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 Jan 23min
Monique Tepe & Michael McKee Investigation Plus Brendan Banfield Trial — FBI Analysis
Former FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer joins True Crime Today for comprehensive analysis of the week's biggest cases. First: the Michael McKee investigation. Police have a ballistics match linking a firearm from McKee's Chicago penthouse to shell casings at the Columbus crime scene where his ex-wife Monique Tepe and her husband Spencer were killed. Surveillance footage places his vehicle at the Tepe home before and after the murders. But investigators haven't explained how he allegedly got inside with no forced entry — or why a surgeon would keep the murder weapon for eleven days. Second: the psychology behind the alleged murders. Monique Tepe did everything right. She left after seven months of marriage. She didn't fight for the house or the rings. She moved home, rebuilt her life, married Spencer, had two children. She never spoke McKee's name again — only called him "her ex-husband." Her family says they suspected him from day one but stayed quiet to protect the investigation. Eight years wasn't enough distance. Coffindaffer explains why. Third: day three of the Brendan Banfield trial. McDonald's surveillance video shows Banfield receiving Juliana's call at 7:37 AM — the exact moment she says was the signal that Joseph Ryan had arrived. The murder knife was hidden under blankets. Christine's phone was in a drawer. But Banfield's DNA wasn't on the knife because police allowed him to wash his hands first. Coffindaffer breaks down what this evidence means for both sides and what the defense needs to do to recover from three days of testimony that hasn't gone their way.#MoniqueTepe #MichaelMcKee #TepeMurders #BrendanBanfield #ChristineBanfield #TrueCrimeToday #JenniferCoffindaffer #FBIAnalysis #DomesticViolence #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 Jan 58min
"Give Me the F---ing Login, Paul!" — The Phone Call That Allegedly Triggered a Quadruple Family Murder
Hours before Keith Caneiro and his entire family were killed, he made two phone calls to his brother Paul demanding answers about missing money. The jury heard those calls this week. Keith's voice is furious: "I need to know where that money went." And then: "Give me the f---ing login, Paul!" He gave Paul a deadline — two hours. Paul never responded. By morning, prosecutors say, Keith was dead on his front lawn with five gunshot wounds. His wife was dead inside, shot and stabbed. His two children — ages 8 and 11 — had been stabbed repeatedly and left to die of smoke inhalation as the house burned around them.The Paul Caneiro trial is now in its fourth day in Monmouth County, and the picture emerging is devastating. Prosecutors have presented evidence of a man allegedly living a fantasy — three Porsches, Tiffany's shopping sprees, an Audi for a mistress — while overdrafting his bank accounts and draining his brother's life insurance trust. Detective testimony revealed that bank statements Paul provided to the family accountant had been altered to hide the theft.Witnesses have described the scene at Paul's own house fire that morning: a gas can in the driveway, burn marks on his Porsche, the family sitting calmly in a car while firefighters worked. When police asked Paul where his security DVR was, testimony says he didn't answer — he looked to his daughter. That footage, showing Paul disconnecting his cameras at 1:28 AM, is now in evidence after the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled it admissible.Paul Caneiro maintains his innocence. His defense points to a third brother. But the evidence prosecutors are laying out tells a different story — of a man who allegedly couldn't admit failure, and killed everyone who knew the truth.#PaulCaneiro #CaneiroBrothersTrial #ColtsNeckMurders #NewJerseyTrial #CourtTV #TrueCrime #FamilyAnnihilator #MansionMurders #MonmouthCounty #TheCrimeTimesJoin 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 Jan 26min
Brendan Banfield Trial Day: Surveillance Video Corroborates Timeline — But DNA Evidence Has Problems
Day three of the Brendan Banfield murder trial shifted the focus from the au pair's testimony to the investigators who processed the scene — and what they presented may be the prosecution's strongest corroboration yet. McDonald's surveillance video shows Banfield in the parking lot on the morning of the murders. At 7:37 AM, he's seen exiting the bathroom with his phone to his ear — the precise moment phone records confirm Juliana Peres Magalhães called him. According to her testimony, that was the signal that Joseph Ryan had arrived. The timeline holds. Detectives revealed the murder knife was found hidden under blankets — not in Ryan's hand, not positioned to support the defense claim that Ryan attacked Christine. Christine's cell phone was tucked away in a kitchen drawer while she slept, allegedly hidden so she couldn't call for help when Ryan arrived. But the forensic testimony also raised questions for the prosecution. Brendan Banfield's DNA was not found on the knife. The explanation? Police allowed him to wash his hands before collecting samples. Former FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer joins True Crime Today to analyze how that kind of investigative gap happens, what the placement of the murder weapon tells us, and whether the blood evidence — Christine's blood on Brendan's jeans — can compensate. We also examine the premeditation evidence: the firearm purchased weeks before the murders, the gun range trips with Juliana, the alleged $30,000 spent on triple-pane windows to soundproof the house. The defense has attacked Juliana's credibility. But day three brought evidence that doesn't rely on her word. Does that undercut their strategy?#BrendanBanfield #ChristineBanfield #JosephRyan #BanfieldTrial #TrueCrimeToday #JenniferCoffindaffer #MurderTrial #ForensicEvidence #JulianaPeresMagalhaes #TrialUpdateJoin 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.
20 Jan 20min
Gary Benson Testifies in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial"
Gary Benson, Christine Banfield's Father, 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.
20 Jan 9min
Iris Dalley-Graff Testifies in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial"
Iris Dalley-Graff, Forensics Analyst, 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.
20 Jan 1h 21min
BREAKING: Nick Reiner Was Under Court-Ordered Conservatorship Before Parents' Murder—Here's Why It Ended
Major new developments in the Nick Reiner case. The New York Times has confirmed that Rob and Michele Reiner's son was placed under an LPS mental health conservatorship in 2020—California's most extreme intervention for severely mentally ill adults. A judge found him "gravely disabled." Licensed fiduciary Steven Baer was appointed to make treatment decisions on his behalf. Nick could be forced to take medication and placed in a locked psychiatric facility against his will.The conservatorship lasted one year. It ended in 2021. It was never renewed.On True Crime Today, we explain exactly what an LPS conservatorship allows, why families cannot initiate these proceedings on their own, and the legal provision that may have made renewal impossible: under California law, if someone is providing for a mentally ill person's basic needs, that person may not qualify as "gravely disabled."The Reiners were housing Nick. Feeding him. Caring for him. And that very act of love may have disqualified him from continued involuntary treatment.We also examine the reported medication change approximately one month before the December 14th killings. Sources say Nick's previous medication was working but caused weight gain. The new medication allegedly made him agitated, erratic, and triggered what one source called a "complete break from reality."Former defense attorney Alan Jackson said Nick is "not guilty of murder" under California law. This conservatorship history will be the foundation of that defense. Nick Reiner's arraignment is scheduled for February 23rd.#TrueCrimeToday #NickReiner #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #BreakingNews #Conservatorship #MentalHealthCrisis #CaliforniaLaw #TrueCrime #CriminalJusticeJoin 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.
20 Jan 24min
