Rob Reiner Told Friends "I'm Petrified of Nick" — Attorney Explains How Insanity Defense Works

Our week in review examines the Brendan Banfield case — where digital forensics contradicted the prosecution's theory and two investigators were moved off the case.On February 24, 2023, Christine Banfield — a 37-year-old pediatric ICU nurse — was stabbed to death in her Herndon, Virginia home. Found beside her was Joseph Ryan, a 39-year-old stranger shot twice by two different guns. The initial story was self-defense against an intruder. Prosecutors say that's a lie. They allege Brendan Banfield created a fake FetLife profile using his wife's photo, spent months luring Ryan to the house under the pretense of a violent sexual fantasy, then conspired with the family's au pair to stage a home invasion and murder his wife.But the prosecution's own digital forensics expert reached a different conclusion. Officer Brendan Miller analyzed 60 devices and determined Christine — not Brendan — appeared to be running that FetLife account. His findings were peer-reviewed by the University of Alabama and confirmed. Miller was subsequently transferred out of digital forensics. The lead homicide detective who reportedly disagreed with command staff's direction was also moved.Defense attorney John Carroll called the prosecution's case "a theory in search of facts rather than a series of facts supporting a theory." Judge Penney Azcarate ordered prosecutors to produce communications related to those transfers.The case now hinges on Juliana Peres Magalhaes, who spent nearly a year facing murder charges before changing her story. Her plea deal: time served and deportation to Brazil in exchange for testimony against Banfield. Trial is January 2026. The jury will decide who was really behind the keyboard.#BrendanBanfield #ChristineBanfield #JulianaPeresMagalhaes #FairfaxCounty #DigitalForensics #AuPairMurder #FetLife #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers #WeekInReviewJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISDOES & 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/id1705422872

Our week in review on the D4VD investigation — FBI analysis of the physical evidence, the grand jury proceedings, and what prosecutors appear to be building.Inside the Hollywood Hills rental where D4VD was living, investigators found a chainsaw still in its protective sheath and a burn cage incinerator capable of 1,600 degrees — boxed, never opened. Fourteen-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez's dismembered body was discovered in D4VD's Tesla parked on a residential street. PI Steve Fischer's read on the unused disposal tools: "Whatever happened here, this wasn't a finalized plan. She was not meant to be left in that Tesla. The plan got upended."Former FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer joined us to break down what investigators likely see in this evidence — what the unused tools suggest, how advanced decomposition complicates forensic analysis, and why prosecutors would push to seal autopsy findings. She explained how circumstantial murder cases are built and what makes them succeed or fail at trial.The grand jury has full authority to indict. Prosecutor Beth Silverman reportedly believes D4VD was involved and is building toward murder charges. Manager Robert Morgenroth testified that his priority was keeping the tour going — not calling police. An uncooperative female witness now faces arrest to compel her testimony. The grand jury continues through February 2026.Celeste was last confirmed alive January 2nd, 2025. The Tesla was parked July 29th — the day D4VD allegedly left for tour. Her body was found September 8th, one day after what would have been her 15th birthday. D4VD has not been arrested or charged. He remains legally presumed innocent. But prosecutors aren't circling anymore.#D4VD #CelesteRivas #JenniferCoffindaffer #FBI #GrandJury #HollywoodHills #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers #WeekInReview #CelesteRivasCaseJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISDOES & 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/id1705422872

Our week in review on the Nick Reiner case — the insanity defense mechanics, the family's impossible situation, and a mental health system that failed everyone.Nick Reiner faces two counts of first-degree murder for stabbing his parents Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner to death. The defense strategy has been clear from the start: mental health. Sources confirm Nick was diagnosed with schizophrenia years ago and his medication was changed weeks before the killings. A sealed medical order is already on file. An insanity plea appears inevitable.Defense attorney Bob Motta walked us through what that means under California's M'Naghten standard — one of the strictest tests in the country. The defense must prove Nick didn't understand his actions or didn't know they were wrong. The burden falls entirely on them, not prosecutors. Bob explained what evidence matters, how these cases are built, and where Nick goes if the defense succeeds.But we also confronted the harder truth. Nick's own podcast admissions reveal seventeen years of deliberate manipulation — gaming rehab programs, convincing his parents the experts were wrong, engineering the living arrangement that put him in their guesthouse instead of supervised care. Can calculated choices over nearly two decades coexist with legal insanity?Rob and Michele had two options. Let Nick go back to homelessness and addiction. Or keep him close and hope he didn't hurt them. Rob reportedly told friends the night before he died he was terrified his own son could harm him. California's Lanterman-Petris-Short Act made involuntary commitment nearly impossible. The system gave them no third choice. Millions of families face that same impossible decision right now.#NickReiner #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #BobMotta #InsanityDefense #MentalHealth #CaliforniaLaw #HiddenKillers #WeekInReview #TrueCrimeJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISDOES & 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/id1705422872

Our week in review takes on the Sarah Grace Patrick case — a story where the prosecution's public evidence doesn't match the promises.Seventeen-year-old Sarah Grace Patrick goes to trial January 5th, charged with murdering her mother Kristin Brock and stepfather James Brock while they slept. Her five-year-old sister found the bodies. For five months after the killings, Sarah posted crying TikToks, reached out to true crime creators asking for coverage, gave an emotional eulogy, and told one influencer the story "would be a really big hit." Then Carroll County investigators arrested her, claiming mountains of evidence.Here's what's actually been released: social media posts, DMs to content creators, and a eulogy the sheriff's office called "odd." No confirmed murder weapon. No disclosed motive. The defense says they're still waiting on full discovery weeks before trial.Former FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer joined us to examine what the evidence — and lack of it — actually tells us. She also dug into the family history that matters: court records showing an eleven-year-old Sarah told police she felt unsafe in her mother's home, drug allegations in custody filings, and a stepfather on probation for meth offenses who once accused Kristin of trying to run him over — then married her anyway.Sarah's maternal grandfather believes she's innocent. The Brock family packed the courtroom demanding she stay locked up. The judge denied bond. And the prosecution's key witness? A six-year-old who may have to testify against her own sister. Trial begins January 5th, 2026.#SarahGracePatrick #KristinBrock #JamesBrock #CarrollCounty #FBI #JenniferCoffindaffer #MurderTrial #Georgia #HiddenKillers #WeekInReviewJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISDOES & 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/id1705422872

This week on Hidden Killers, we took a hard look at the Charity Beallis case — and what we found doesn't fit the narrative national media rushed to print.On December 3rd, 2025, Charity Beallis and her six-year-old twins Eliana and Maverick were found dead from gunshot wounds in their Bonanza, Arkansas home. One day earlier, she'd lost a custody battle to Dr. Randall Beallis — the husband she accused of strangling her. No arrest. No named suspect. Autopsy pending. Law enforcement says there's no ongoing threat to the public.The headlines drew a straight line: abusive doctor kills wife and children. But the documented record tells a far more complicated story — one where both adults had histories of alleged violence, and where the truth matters more than the easy answer.Dr. Randall Beallis pled guilty to third-degree domestic battery in October 2025 after allegedly choking Charity in front of the children. But Charity's history includes a 2013 arrest for allegedly pointing a firearm at a man, custody allegations from her own father claiming she was too dangerous to have custody of her firstborn, and according to a 2021 police report, her father allegedly told investigators she confessed to involvement in the 2012 death of Randall's previous wife Shawna — a death ruled suicide from a gunshot wound to the forehead.Former FBI special agent Robin Dreeke joined us to examine the behavioral patterns on both sides — the escalation, the indicators, and the questions that remain unanswered. This isn't about choosing sides. It's about understanding what the evidence actually shows. The only innocent people in this story are Eliana and Maverick. They were six years old. They didn't choose any of this.#CharityBeallis #RobinDreeke #FBI #BonanzaArkansas #RandallBeallis #TrueCrime #BehavioralAnalysis #ElianaAndMaverick #WeekInReview #HiddenKillersJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISDOES & 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/id1705422872

Nick Reiner is broke. Unemployed. Sitting in jail charged with double murder. His parents — Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner — left behind an estate worth $200 million. And under California law, there may be a way he could still get his hands on it.Wait, what?The slayer statute is supposed to prevent killers from inheriting from their victims. But it only applies to "felonious and intentional" killings. What happens if Nick is found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity? What if a jury decides he couldn't form intent? Does the statute still apply?Estate lawyers say this is largely untested territory. And it raises an uncomfortable question: Was the insanity defense always about more than just avoiding prison?In this episode, we examine the legal mechanics that could allow Nick Reiner to challenge for his inheritance even after being charged with his parents' murders. We break down why the family reportedly hired a $2,000-an-hour attorney — then stopped paying. And we explain what it means that Nick is now represented by a public defender who had 24 hours to prepare for this case.The Reiner fortune is sitting there. The question is whether Nick has any path to it. The answer might surprise you.#NickReiner #RobReiner #ReinerCase #SlayerStatute #TrueCrime #InsanityDefense #CaliforniaLaw #Parricide #MurderTrial #HKLiveJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISDOES & 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/id1705422872

Attorney and former prosecutor Eric Faddis breaks down two of the most chaotic murder cases in the country right now — and explains why both are falling apart before they even reach trial.Nick Reiner's high-profile defense attorney Alan Jackson just walked off the case after three weeks, citing circumstances "beyond Nick's control." But before he left, he made a stunning statement to reporters: "Pursuant to the laws of California, Nick Reiner is NOT guilty of murder. Print that." Sources say the issue was money. Now public defender Kimberly Greene has inherited a capital murder case with virtually no preparation time. Eric explains what happens to all of Jackson's investigative work, why the insanity defense is one of the hardest to win in America, and whether Nick Reiner has any realistic path to avoiding conviction under California's M'Naghten standard.Then we turn to Kentucky, where former sheriff Mickey Stines is accused of murdering a judge in his own chambers — on video. The defense is building an insanity case, but now they've discovered footage of the presiding judge, Christopher Cohron, sitting next to the murder victim at a mental health conference just seven days before the killing. Cohron never disclosed it. He's also blocked the defense from accessing a sealed psychiatric evaluation. Eric breaks down the recusal motion, the venue fight, and whether this case can even be tried fairly in Kentucky.Two defendants. Two insanity defenses. Two judges under fire. Eric Faddis walks us through what's really happening behind the courtroom doors.#NickReiner #MickeyStines #AlanJackson #InsanityDefense #TrueCrime #MurderCase #EricFaddis #CaliforniaLaw #KentuckyLaw #JudgeRecusalJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISDOES & 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/id1705422872

Hidden Killers Podcast concludes its interview series with former FBI special agent Robin Dreeke by examining the hardest question in the Charity Beallis case: What do investigators do when both parties have documented histories of alleged violence?This isn't a simple case. The documented record shows allegations against both adults — not just one.Randall Beallis pled guilty to third-degree battery. Charity publicly claimed she feared for her life and the lives of her children. But Charity also had a 2013 arrest for allegedly pointing a firearm at a man. Her own father took her to court claiming she was dangerous to her child. And according to a 2021 police report, that father allegedly told investigators Charity confessed to shooting Shawna Beallis in 2012.He later contradicted that statement publicly, saying he never claimed Charity was involved — only that "she knew who did it."Robin Dreeke has spent over three decades handling complex investigations. In this conversation, he explores how law enforcement approaches cases where there's documented violence on multiple sides, where witness statements conflict, and where media narratives may not align with investigative reality.Was this a murder? A murder-suicide? Something else entirely? The investigation hasn't concluded. We don't presume to know. What we do know is that two children are dead, and they bear no responsibility for any of the adult behavior that surrounded them.Content on this site is based on publicly available information and reflects commentary and opinion. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Nothing published here constitutes legal, medical, or professional advice.#HiddenKillersPodcast #CharityBeallis #RobinDreeke #FBI #TrueCrime #RandallBeallis #ElianaAndMaverick #BonanzaArkansas #ComplexCases #TrueCrimeAnalysisJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISDOES & 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/id1705422872

The Mickey Stines case just got a whole lot more complicated — and we brought in defense attorney and former prosecutor Eric Faddis to make sense of it.The defense has filed a motion to recuse Special Judge Christopher Cohron after discovering video footage showing him seated next to Judge Kevin Mullins at a Kentucky Judicial Commission on Mental Health meeting, seven days before Mullins was shot to death in his Letcher County chambers. According to the motion, Cohron sat inches from the victim for roughly two hours. Mullins' widow was in the room. Cohron allegedly never disclosed any of this to the parties.Eric breaks down what the legal standard for recusal actually requires under Kentucky law — and whether this video clears the bar. We get into Cohron's rulings blocking the psychiatric evaluation from being unsealed or used at the bond hearing, and whether a reasonable observer could connect those decisions to what's in the footage.We also cover the escalation path if Cohron refuses to step aside, the pending venue fight between prosecution and defense, and the death penalty question that's been hanging over this case for fifteen months with no answer.This is the expert breakdown you need to understand what's really at stake — and what's likely to happen next. Eric Faddis has argued cases on both sides, and he pulls no punches.#MickeyStines #HiddenKillers #EricFaddis #JudgeCohron #KevinMullins #RecusalMotion #KentuckyCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #InsanityDefense #CourthouseMurderJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISDOES & 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/id1705422872

Alan Jackson spent three weeks investigating the Nick Reiner case. Every waking hour, he said. Ten subpoenas issued and sealed. And then he quit — but not before telling reporters that Nick Reiner is "NOT guilty of murder under California law."That's not how attorneys typically leave cases. That's a roadmap. And now someone else has to follow it.This episode breaks down what Jackson's statement actually means and why the path forward is anything but simple. We examine the three distinct legal battles ahead: competency to stand trial, the guilt phase, and the sanity trial where Jackson's words would have applied. California uses the M'Naghten Rule — a purely cognitive standard that requires the defense to prove Nick couldn't understand his actions or distinguish right from wrong at the exact moment of the crime.We also look at who's taking over. Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Greene had thirty seconds with Nick before becoming his attorney. But the LA County Public Defender's Office has a track record that defies the stereotype — between 2006 and 2015, only one of their clients was sentenced to death out of thirty capital appeals. The office is led by Ricardo Garcia, who secured a life verdict in San Diego's longest death penalty trial.Here's the uncomfortable truth: even if the insanity defense succeeds, Nick goes to a state psychiatric hospital — potentially forever. Facilities where the DOJ found civil rights violations and patient-on-patient murders. The insanity defense isn't freedom. It's a different kind of cage.His parents spent seventeen years trying to save him. Now the state of California will make a permanent decision about his life.#NickReiner #RobReiner #AlanJackson #InsanityDefense #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #CaliforniaLaw #MurderTrial #MentalHealth #ReinerMurdersJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISDOES & 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/id1705422872