Brendan Miller Testifies in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial"
Brendan Miller, Detective 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.
22 Tammi 40min
Harry Lidsky Testifies in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial"
Harry Lidsky, Digital Forensics Investigator, 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.
22 Tammi 26min
FBI Profiler Framework Explains Michael McKee's Alleged 8-Year Fixation on Ex-Wife
What turns a failed seven-month marriage into an alleged eight-year obsession ending in double homicide?Michael McKee, a 39-year-old vascular surgeon, is charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the shooting deaths of his ex-wife Monique Tepe and her husband Spencer in Columbus, Ohio. Family members say Monique lived with McKee for only seven months before escaping what they describe as emotional abuse and repeated death threats. She divorced him in 2017, remarried in 2020, and built a new life with two children.Prosecutors allege McKee drove six hours from Illinois, entered the Tepe home without forced entry, shot both victims at 3:52 AM, and drove back. Police recovered multiple weapons from his Chicago penthouse, including one preliminarily linked to shell casings at the scene. The indictment includes a firearm suppressor specification.In this deep dive, we apply former FBI profiler Joe Navarro's "wound collector" framework and criminal behavioral analyst Laura Richards' "stalking in slow motion" concept to understand the psychology allegedly at work. We examine why victims often don't report, why the quiet ex is often the most dangerous, and what this case teaches about recognizing warning signs.Education saves lives. This episode is proof of why that matters.#MichaelMcKee #MoniqueTepe #SpencerTepe #TepeMurders #TrueCrimeToday #WoundCollector #FBIProfiler #DomesticViolence #CoerciveControl #ColumbusJoin 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.
22 Tammi 34min
Kohberger's 13 Complaints at WSU: FBI Expert Explains Why Universities Fail to Stop Predators
Bryan Kohberger wasn't invisible. He wasn't quiet. According to a new lawsuit filed by the families of his four victims, Washington State University received at least 13 formal complaints about his threatening, stalking, and predatory behavior in a single semester—and allegedly failed to act in any meaningful way. Today on True Crime Today, former FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke breaks down what these warning signs mean from a professional threat assessment perspective. Robin served 21 years with the Bureau, including as Chief of the FBI's Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program, and he specializes in understanding the behavioral patterns that precede violence. The lawsuit describes WSU faculty and staff creating informal warning systems because they felt the institution wouldn't protect them. A professor allegedly predicted Kohberger would sexually abuse students if given a PhD. Women reportedly needed security escorts to their cars. Students fled classrooms. And according to the families' complaint, WSU chose not to remove Kohberger—allegedly because doing so might expose the university to a lawsuit. Robin explains why institutions make that calculation, what 13 complaints in one semester should trigger operationally, and how threat assessment programs are supposed to function when warning signs stack up this high. The families are calling these murders "foreseeable and preventable." Robin weighs in on whether they're right—and what needs to change so this doesn't happen again.#TrueCrimeToday #BryanKohberger #WSULawsuit #KayleeGoncalves #MadisonMogen #XanaKernodle #EthanChapin #RobinDreeke #ThreatAssessment #UniversitySafetyJoin 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.
22 Tammi 20min
McKee Defense Strategy: No Forced Entry, No Motive, No Documented Conflict — Can Prosecutors Overcome The Gaps?
If you're defending Michael McKee, you don't need to prove he didn't do it. You need to create reasonable doubt. And this case has gaps.How did McKee allegedly enter the Tepe home with no forced entry? Prosecutors haven't said. The aggravated burglary charge suggests they have a theory, but it hasn't been disclosed publicly. That's an opening for the defense.There's no motive on the record. McKee and Monique divorced years ago. Police confirmed there were no prior reports from the Tepe address about McKee — no restraining orders, no 911 calls, no documented conflict. The state hasn't explained why a 39-year-old surgeon with no criminal record would allegedly do this now.Defense attorney Bob Motta breaks down the defense's options. McKee is intelligent, educated, trained in precision. If he allegedly planned a premeditated murder complete with a suppressor, why would he keep the murder weapon in his own apartment? The prosecution's theory and McKee's professional profile don't easily fit together.McKee "disappeared" in the months before the murders. Process servers couldn't find him. A colleague said he just vanished. Prosecutors will likely call that consciousness of guilt. The defense might call it a man between jobs with no fixed address.Both victims were shot multiple times. Does that help the defense argue this looks more like rage than calculation — even with the suppressor allegation? Motta analyzes the strategies available and gives his prediction: conviction, acquittal, or hung jury.#MichaelMcKee #MoniqueTepe #SpencerTepe #TepeMurders #TrueCrimeToday #BobMotta #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.
21 Tammi 18min
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
