Inside Donna Adelson’s Mind: How She Justified the Murder Of Dan Markel

Nick Reiner used heroin. He used meth. He used cocaine. He went to rehab eighteen times starting at age fifteen. Every intervention focused on the drugs.But according to reports, Nick had schizophrenia — a serious psychotic disorder that went undiagnosed for years while he was being treated for addiction.What if the drugs were never the real problem?Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott joins True Crime Today to examine the relationship between schizophrenia and substance abuse. She explains a concept called self-medication — the idea that people with untreated mental illness sometimes use drugs to manage symptoms they don't understand. The heroin quiets the voices. The meth provides energy when depression makes it impossible to move. The substances aren't the disease. They're the patient's attempt at a cure.Shavaun breaks down how psychotic disorders get missed in teenagers who are using drugs, why the treatment industry often focuses on the visible problem while missing what's underneath, and what happens when you put someone with schizophrenia through traditional addiction treatment.We also examine what happened in the weeks before the killings. Nick's medication was reportedly changed. Sources say he became "erratic and dangerous." Shavaun explains what psychiatric destabilization actually looks like, the risks of medication adjustments, and why this period should have been managed with extreme caution.The Reiners paid for the best treatment money could buy. It may have been treating the wrong disease entirely.#NickReiner #Schizophrenia #ShavaunScott #TrueCrimeToday #MentalHealth #DualDiagnosis #RobReiner #Addiction #SelfMedication #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

8 Tammi 18min

Judge Sid Harle denied the defense's motion for a mistrial Wednesday in the trial of former Uvalde school officer Adrian Gonzales. But he didn't let the prosecution off easy — calling their failure to disclose key witness information "negligent."The issue centers on teacher Stephanie Hale, who testified Tuesday that she saw the gunman on the south side of Robb Elementary — the same location where Gonzales was positioned. The defense says they were never told this information and accused prosecutors of a Brady violation. The Uvalde County DA was sworn in Tuesday and testified she was "in and out" of witness prep interviews.Judge Harle ruled the failure wasn't intentional and didn't significantly affect the defense's strategy. But Hale will face more cross-examination Thursday, after which the judge will decide whether to strike her testimony entirely.Families expressed frustration outside the courthouse. Manuel Rizo, uncle of victim Jackie Cazares, called the prosecution "incompetent." Trial continues Thursday in Corpus Christi.#TrueCrimeToday #AdrianGonzales #UvaldeTrial #Mistrial #RobbElementary #Uvalde #TexasTrial #Justice #SchoolShooting #BreakingJoin 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

8 Tammi 20min

The Brendan Banfield murder case has all the elements of a true crime nightmare — an alleged affair, a sex fetish website, a double homicide, and an au pair who flipped on her former lover. But the defense is pointing to something prosecutors would rather you ignore: the investigators who said the evidence didn't support the theory were removed from the case.Banfield, a former IRS special agent, faces four counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan at their Herndon, Virginia home in February 2023. Prosecutors allege Banfield and au pair Juliana Peres Magalhaes created a fake FetLife profile pretending to be Christine, lured Ryan to the home for a staged sexual encounter, then killed them both.But Fairfax County's own digital forensics expert, Officer Brendan Miller, analyzed 60 devices and concluded Christine appeared to be the one running the account. His report stated there was "no indication that Christine lost control of her devices" and that she was communicating with multiple people on the site. The University of Alabama peer-reviewed his findings and confirmed them.Miller was transferred out of digital forensics. The lead homicide detective who reportedly disagreed with command staff was moved off the case too. Defense attorney John Carroll called the prosecution's case "a theory in search of facts."Now everything rides on Juliana Peres Magalhaes, who changed her story after a year facing murder charges and took a plea deal for time served. In a jailhouse letter, she wrote she was "heartbroken" to be doing this to Brendan but wanted to go home to Brazil.Today we examine the defense perspective — and ask whether this investigation followed the evidence or forced the evidence to follow a theory.#TrueCrimeToday #BrendanBanfield #AuPairMurder #ChristineBanfield #HerndonVirginia #MurderTrial #JulianaMagalhaes #FetLifeMurder #TrueCrimeNews #ColdCaseJoin 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

8 Tammi 23min

We're going live with psychotherapist Shavaun Scott to break down the family dynamics at the center of the Nick Reiner case.This isn't about the crime itself. This is about the seventeen years that led up to it. The family system that couldn't say no. The parents who gave everything and got nothing back. The siblings who watched from the sidelines. The pattern that sources say is continuing even now — with estate money reportedly funding Nick's defense.Rob and Michele Reiner did everything for their son Nick. Eighteen rehab programs. Ten thousand dollars a month in allowance. A guest house on their property. A movie made together about his struggles. They absorbed his chaos, paid his bills, cleaned up his messes, and kept him close even when sources say they were afraid of him.Shavaun Scott will help us understand what was happening inside this family from a clinical perspective. Why couldn't they set boundaries? What kept them locked in a pattern of enabling that wasn't working? What happens to the other children when all the family's resources flow toward one sibling's problems? And what's driving the surviving siblings' decision to fund Nick's defense — is it love, guilt, or the same pattern that killed their parents?Join us live. Bring your questions. This is going to be a difficult conversation about what happens when love becomes the problem.#NickReiner #RobReiner #ShavaunScott #LiveStream #HiddenKillers #Codependency #FamilyDynamics #TrueCrime #Enabling #PsychologyJoin 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

8 Tammi 22min

This is the fifth alleged patricide case in Southern California in recent weeks. Five sons accused of killing their fathers — or both parents — in a matter of months. The Reiners. The Cordes family. Jubilant Sykes' son. Juan Gonzalez in Perris. Joshua Bonilla in Lake Balboa.Something is happening. And the Reiner case exposes exactly why the system keeps failing.Nick Reiner didn't snap out of nowhere. Police had been to his parents' Brentwood home multiple times over the years. A neighbor described prior violent behavior. He'd cycled through seventeen rehab programs by age 22 — and admitted on podcasts to gaming every one of them. The night before the killings, his own father reportedly told friends he was "petrified" of him.Rob and Michele Reiner saw it coming. So did the people around them. But California's mental health laws made intervention nearly impossible. You can't commit an adult unless they're an imminent threat. A 72-hour hold ends with the patient walking out the door. Families are left to manage severe mental illness in their own homes — untrained, unsupported, and terrified.Defense attorney Bob Motta joins True Crime Today to examine the pattern before the crime. What does law enforcement typically see in the years leading up to a family tragedy? When police respond to a home repeatedly, what options do they actually have? And for the millions of families living this nightmare right now — what can be done before it's too late?The warning signs were everywhere. The system still couldn't stop it.#NickReiner #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #TrueCrimeToday #Patricide #MentalHealthCrisis #WarningSigns #California #SystemFailure #TrueCrime2025Join 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

8 Tammi 58min

Jury selection began today in one of the most consequential police accountability trials in American history. Former Uvalde school police officer Adrian Gonzales is facing 29 felony counts of child endangerment for his response to the Robb Elementary School shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers on May 24, 2022.What makes this case unprecedented: Gonzales was the first law enforcement officer to arrive at Robb Elementary — before the shooter even entered the building. A coach on scene told investigators she pointed toward the gunman and begged Gonzales to stop him. According to CNN's timeline, he had 59 seconds before the shooter walked into the school. He had been through multiple active shooter trainings and had even taught a course titled "Stop the Killing: Solo Response" just two months earlier.According to his own statements to investigators, he never saw the shooter, never fired, and after briefly entering the hallway, stepped outside and "never went back." For 77 minutes, 376 officers from multiple agencies waited while a gunman remained in the classroom. Inside, 10-year-old Khloie Torres called 911 for 46 minutes begging for help.This is the first time a Texas officer has been prosecuted under this child endangerment statute for alleged inaction during a school shooting. The only comparable case — Parkland resource officer Scot Peterson — ended in acquittal in 2023.Gonzales has pleaded not guilty. His defense says he helped evacuate children. The families say he's a coward. Today, a jury begins deciding whether failure to act is a crime.#UvaldeTrial #AdrianGonzales #RobbElementary #TrueCrimeToday #BreakingNews #Uvalde #SchoolShooting #TexasTrial #Justice #PoliceTrialJoin 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

7 Tammi 24min

This is the fifth alleged patricide case in Southern California in recent weeks. Five sons accused of killing their fathers — or both parents — in a matter of months. The Reiners. The Cordes family. Jubilant Sykes' son. Juan Gonzalez in Perris. Joshua Bonilla in Lake Balboa.Something is happening. And the Reiner case exposes exactly why the system keeps failing.Nick Reiner didn't snap out of nowhere. Police had been to his parents' Brentwood home multiple times over the years. A neighbor said he'd been violent before. He'd cycled through seventeen rehab programs by age 22 — and admitted on podcasts to gaming every one of them. The night before the killings, his own father reportedly told friends he was "petrified" of him.Rob and Michele Reiner saw it coming. So did the people around them. But California's mental health laws made intervention nearly impossible. You can't commit an adult unless they're an imminent threat. A 72-hour hold ends with the patient walking out the door. Families are left to manage severe mental illness in their own homes — untrained, unsupported, and terrified.Bob Motta joins True Crime Today to examine the pattern before the crime. What does law enforcement typically see in the years leading up to a family tragedy? When police respond to a home repeatedly, what options do they have? And for the millions of families living this nightmare right now — what can actually be done before it's too late?The warning signs were everywhere. The system still couldn't stop it.#NickReiner #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #TrueCrimeToday #Patricide #MentalHealthCrisis #WarningSigns #California #SystemFailure #TrueCrime2025Join 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

7 Tammi 13min

Three years of silence. Now the truth.Mel Kohberger, sister of convicted Idaho student killer Bryan Kohberger, has given her first interview since her brother's arrest — and what she reveals challenges everything the tabloids have told you about this family.She warned Bryan about the "psycho killer" loose near his apartment. He thanked her and said he'd be careful. Weeks later, FBI agents were smashing through their parents' front door at 4 a.m. to arrest him for being that killer.In this episode, we break down the explosive New York Times interview that dropped January 3rd, 2026. Mel describes a close-knit Catholic family that gathered for stargazing and late-night picnics. A brother who was bullied, struggled with autism, and nearly died from heroin addiction before getting clean and pursuing a PhD. A Christmas gathering where Bryan bandaged her cut finger — disgusted by the sight of blood — days before allegedly stabbing four people to death.She also sets the record straight on the "creepy drawing" tabloids claimed Bryan clutched during sentencing. It wasn't dark. It wasn't sinister. It was a colorful heart she made for him — photocopied and faded — so he'd know someone still loved him.The victims' families deserve justice. But this story has more than one dimension. Today we examine the collateral damage of America's most infamous murder case.#BryanKohberger #KohbergerBreaking #IdahoMurders #KohbergerSister #TrueCrimeToday #IdahoFour #MoscowIdaho #KayleeGoncalves #MadisonMogen #TrueCrimeNewsJoin 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

7 Tammi 19min