration with no safety net. Fourth: the cliff after discharge—only 9% of people leaving conservatorships get connected to follow-up care. Fifth: families cannot petition for conservatorship or force renewal. Sixth: the state doesn't track outcomes. Seventh: even if you qualify, there's a one-year wait for hospital beds.A California study found 83% of patients stay stable during conservatorship. After termination? Only 43%. More than half relapse—and the state says follow-up is voluntary.Nick's conservatorship ended in 2021. Four years later, his parents are dead. The system worked exactly as designed. That's the problem.We map every failure point onto the Reiner timeline and ask: what would it take to actually protect families from tragedies like this one?Nick Reiner is presumed innocent until proven guilty.#HiddenKillers #NickReiner #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #ConservatorshipFailed #MentalHealthCrisis #TrueCrimePodcast #CaliforniaLaw #SystemicFailure #LPSConservatorshipJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

LeeAnn Singley, Forensic Scientist, testified today in the Brendan Banfield murder trial. Banfield, a former IRS agent, is charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the February 2023 deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan at their Herndon, Virginia home.Prosecutors allege Banfield plotted the killings with the family's Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, with whom he was having an affair. Magalhães has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is expected to testify against Banfield. The defense maintains digital evidence does not support the state's catfishing theory.#BrendanBanfield #AuPairAffair #MurderTrial #TrueCrime #Testimony #ChristineBanfield #JosephRyan #FairfaxCounty #HiddenKillers #BreakingJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

Jonathan Baumler, Officer with the Fairfax Co. Police Department, testified today in the Brendan Banfield murder trial. Banfield, a former IRS agent, is charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the February 2023 deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan at their Herndon, Virginia home.Prosecutors allege Banfield plotted the killings with the family's Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, with whom he was having an affair. Magalhães has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is expected to testify against Banfield. The defense maintains digital evidence does not support the state's catfishing theory.#BrendanBanfield #AuPairAffair #MurderTrial #TrueCrime #Testimony #ChristineBanfield #JosephRyan #FairfaxCounty #HiddenKillers #BreakingJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

Zachary Beckner, Fairfax Co. Police Officer, testified today in the Brendan Banfield murder trial. Banfield, a former IRS agent, is charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the February 2023 deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan at their Herndon, Virginia home.Prosecutors allege Banfield plotted the killings with the family's Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, with whom he was having an affair. Magalhães has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is expected to testify against Banfield. The defense maintains digital evidence does not support the state's catfishing theory.#BrendanBanfield #AuPairAffair #MurderTrial #TrueCrime #Testimony #ChristineBanfield #JosephRyan #FairfaxCounty #HiddenKillers #BreakingJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

The indictment against Dr. Michael McKee tells a story of alleged premeditation. Four counts of aggravated murder. One count of aggravated burglary. And the allegation that McKee used a firearm equipped with a suppressor to kill Monique and Spencer Tepe.A silencer changes this case. It's not impulsive. It's not rage. It's allegedly making sure no one would hear the shots while the victims' young children slept in another room.Defense attorney Bob Motta breaks down what this indictment reveals — and what it doesn't. Under Ohio law, "prior calculation and design" is an element prosecutors must prove for aggravated murder. The suppressor allegation helps them do that. But why four counts for two victims? Motta explains how Ohio structures murder charges and what each count requires.The aggravated burglary charge is significant. It doesn't necessarily mean theft — it suggests prosecutors have a theory about how McKee entered the home. Because there's still no public explanation for how he allegedly got inside with no forced entry.The NIBIN ballistics match linking a firearm from McKee's Chicago apartment to shell casings at the scene is still being called "preliminary." McKee gave police an alibi before his arrest. It didn't hold up. He only invoked his right to remain silent after the cuffs went on.Prosecutors have not filed capital specifications. They're not seeking the death penalty — at least not yet. Motta analyzes what that decision tells us: is it strategic, or does it suggest they see weaknesses in their case?#MichaelMcKee #MoniqueTepe #SpencerTepe #TepeMurders #BobMotta #HiddenKillers #Suppressor #AggravatedMurder #OhioLaw #ProsecutionCaseJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

The Commonwealth has rested its case against Brendan Banfield — and the final witnesses may have sealed the prosecution's narrative. Blood stain pattern analyst Iris Dalley Graff delivered hours of testimony explaining why the forensic evidence at the crime scene doesn't match an interrupted home invasion. Instead, she told jurors, the blood patterns suggest deliberate staging.Graff testified that Joseph Ryan's blood flowed in multiple directions — indicating his body was moved after he was shot. Even more damning: Christine Banfield's blood appears to have been intentionally transferred onto Ryan's hands, pants, and forearm. Graff described "finger-like" transfer patterns and blood droplets consistent with someone dripping blood from above. This directly supports Juliana Peres Magalhães' testimony that Banfield moved Ryan's body and smeared his dead wife's blood on the man to frame him.Defense attorney John Carroll attacked Graff's conclusions and highlighted body cam footage showing Banfield with bloody hands on his wife's neck when police arrived — suggesting a husband attempting first aid, not a killer staging a scene. After the jury was dismissed, Carroll moved to strike all charges, calling the au pair an unreliable witness. Judge Penney Azcarate denied the motion.The defense now takes over with four to five witnesses planned. The question: can John Carroll fracture the prosecution's narrative enough to create reasonable doubt?#BrendanBanfield #AuPairAffair #ChristineBanfield #BloodEvidence #FairfaxCounty #MurderTrial #TrueCrime #JulianaMagalhaes #CrimeSceneAnalysis #DoubleHomicideJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

The Adrian Gonzales trial just took a devastating turn. Texas Rangers presented a 3D animation to jurors showing the former Uvalde CISD officer's movements during the Robb Elementary shooting, and what it allegedly reveals is damning. According to investigators, Gonzales arrived on scene before the gunman entered the building, drove past the shooter in the parking lot, parked his vehicle, radioed "shots fired," and then stood outside for approximately three minutes and forty seconds while 117 rounds were fired inside the fourth grade wing.Gonzales has pleaded not guilty to 29 counts of child endangerment. His defense attorney Nico LaHood is mounting an aggressive counter-strategy, pointing to other officers who also failed to engage. During tense cross-examination, LaHood got Lieutenant Nick Hill to admit that Officer Juan Saucedo had an AR-15, saw the shooter, and didn't fire. Three other patrol cars drove away from the school while shots rang out inside. LaHood's argument: why is Gonzales the only one on trial?The courtroom has been filled with raw emotion. Velma Duran, sister of murdered teacher Irma Garcia, was removed after an outburst. Teacher's aide Melodye Flores testified she told Gonzales multiple times where the gunman was going. Her words: "He just stayed there." And Jennifer Garcia shared how her nine-year-old daughter Eliana wanted to come home early that day but stayed for a pizza party. She would have turned ten eleven days later.This is the second time in American history a police officer has faced charges for inaction during a school shooting. The first was acquitted.#AdrianGonzales #UvaldeTrial #RobbElementary #HiddenKillers #TrueCrimePodcast #SchoolShooting #PoliceOnTrial #JusticeForUvalde #TexasCrime #AccountabilityJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

Michael Fosler was 67 years old. He was facing 43 felony charges including crimes against a minor and child exploitation. He posted $50,000 bond and got a no-contact order. Three months later, just after 1 AM, the 13-year-old victim was missing from her bed — and her father found her in Fosler's truck, heading toward Fosler's house.Aaron Spencer rammed the truck into a ditch. Fired 16 shots. Fifteen hit Fosler. Then Spencer called 911: "Michael Fosler is f---ing dead on the side of the road for trying to kidnap my daughter."Now Spencer faces second-degree murder charges. His trial begins in one week. And prosecutors just won a ruling that could change everything — they can introduce body cam footage from three months before the shooting where Spencer allegedly looked for Fosler's address and made statements about taking matters into his own hands.Defense attorney Bob Motta analyzes what the prosecution has to prove and why Arkansas law may favor Spencer's defense. Under state statute, justification for defense of another person is an element the prosecution must disprove beyond a reasonable doubt. A man facing charges for crimes against a child, out on bond, allegedly violated a no-contact order and had the victim physically in his vehicle in the middle of the night.The dashcam footage from Fosler's truck never made it into evidence. The SD card sat in a detective's office for over a year. The defense is arguing spoliation — that potentially exculpatory evidence was lost. Deputy Prosecutor John Huggins wrote that Spencer's "understandable rage did not give him the legal right to kill Fosler." The prosecution is conceding the moral argument while trying to win the legal one.#AaronSpencer #MichaelFosler #ArkansasTrial #BobMotta #HiddenKillers #DefenseOfOthers #Spoliation #JustificationDefense #ChildExploitation #TrueCrimeJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.