Nick Reiner Case: Prosecutor vs. Defense Breakdown — How Both Sides Will Fight This
Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were stabbed to death in their Brentwood home on December 14th, 2025. Their 32-year-old son Nick has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances — charges that carry the death penalty in California. Defense attorney Alan Jackson says there are "very complex and serious issues" in this case. The DA's office is asking the public not to rush to judgment. So what's really going on here? In this interview, defense attorney and former prosecutor Eric Faddis breaks down both sides of this case — how prosecutors will try to secure a first-degree conviction and possibly the death penalty, and how the defense will fight back using Nick Reiner's documented history of severe addiction and mental health crises. We examine the special circumstances allegation, the knife enhancement, and the reported argument between Nick and his father at Conan O'Brien's Christmas party the night before the killings. The coroner still hasn't confirmed time of death — and that matters. Nick Reiner entered rehab at 15. By 22, he'd cycled through 17 treatment programs. He's spoken publicly about methamphetamine, heroin, homelessness, and psychotic episodes while using. His father Rob directed a film about his addiction called "Being Charlie" and once said: "I'd rather you hate me than be dead in the street." A family friend who saw Nick ten days before the murders described him as healthy and "on the upswing." So what happened? Can addiction and mental illness reduce first-degree murder charges? What does it mean that Nick wasn't medically cleared for his arraignment? And if the death penalty is on the table, what mitigating factors will the defense present? This is the complete legal breakdown from both perspectives — prosecution and defense — so you understand what's actually at stake and how this case will unfold. #NickReiner #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #ReinerMurder #TrueCrime #MurderTrial #DeathPenalty #CriminalDefense #LosAngeles #BreakingNews Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
19 Dec 40min
Nick Reiner's Defense Strategy REVEALED: What His Lawyer Isn't Saying Out Loud
Nick Reiner's defense attorney Alan Jackson told reporters there are "very complex and serious issues" in this case and urged the public not to rush to judgment. That's not a throwaway line — it's a signal. But a signal of what? In this interview, defense attorney and former prosecutor Eric Faddis breaks down the defense strategies most likely being developed right now behind closed doors. Nick Reiner has a documented, decades-long history of severe drug addiction. He entered rehab at 15. By 22, he'd been through 17 treatment programs. He's spoken publicly about methamphetamine, heroin, homelessness, and violent episodes while using — including destroying everything in his parents' guest house during a drug-fueled breakdown. His father Rob Reiner directed a semi-autobiographical film about Nick's addiction called "Being Charlie." In interviews promoting the film, Rob said he told his son: "I'd rather you hate me than be dead in the street." The family's struggle with Nick's addiction was painfully public for years. So how does the defense use that history without appearing to blame the victims? Can a documented pattern of addiction and mental health crises reduce first-degree murder to second-degree — or even manslaughter? What does it mean that Nick wasn't medically cleared to appear at his initial arraignment? We also examine what happens if prosecutors pursue the death penalty. What mitigating factors will the defense present? And how effective are addiction and mental illness arguments in California capital cases? This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Watch Part 1: The Prosecution's Case for the full picture. #NickReiner #RobReiner #ReinerCase #TrueCrime #CriminalDefense #MentalHealth #Addiction #CaliforniaLaw #MurderTrial #BreakingNews Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
19 Dec 23min
113 Pages of Bombshells: Breaking Down Richard Allen's Full Appeal
Richard Allen's appeal just dropped — and it's not a narrow legal technicality. It's 113 pages alleging the entire Delphi case was built on lies, omissions, and constitutional violations. The defense claims Detective Liggett's warrant affidavit changed witness descriptions to fit Allen. Betsy Blair described Bridge Guy as young, early twenties, with poofy brown hair — and rated her sketch 10 out of 10 for accuracy. Allen was 44 with short hair. The jury never saw that sketch. Sarah Carbaugh originally said the man wore a tan jacket and was muddy. Liggett wrote "blue jacket" and "muddy and bloody." Blair told investigators directly that she and Carbaugh saw different people. The ISP agreed publicly in 2019. Then Allen got arrested and the story changed. The confessions came after thirteen months of maximum-security solitary confinement — in violation of IDOC's own 30-day policy for mentally ill inmates. Allen lost 45 pounds, ate feces, drank toilet water, banged his head until he had black eyes, and was declared "gravely disabled." He confessed while psychotic — and got basic facts wrong. Said he shot the girls. They weren't shot. Said a van scared him off at a time that doesn't match when the van actually arrived. The state had security footage and FBI data proving their own witness's timeline was false. The jury never heard about the ritual killing investigation that law enforcement pursued for years. Never heard expert testimony on the Norse pagan symbolism at the scene. Never heard about Brad Holder and Patrick Westfall — suspects connected to Odinism whose interviews were lost or destroyed, whose alibis were never properly verified, and whose social media showed disturbing parallels to the crime scene. This episode breaks down every major claim in the appeal and what it means for this case. #DelphiMurders #RichardAllen #AbbyAndLibby #DelphiAppeal #TrueCrime #RichardAllenAppeal #DelphiCase #BridgeGuy #Delphi #JusticeForAbbyAndLibby Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
19 Dec 1h 8min
The Therapist Behind Ruby Franke: Inside Netflix's "Evil Influencer" Documentary
Netflix's new documentary "Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story" drops December 30th, and it finally shifts the focus to where it belongs — not on Ruby Franke, but on the woman Ruby herself blamed for leading her into what she called "a dark delusion." Jodi Hildebrandt wasn't just Ruby's business partner. She was a licensed mental health counselor with a documented history of ethical violations, a pattern of isolating clients from their families, and an ideology that former clients say destroyed marriages and lives for nearly two decades before she ever met Ruby Franke. In 2012, her license was put on probation for disclosing confidential patient information without consent. The LDS Church removed her from their referral list. And she just kept going — rebranding as a "life coach" and building ConneXions into an online empire targeting vulnerable people within the Mormon community. Former clients described the same playbook over and over: separate spouses, pathologize normal behavior as addiction, cut off anyone who questions her, position herself as the only source of truth. One therapist who trained under her said publicly, "I believe she is evil. I don't say that lightly." Then Ruby Franke entered the picture. And things escalated to levels that would shock even seasoned investigators — duct tape, rope, cayenne pepper in open wounds, children forced to believe they deserved the torture they were receiving. Both women pleaded guilty to aggravated child abuse. Both were sentenced to four to thirty years. But the only reason any of this came to light is because a twelve-year-old boy climbed out a window and asked a stranger for help. A child had to save himself because every system that should have protected him failed. That's the real story here. #JodiHildebrandt #RubyFranke #EvilInfluencer #Netflix #TrueCrime #8Passengers #Documentary #ConneXions #MomsOfTruth #ChildAbuse Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
19 Dec 22min
Did Charity Beallis Confess To Killing Husband’s Second Wife, Only To Become His Next DEAD Wife?
Years before Charity Beallis and her six-year-old twins were found shot to death in their Arkansas home, her own father told police she confessed to murder. According to a police report, Randy Powell said his daughter admitted she "is the one who shot Shawna" — Shawna Beallis, the previous wife of Dr. Randall Beallis. Charity allegedly told her father she was relieved detectives never fingerprinted a wine glass she'd been drinking from at the scene. That wine glass was documented. It was never tested. Shawna's death was ruled a suicide in 2012. The evidence was destroyed. And the woman who allegedly confessed went on to marry the widower. Now she's dead too — found December 3rd, 2025, alongside her children, one day after a court awarded her convicted abuser joint custody. In this episode, we break down the 2012 death scene, the alleged confession captured on body-cam in 2021, and why Fort Smith police reviewed the case and changed nothing. We examine Randall Beallis' own statements to investigators — including his request, hours after his wife's death, to call his lawyer about stopping divorce papers. We look at Charity's nine months of documented warnings, her pleas to prosecutors and lawmakers, and the custody ruling that came one day before she and her children were found dead. Two women connected to this man are now dead by gunshot. Thirteen years apart. A father's story keeps changing. The evidence is gone. And the only person who could have answered the questions that matter is silent forever. The investigation is ongoing. No suspect has been named. The questions don't stop. #CharityBeallis #RandallBeallis #ShawnaBeallis #ArkansasCrime #TrueCrime #DomesticViolence #ColdCase #SebastianCounty #FortSmith #JusticeForCharity Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
19 Dec 22min
Nick Reiner Murder Charges EXPLAINED: How Prosecutors Will Try to Get the Death Penalty
Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home on December 14th, 2025. Their son Nick Reiner has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances — charges that carry the possibility of the death penalty in California. In this interview, defense attorney and former prosecutor Eric Faddis breaks down exactly how the Los Angeles District Attorney's office will build their case against Nick Reiner. We examine the special circumstances allegation, the deadly weapon enhancement, and what prosecutors need to prove to secure a first-degree conviction. We also discuss the reported argument between Nick and his father at Conan O'Brien's Christmas party the night before the killings — and whether that incident helps or hurts the prosecution's timeline. The coroner still hasn't confirmed time of death, and that gap matters more than most people realize. DA Nathan Hochman made an unusual statement asking the public to rely only on official sources and wait for evidence to come out in court. Eric explains what that restraint signals about how this case is being handled at the highest levels — and why the death penalty decision will involve input from the surviving Reiner family members. Nick was arrested without incident near USC hours after the bodies were discovered and reportedly checked into a Santa Monica hotel that same night. Does that suggest consciousness of guilt? Or does it complicate the narrative prosecutors want to tell? This is the first of a two-part series examining both sides of this case. Subscribe and turn on notifications for Part 2: The Defense's Case. #NickReiner #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #ReinerMurder #TrueCrime #MurderCharges #DeathPenalty #LosAngeles #CriminalJustice #BreakingNews Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
19 Dec 17min
Psychotherapist Explains The Dark Minds Behind The Reiner Murders & the Mickey Stines Case
Rob and Michele Reiner spent nearly two decades trying to save their son. Seventeen rehab stays. Constant supervision. A guest house on their property so they could keep him close and try to manage the chaos. Every possible resource love, money, access, and opportunity could provide. And still, on December 15, 2025, they were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home. Their son, Nick Reiner, now faces charges in their killings. This is not a story about parents who missed the warning signs. It’s about parents who lived with those signs for eighteen years and had no legal way to act on them. In this in-depth conversation, psychotherapist Shavaun Scott examines what was likely unfolding inside the Reiner family long before that final night. She breaks down why Nick Reiner’s own words — that drugs were never about getting high but about “killing the noise” — point to deeper psychological distress that traditional rehab often fails to address. We explore what happens to parents psychologically when they’ve exhausted every option yet remain trapped in proximity to a volatile adult child, and why wealth and access offered no real protection. The discussion then widens to a second chilling case: the Mickey Stines tragedy in Kentucky, where a sheriff fatally shot a judge inside his own courthouse after weeks of visible psychological unraveling. Witnesses described paranoia, severe sleep deprivation, rapid weight loss, delusional beliefs, and an alarming phone call to a deceased relative on the day of the incident. Coworkers saw it. Friends saw it. Authorities saw it. And still, no intervention stopped what followed. Together, these cases expose a painful reality: in the United States, families and communities often recognize danger long before the law allows action. Competent adults cannot be forced into treatment. Intervention requires “imminent danger,” a threshold that frequently isn’t crossed until lives are already lost. This conversation isn’t about excusing violence or assigning blame. It’s about confronting the limits of love, the failures baked into mental-health and commitment laws, and the impossible position families are placed in when respecting autonomy means risking their own safety. If you’ve ever wondered how people can do everything right and still end up here, this episode offers uncomfortable — but necessary — answers. #ReinerMurders #NickReiner #MickeyStines #JudgeKevinMullins #TrueCrime #MentalHealthCrisis #SystemicFailure #CrimePsychology #FamilyViolence #ShavaunScott #HiddenKillers Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
19 Dec 55min
