EXPOSED: California's Conservatorship System Is DESIGNED to Fail | The Nick Reiner Case Proves It
California's mental health conservatorship system has a 57% failure rate. More than half of the people released from conservatorships deteriorate afterward. The state's response? Follow-up care is voluntary.Nick Reiner was under a court-ordered LPS conservatorship in 2020. A judge found him gravely disabled. A licensed fiduciary named Steven Baer was appointed to oversee his treatment. He could be forced to take psychiatric medication. He could be placed in a locked facility against his will. The system intervened.Then the conservatorship expired in 2021. It wasn't renewed. And for four years, no one with legal authority was watching.On True Crime Today, we expose the seven structural failures built into California's conservatorship law. The "grave disability" threshold that disqualifies people whose families provide support. The appellate court ruling that "probabilistic pessimism"—concern about future danger—isn't grounds for intervention. The automatic one-year termination with no transition plan. The 2020 state audit showing only 9% of discharged patients get connected to ongoing care. The fact that families cannot petition for conservatorships or force renewals.Sources say Nick's medication was changed approximately one month before December 14th. Sources say he became agitated, erratic, suffered a "complete break from reality." Without a conservatorship in place, there was nothing anyone could legally do.The Reiners had money, connections, and access to the best treatment available. They got the conservatorship. They got the professional oversight. And if prosecutors are right about what happened, the system still failed to protect them.Nick Reiner is presumed innocent until proven guilty.#TrueCrimeToday #NickReiner #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #ConservatorshipExposed #MentalHealthLaw #CaliforniaFailed #TrueCrimeNews #LPSAct #BrokenSystemJoin 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.
21 Tammi 34min
LeeAnn Singley Testifies in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial"
LeeAnn Singley, Forensic Scientist, took the stand in the murder trial of Brendan Banfield, the former IRS agent charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan. Prosecutors allege Banfield and the family's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, lured Ryan to their Herndon home through a fetish website and staged the killings as a home invasion.The defense argues digital forensics contradict the catfishing theory and that investigators who disagreed were reassigned. Banfield faces life without parole if convicted. The four-week trial continues in Fairfax County.#TrueCrimeToday #BrendanBanfield #AuPairAffair #MurderTrial #ChristineBanfield #JosephRyan #FairfaxCounty #JulianaMagalhaes #Justice #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.
21 Tammi 42min
Jonathan Baumler Testifies in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial"
Jonathan Baumler, Officer with the Fairfax Co. Police Department, took the stand in the murder trial of Brendan Banfield, the former IRS agent charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan. Prosecutors allege Banfield and the family's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, lured Ryan to their Herndon home through a fetish website and staged the killings as a home invasion.The defense argues digital forensics contradict the catfishing theory and that investigators who disagreed were reassigned. Banfield faces life without parole if convicted. The four-week trial continues in Fairfax County.#TrueCrimeToday #BrendanBanfield #AuPairAffair #MurderTrial #ChristineBanfield #JosephRyan #FairfaxCounty #JulianaMagalhaes #Justice #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.
21 Tammi 18min
Zachary Beckner Testifies in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial"
Zachary Beckner, Fairfax Co. Police Officer, took the stand in the murder trial of Brendan Banfield, the former IRS agent charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan. Prosecutors allege Banfield and the family's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, lured Ryan to their Herndon home through a fetish website and staged the killings as a home invasion.The defense argues digital forensics contradict the catfishing theory and that investigators who disagreed were reassigned. Banfield faces life without parole if convicted. The four-week trial continues in Fairfax County.#TrueCrimeToday #BrendanBanfield #AuPairAffair #MurderTrial #ChristineBanfield #JosephRyan #FairfaxCounty #JulianaMagalhaes #Justice #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.
21 Tammi 1h 6min
McKee Indictment Alleges Suppressor In Monique & Spencer Tepe Murders — What Prosecutors Have And What They Still Need
The suppressor allegation changes everything in the McKee case. Prosecutors allege Dr. Michael McKee used a firearm equipped with a silencer to kill Monique and Spencer Tepe while their young children slept in another room. That's not impulsive violence. That's allegedly planning the murders down to making sure no one would hear the shots.The Franklin County grand jury handed down five counts: four counts of aggravated murder and one count of aggravated burglary. Under Ohio law, proving "prior calculation and design" is required for aggravated murder. The suppressor allegation gives prosecutors a powerful tool to establish premeditation.Defense attorney Bob Motta breaks down the indictment. Why four counts for two victims? What does the aggravated burglary charge tell us about entry when there's no forced entry documented? And how definitive is the NIBIN ballistics match that's 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. Those pre-arrest statements could be devastating at trial — but Motta explains what the defense would need to argue for suppression.McKee is 39 years old. A vascular surgeon. No criminal record. No malpractice. His neighbors called him friendly and normal. He's facing a minimum of life with parole after 32 years. Prosecutors have not filed capital specifications — they're not seeking the death penalty. Is that strategy, or does it signal weakness? Motta analyzes.#MichaelMcKee #MoniqueTepe #SpencerTepe #TepeMurders #TrueCrimeToday #BobMotta #Suppressor #AggravatedMurder #OhioIndictment #NIBINMatchJoin 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.
21 Tammi 15min
"Finger-Like" Blood Transfers on Joseph Ryan's Body: Forensic Expert Says Scene Was Staged | Banfield Trial Update
Prosecutors have rested their case in the Brendan Banfield double murder trial after presenting forensic testimony they hope will convince jurors the crime scene was deliberately staged. Blood stain pattern analyst Iris Dalley Graff walked the jury through graphic crime scene photographs, explaining that blood from Joseph Ryan's wounds flowed in multiple directions — evidence, she said, that his body was repositioned after death.Graff's most critical testimony centered on transfer stains found on Ryan's hands, pants, and arm. She described parallel "finger-like" patterns on his right leg and blood droplets on his forearm consistent with someone dripping blood from above. According to the prosecution, this corroborates au pair Juliana Peres Magalhães' account that Brendan Banfield intentionally placed his wife Christine's blood on Ryan to make it appear Ryan was the attacker.The defense isn't buying it. Attorney John Carroll objected repeatedly during Graff's testimony and later pointed to body camera footage showing Banfield with bloody hands pressed against his wife's neck when officers arrived. Carroll argued that's a man trying to save his wife — not stage a murder scene. He moved to dismiss all charges after the prosecution rested, but Judge Penney Azcarate denied the motion.Now the defense presents their case. Carroll has four to five witnesses ready. Can he convince at least one juror that the prosecution got it wrong?#BrendanBanfield #AuPairAffair #TrueCrimeToday #ChristineBanfield #JosephRyan Join 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.
21 Tammi 25min
117 Shots Inside Robb Elementary: Adrian Gonzales Trial 3D Animation Breakdown
Texas Rangers investigators spent a year building a second-by-second animated recreation of the Robb Elementary School shooting, and it was just shown to the jury in the Adrian Gonzales trial. The former Uvalde CISD police officer faces 29 counts of child endangerment for his response to the massacre that killed 19 children and two teachers. According to prosecutors, Gonzales was the first officer on scene — and the animation allegedly shows him standing by his patrol vehicle while 117 gunshots were fired inside the school.The timestamps presented in court are brutal. Gonzales reportedly arrives at 11:31. The shooter enters the school at 11:32:59. The massacre in Room 111 begins at 11:33:45. Gonzales allegedly doesn't enter the building until 11:35:48. That's three minutes and forty seconds that prosecutors say he failed to act while children were being killed.Defense attorney Nico LaHood isn't backing down. He's turned the cross-examination into an indictment of the entire law enforcement response, getting the state's own witness to admit that other officers had line-of-sight on the shooter and didn't engage. Officer Juan Saucedo had a rifle. He allegedly asked permission to shoot. He didn't fire.Meanwhile, the families are living through this nightmare again. Velma Duran was removed from court after an outburst about her sister, teacher Irma Garcia, who was killed. The emotion in that courtroom is overwhelming.Gonzales has pleaded not guilty and faces a maximum of two years if convicted. The jury will decide if failing to act is a crime.#TrueCrimeToday #AdrianGonzales #Uvalde #RobbElementary #TexasTrial #SchoolShootingTrial #PoliceAccountability #UvaldeStrong #TrueCrimeNews #CourtRoomJoin 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.
21 Tammi 26min
Prosecutors Say Aaron Spencer's "Understandable Rage" Didn't Give Him The Right To Kill Michael Fosler — Trial In One Week
Deputy Prosecutor John Huggins put it bluntly: Aaron Spencer's "understandable rage did not give him the legal right to kill Fosler." That's the prosecution's strategy — concede the moral argument, win the legal one. But can it work with an Arkansas jury?Michael Fosler was 67 years old, facing 43 felony charges for alleged crimes against Spencer's 13-year-old daughter. He posted bond. Got a no-contact order. Three months later, Spencer's daughter was missing from her bed at 1 AM — and Spencer found her in Fosler's truck heading toward Fosler's house. Spencer rammed the truck and fired 16 shots. Fifteen hit Fosler.Now Spencer is charged with second-degree murder. His trial starts in one week. Prosecutors just won a ruling to introduce body cam footage from three months before the shooting, where Spencer allegedly looked for Fosler's address and made implicit comments about taking the law into his own hands. They're arguing premeditation.Defense attorney Bob Motta breaks down the legal reality. Under Arkansas law, justification for defense of another person is an element the prosecution must disprove beyond a reasonable doubt. Given Fosler's pending charges, the alleged bond violation, and the fact that Spencer's daughter was physically in that truck — the defense doesn't need jury nullification. They have statute.And then there's the missing evidence. The dashcam footage from Fosler's truck never made it into the case. The SD card sat in a detective's office for over a year. The defense is arguing spoliation. That footage could have shown exactly what happened before Spencer pulled the trigger.#AaronSpencer #MichaelFosler #TrueCrimeToday #ArkansasMurder #BobMotta #DefenseOfOthers #Premeditation #MissingEvidence #JustificationDefense #MurderTrialJoin 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.
21 Tammi 23min
