The Perfect Neighbor Breakdown: Entitlement, Ego & a Fatal Shot

A 6-year-old brought a gun to class. His teacher, Abby Zwerner, ended the day in a hospital — shot through the chest and hand in front of her first graders. But what’s unfolding now inside a Virginia courtroom is almost more shocking than the shooting itself. This isn’t just a story about a child with a gun — it’s a story about four separate warnings ignored by school officials who had every chance to stop it. Teachers and staff begged Assistant Principal Ebony Parker to act. They told her the boy might be armed. They saw him put something heavy in his backpack. One even asked to search it. Parker allegedly refused — saying his “pockets were too small.” Hours later, a gun went off. Now, as the $40 million negligence trial plays out, jurors are watching the district try to explain the unexplainable. The plaintiff’s team presented bodycam footage showing the chaotic aftermath — but only outside the jury’s view — while the defense fights to keep that footage out, calling it “too prejudicial.” Tony Brueski pulls back the curtain on the trial that could redefine school accountability across America. What happens when administrators put reputation over responsibility? When “policy” replaces basic human instinct? When a teacher bleeds out because a school was too afraid to act? Zwerner’s lawyers say this wasn’t a freak tragedy — it was institutional failure in slow motion. And for the first time, the people who ignored the warnings are on the stand. This is the trial the entire education system should be watching — because it’s not just about one teacher in Virginia. It’s about every school that hears the alarm and chooses silence. #HiddenKillers #AbbyZwerner #SchoolShooting #Trial #Virginia #RichneckElementary #Negligence #EducationSystem #JusticeForTeachers #TrueCrimePodcast 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

31 Okt 20min

Bryan Kohberger can’t leave his cell — but his story can. In the state of Idaho, there’s no Son of Sam law, meaning that a convicted murderer can legally make money from the story of his crimes. Books. Documentaries. Interviews. Royalties. In this episode, Tony Brueski and former prosecutor Eric Faddis expose how one of the most horrifying modern murder cases has collided with one of America’s oldest constitutional blind spots: the First Amendment’s protection of speech — even when that speech turns into profit from murder. Tony opens with the question every viewer needs to hear: How can a convicted killer make money from killing? The answer lies in a 1991 Supreme Court ruling, Simon & Schuster v. Crime Victims Board, which struck down New York’s original Son of Sam law after the “Son of Sam” killer, David Berkowitz, tried to sell his story. The Court ruled that laws restricting “crime-based storytelling” discriminated against speech by content. States rewrote their laws to pass constitutional review — some succeeded, others failed — but Idaho never passed anything. The result: a legal vacuum where infamy becomes an industry. This episode breaks down the moral, legal, and economic consequences of that loophole. What does it mean for victims’ families when killers can cash checks? Could Kohberger assign rights to a third party to hide profits? And why are lawmakers too afraid to fix it? Tony and Eric dissect how “freedom” became a shield for greed, how fear of being called unconstitutional paralyzed reform, and why the justice system now doubles as a business model. Justice shouldn’t have a payout plan. This episode asks why America keeps writing one. #BryanKohberger #SonOfSam #TrueCrime #JusticeSystem #CrimePodcast #VictimsRights #TonyBrueski #EricFaddis #KohbergerTrial #FreeSpeech #MurderProfit #TrueCrimeAnalysis 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

31 Okt 33min

A Florida appeals court has overturned the $213.5 million verdict once awarded to Maya Kowalski and her family — the same case that inspired the Netflix documentary Take Care of Maya. In 2016, Maya Kowalski, then just ten years old, was admitted to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital for complications related to Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), a rare and debilitating pain condition. Her mother, Beata Kowalski, a registered nurse, had been pursuing aggressive ketamine treatments to relieve her daughter’s suffering. But when hospital staff grew suspicious of the treatment plan and Beata’s behavior, they reported suspected child abuse to Florida’s Department of Children and Families. Under state law, they had no choice. That single report changed everything. Maya was placed under state custody, separated from her mother for months. Beata, cut off from her daughter and accused of being an abuser, took her own life. Years later, a jury sided with the Kowalski family, holding the hospital liable for false imprisonment, emotional distress, and wrongful death, awarding them over $250 million — later reduced to $213.5 million. Now, the Second District Court of Appeal has reversed that decision, citing Florida’s mandatory reporter immunity laws under Chapter 39. The court ruled that Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital acted as an agent of the state after reporting the suspected abuse and was therefore protected from liability for many of the claims. The ruling effectively vacates the entire verdict and limits any future retrial to a narrow scope: battery, medical negligence, and emotional distress claims related to Maya alone. Supporters of the decision say it reinforces the importance of protecting mandatory reporters from retaliation. Critics argue it shields institutions from accountability and erases justice for a grieving family. In this episode of Hidden Killers with Tony Brueski, we explore the facts, the law, and the human cost of this reversal. Did the system protect Maya — or fail her? #TakeCareOfMaya #MayaKowalski #JohnsHopkinsAllChildrensHospital #HiddenKillers #TrueCrimePodcast #CourtTV #FloridaLaw #MedicalNegligence #ChildAbuseReporting #JusticeSystem 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

31 Okt 27min

Two stories. One broken system. In Idaho, Bryan Kohberger could legally make money off his own murders. In Virginia, a first-grade teacher named Abby Zwerner was shot after four separate warnings were ignored. Both stories show how America’s justice system has traded accountability for excuses — and how law, morality, and bureaucracy keep collapsing under their own contradictions. Tony Brueski and former prosecutor Eric Faddis connect these cases in one of their most morally charged episodes yet. The first half, When Infamy Becomes an Industry, explores how constitutional loopholes turned the First Amendment into a profit shield for convicted killers. The Supreme Court’s Simon & Schuster decision gutted Son of Sam laws nationwide — and states like Idaho never replaced them. Tony and Eric unpack how “free speech” became a business plan for murderers and why politicians are too afraid to fix a law that lets killers cash checks while victims’ families get nothing. The second half, The Price of Ignorance, turns the spotlight on institutional cowardice. In Newport News, Virginia, teacher Abby Zwerner was nearly killed after school officials ignored every warning about an armed six-year-old. Tony and Eric examine how fear of optics, legal liability, and self-preservation led to tragedy — and what that means for every teacher still walking into a classroom unprotected. Together, these stories reveal a single truth: justice in America doesn’t end at the verdict — it just changes platforms. Whether it’s a killer monetizing murder or a school hiding behind procedure, the result is the same. Profit over pain. Policy over people. #BryanKohberger #AbbyZwerner #TrueCrime #JusticeSystem #SonOfSam #SchoolShooting #TonyBrueski #EricFaddis #VictimsRights #CrimePodcast #LegalAnalysis #WhenJusticeFails #FreeSpeech #Accountability 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

31 Okt 52min

In this Hidden Killers deep dive, Tony Brueski examines what really happens to a mind like Bryan Kohberger’s when the walls close in and the audience disappears. After being sentenced to life in prison for the murders of four University of Idaho students, Kohberger now faces the one force he can’t manipulate: time. For nearly three years he’s lived under lockdown—no stage, no admirers, no power. What does that do to a brain built on control, superiority, and a complete lack of empathy? Using insights from decades of psychological research on psychopathy, narcissistic collapse, and long-term solitary confinement, this episode unpacks the internal decay of high-control offenders once their delusions of dominance meet the reality of prison life. From the first days of agitation and rage to the later stages of emotional flatlining and obsessive routine, Tony explores how predators like Kohberger adapt—or fail to adapt—when stripped of power. What happens when a narcissist can no longer perform for an audience? When his intellect stops being an asset and starts becoming his tormentor? This episode digs deep into the science and the psychology of isolation, boredom, and self-destruction—where every day becomes a mirror, and the only reflection staring back is guilt he’ll never acknowledge. There are no redemption arcs here. No grand awakenings. Just a slow-motion unraveling inside a concrete box—a living case study in how control-obsessed minds corrode under the weight of silence. Tony Brueski pulls no punches in this brutally honest look at the narcissistic decay of Bryan Kohberger, the illusion of control that built his ego, and the quiet, endless punishment that awaits him behind bars. 👉 Subscribe for more true crime analysis, forensic psychology breakdowns, and exclusive expert interviews on Hidden Killers with Tony Brueski. #BryanKohberger #HiddenKillers #TrueCrimePodcast #Psychopathy #Narcissism #IdahoMurders #BryanKohbergerTrial #PrisonPsychology #BryanKohbergerPrison #ForensicPsychology #TrueCrimeAnalysis 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

30 Okt 13min

Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott joins Tony Brueski, Stacy Cole, and Todd Michaels to unpack the warped psychology behind The Perfect Neighbor case — where “fear” became justification for a killing. For two years, Susan Lorincz saw danger in ordinary life: neighborhood kids, laughter, noise. That chronic hyper-vigilance — mixed with grievance and entitlement — built a narrative that only she believed. Scott explores how paranoia and cognitive distortion feed on isolation, turning imagined threat into moral crusade. From micro-aggressions to the myth of the “good citizen,” this interview asks what happens when anxiety weaponizes itself and empathy disappears. Scott also offers trauma-informed insights for the secondary victims — Ajike Owens’ children — and explains how communities can recognize early warning signs before another tragedy repeats. #ThePerfectNeighbor #ShavaunScott #AjikeOwens #HiddenKillersPodcast #TonyBrueski #TrueCrimeAnalysis #FearVsReality #TraumaPsychology #BehavioralHealth #StandYourGround 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

30 Okt 25min

Before Charlie’s smirk, before Donna’s letters, before the Adelson name became synonymous with murder — there were the first flips. In this haunting episode of Hidden Killers with Tony Brueski, we go back to where it all began: the deals, the confessions, and the whispers that cracked open the Daniel Markel murder-for-hire case. This is the untold story of how Luis Rivera — a gang member with nothing left to lose — traded silence for survival, and how Katherine Magbanua — caught between love, money, and manipulation — became the bridge that connected killers to the Adelson family. It’s a chilling portrait of greed, control, and the illusion of safety that defined the Adelsons long before the world saw their faces in court. This is how justice began — not with headlines, but with the first domino that dared to fall. #HiddenKillers #AdelsonFamily #DanMarkel #TrueCrimePodcast #KatherineMagbanua #LuisRivera #DonnaAdelson #CharlieAdelson #MurderForHire #FloridaCrime 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

30 Okt 16min