True Crime Today | Daily True Crime News & Interviews

Nick Reiner pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances. The death penalty remains on the table. And his siblings are done. This Hidden Killers Week In Review breaks down the legal mechanics most headlines are missing—and examines what brought Jake and Romy Reiner to the point of walking away from their brother's defense.That not guilty plea wasn't a claim of innocence. It was a procedural placeholder. In California, pursuing an insanity defense requires entering a dual plea: not guilty AND not guilty by reason of insanity. The single plea keeps all options open while psychiatric evaluations continue.Door one: full insanity under the M'Naghten standard—a longshot given Nick was reportedly arguing with his father at a party hours before allegedly stabbing both parents to death. Door two: diminished actuality, using his documented schizoaffective disorder and a reported medication change to argue he couldn't form specific intent to premeditate. Door three: incompetence to stand trial, potentially pushing proceedings out months or years.Meanwhile, the family has fractured. Sources told TMZ: "Nick's defense is Nick's defense. They're not involved." The high-profile attorney Jake and Romy initially funded—Alan Jackson—withdrew in January. Nick now has a public defender. Reports indicate his siblings won't attend the trial. His only visitor in over two months has been his lawyer.After eighteen rehabs, a conservatorship, years of police visits—what does it cost to finally stop holding on? Tony Brueski examines what Peter Lanza, the Roof family, and Kerri Rawson can teach us about the moment when family members of killers finally step back.The question the legal system can't fully answer: what do we owe people who refuse to be helped, and what do we owe the people they destroy?Join 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/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis 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.#NickReiner #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #TrueCrimeToday #InsanityDefense #NotGuiltyPlea #JakeReiner #RomyReiner #Parricide #CaliforniaMurder

Eric Richins suspected something was wrong. His friends knew the marriage was in trouble. His sister hired a private investigator. He'd already met quietly with a divorce attorney. And he still ended up dead. This Hidden Killers Week In Review pulls back from the courtroom to examine what this case forces us to reckon with—and breaks down the document that may decide it.Defense attorney Bob Motta and former FBI behavioral analyst Robin Dreeke go at the bigger picture. What does a case like this tell us about how alleged domestic poisonings operate—and why they're almost invisible until they're already done? What separates a financial motive from just a circumstance, and how much weight should a jury actually give debt and insurance in a murder case? If Kouri Richins is acquitted, what does that verdict tell us about the evidentiary bar for this entire category of crime?Then Tony Brueski takes the Walk the Dog letter apart page by page. The six-page jailhouse document deserves more than headlines—it deserves explanation. What is each scheme designed to accomplish? How is the witness narrative for Ronney constructed? Why does the airport drug story function as a pre-built defense mechanism rather than a memory?The GMA coordination reads like stage directions. The Lotto section shows what's being suppressed. The Katie section reveals what's being requested—and how casually. And the Crest whitening strips request tells you more about state of mind than almost anything else in the letter.The question that cuts deepest: is the case the public has followed for three years the same case the jury is actually being asked to decide?Two experts. No easy answers.Kouri Richins has pleaded not guilty.Join 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/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis 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.#KouriRichins #EricRichins #TrueCrimeToday #WalkTheDogLetter #DomesticPoisoning #BobMotta #RobinDreeke #KouriRichinsTrial #JailhouseLetter #TrueCrime

Forty witnesses. Recorded jail calls. A boyfriend who broke down on the stand. Text messages that are going to be almost impossible to explain away. And a life story Kouri Richins wrote about herself in the third person at a wellness retreat a year before her husband died. This Hidden Killers Week In Review examines not just the legal arguments—but what the jury is actually absorbing.Defense attorney Bob Motta and former FBI behavioral analyst Robin Dreeke go deep on the psychology of this trial. What does a jury do with a self-written document where the defendant describes her marriage as emotionally exhausting and her childhood as unstable—and then the defense puts it in front of them voluntarily? When a witness says Kouri told her it would be "better if Eric were dead," then walks it back, then reaffirms it—does that wobble make the statement more memorable or less?The two texts that will define this case: "If he could just go away" and "If I die, Eric did it." How does any defense attorney argue context around those?The testimony laid out the wreckage prosecutors allege Kouri left behind. A lifelong best friend who lost her entire life savings. A boyfriend on the witness stand. A housekeeper allegedly linked to a fentanyl chain. A family that spent over $100,000 and nearly a thousand hours just to be taken seriously. A husband secretly consulting a divorce attorney—routing communications through his brother-in-law because he believed Kouri was reading his emails.And underneath: $7.5 million in debt, $80,000 in monthly payments, a net worth a forensic accountant described as "imploding."From the forged insurance signature to the Walk the Dog letter written from jail—this is the full accounting.Kouri Richins has pleaded not guilty.Join 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/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis 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.#KouriRichins #EricRichins #KouriRichinsTrial #TrueCrimeToday #BobMotta #RobinDreeke #ForensicAccountant #TextEvidence #UtahMurderTrial #TrueCrime

He was on Nancy Guthrie's porch. He survived the largest missing persons response in recent Arizona history. His image—masked, armed, backpack on—has been broadcast nationally. He knows there's a million-dollar reward. He's been living with whatever happened for over a month. He is not static. This Hidden Killers Week In Review examines what happens next—both to the suspect and to the investigation.Retired FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer explains what a perpetrator in this position looks like behaviorally at the 33-day mark. She covers what a million-dollar public reward does to someone who knows they're being hunted, how investigators use passive financial and communication monitoring to detect shifts, and what the FBI's documented pre-operational digital surveillance—address searches, salary research, a Tucson IP going back to June 2025—means for the forensics trail.In multi-perpetrator cases, loyalty that held the first week looks different at month two. Financial stress. Relationship fractures. Fear of being the one who takes the fall. Coffindaffer gives her honest answer to what actually breaks a case like this: not a lab hit. A human one.Multiple FBI experts have publicly called the suspect's behavior "amateurish." They didn't know about the doorbell camera. They grabbed weeds to cover it on the spot. Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott explains why the public is drawn to elaborate theories—cartels, coordinated crews—when the evidence suggests something simpler and grimmer.Pima County has explicitly said there's no indication Nancy was taken to Mexico. Multiple fake ransom notes have been sent—at least four to TMZ. One person already arrested. More than 31 days in with no arrest, no confirmed suspect, and resources scaling back.What does that timeline do to public perception—and to the family still waiting?Join 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/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis 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.#NancyGuthrie #NancyGuthrieSuspect #TrueCrimeToday #JenniferCoffindaffer #FBIInvestigation #ShavaunScott #TucsonKidnapping #33Days #MissingPersons #TrueCrime

The prosecution has put nearly forty witnesses on the stand. Two mistrial motions have already been filed. And the defense is about to make their move in one of the most-watched murder trials in the country. This Hidden Killers Week In Review brings together defense attorney Bob Motta, former FBI behavioral analyst Robin Dreeke, and host Tony Brueski to break down what the shape of this defense actually tells us.When a defense team starts filing mistrial motions mid-trial, is that legal maneuvering or a tell? Bob Motta goes straight at the questions other coverage won't touch. How do you attack a three-pillar circumstantial case—debt, fentanyl access, and a deteriorating marriage—without looking like you're dismissing each piece individually and hoping the jury doesn't connect the dots?Carmen Lauber came in meth-positive. Robert Crozier contradicted his own sworn affidavit. Both are immunity witnesses the prosecution is leaning on hard. Motta and Dreeke weigh in on exactly how much damage shaky immunity witnesses do to a case already built entirely on circumstantial evidence.Robin addresses the behavioral reality that makes this case so disturbing: Kouri allegedly asked for "the Michael Jackson drug" after the first attempt failed. What does it take for someone to fail and immediately seek something more lethal? She texted that she felt "relieved" after Eric died. Then wrote a children's book about grief. In Robin's FBI career, has he seen a behavioral move that audacious?And the question at the center: Eric suspected something. His friends knew. His sister hired a PI. He'd met with a divorce attorney. He told his family to look at Kouri if anything happened. How does someone walk through all those warnings—and still end up dead?Kouri Richins has pleaded not guilty.Join 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/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1PRE-ORDER Robin's NEW Book! - https://a.co/d/0iR9U8U0Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis 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.#KouriRichins #EricRichins #KouriRichinsTrial #TrueCrimeToday #BobMotta #RobinDreeke #DefenseStrategy #MistrialMotion #UtahMurderTrial #CircumstantialEvidence

The defense tried to put Eric Richins on trial. They suggested he had a history with drugs and that the fentanyl that killed him may have come from somewhere other than Kouri. Then the judge blocked their most specific drug evidence. Eric's closest friend and business partner looked a jury in the eye and said he never once saw Eric use drugs. So what's left of this theory? This Hidden Killers Week In Review brings in experts from both sides of the courtroom and the psychology behind it all.Defense attorney and former felony prosecutor Eric Faddis breaks it down. The judge's ruling that gutted their drug evidence. Whether "maybe it came from somewhere else" is enough to create reasonable doubt. The Valentine's Day phone call that directly undercuts the entire theory. The forensic marker in Eric's toxicology pointing to street-grade fentanyl—not a prescription. The open marriage angle the defense floated and the real legal purpose behind it.The uncomfortable question: does blaming the victim for his own death make a jury angrier at your client?Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott and retired FBI Behavioral Analysis Chief Robin Dreeke examine what Eric's family has carried. By multiple accounts, the moment they walked through the door the night he died, something felt wrong about Kouri. That instinct cost them years, six figures, and nearly a thousand hours of a private investigator's time before they were heard.What happens psychologically when a family sees a dangerous relationship forming and can't stop it? Why does the person inside so often choose their partner? What's it like to sit in a house with the person you suspect, with no evidence, on the worst night of your life?This conversation goes places most true crime coverage doesn't.Kouri Richins has pleaded not guilty.Join 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/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis 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.#KouriRichins #EricRichins #KouriRichinsTrial #TrueCrimeToday #EricFaddis #DefenseStrategy #JudgeRuling #RobinDreeke #ShavaunScott #FentanylMurder

Nancy Guthrie's pacemaker last synced at 2:28 AM the night she vanished. That's a hard data point in a case with very few of them—and it hasn't gotten nearly enough attention. This Hidden Killers Week In Review brings former FBI behavioral analyst Robin Dreeke and host Tony Brueski together to tackle the questions investigators aren't fully explaining.She's 84 years old, uses a walker, depends on medication to stay alive—and she's been gone for more than a month. The DNA sample at the scene is a mixture, meaning it may involve more than one person. Robin breaks down what that behavioral picture looks like when two people are carrying this secret together. The dynamics change. The exposure risk multiplies. And yet—silence.Does a million-dollar reward—payable in cash—actually move a case forward? Tony and Robin examine what reward escalations typically do to tip quality, and what the cash offer signals about where this investigation really stands.The internet outage in Nancy's neighborhood the night she vanished—coincidence or deliberate sabotage? What happens psychologically the moment a burglary becomes a kidnapping? Robin addresses what many consider the most haunting element: how does someone go home, sleep, and carry on with daily life after something like this?The tips have slowed. Public momentum has faded. Does that mean the community has given investigators everything it knows—or does someone out there have a piece of this puzzle and isn't talking? Robin breaks down the behavioral barriers that keep witnesses silent.Sheriff Nanos keeps declaring he "personally believes" Nancy is alive. Is that a strategic investigative statement—or something else? Tony and Robin don't hold back.After more than a month with no body, what does that mean?Join 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/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1PRE-ORDER Robin's NEW Book! - https://a.co/d/0iR9U8U0Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis 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.#NancyGuthrie #NancyGuthrieMissing #TrueCrimeToday #RobinDreeke #PacemakerEvidence #DNAMixture #TucsonKidnapping #FBIBehavioral #MissingPersons #TrueCrime

Two people in the same house, both pointing at each other. Before Eric Richins was found dead with five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in his system, he told his family: if I die, look at her. He was secretly meeting with a divorce attorney. Around the same time, Kouri Richins texted a close friend: "If I die, Eric did it." This Hidden Killers Week In Review breaks down the most critical week of testimony yet.The prosecution laid bare Kouri's finances in open court—and the numbers tell a story. Bounced checks. Hard money loans stacking up. A forensic accountant called her real estate business "imploding." By March 5, 2022—the day after Eric died—Kouri was $1.6 million in the red. Even liquidating everything wouldn't dig her out.The mansion timeline is what prosecutors want the jury to remember. Kouri committed to buying a $2.9 million property in December 2021 with no renovation money and high-interest debt coming due. She closed on it the day after Eric died. One week later, she listed it for sale.Former felony prosecutor Eric Faddis joins Tony Brueski and Robin Dreeke to examine both sides. The prosecution has financial motive, Eric's warning, the fentanyl supply chain testimony, the Valentine's Day poisoning allegation, and the boyfriend's texts. But the defense has ammunition too—an immunized witness with a drug problem, a supplier who changed his story, and a cause of death the medical examiner won't call homicide.Faddis explains how prosecutors turn financial desperation into murder motive, why the defense isn't even contesting Kouri's money problems, and whether betting the jury won't leap from "bad with money" to "killer" is brilliant strategy or catastrophic miscalculation.Join 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/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis 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.#KouriRichins #EricRichins #KouriRichinsTrial #TrueCrimeToday #UtahMurderTrial #FentanylMurder #EricFaddis #FinancialMotive #MurderTrial #TrueCrime

Twenty-five years of sworn defense. Testimony at the 2005 criminal trial. A memoir declaring innocence. Oprah appearances attacking other accusers. Now the Cascio family—all five siblings—has filed a federal lawsuit alleging Michael Jackson drugged, raped, and trafficked them starting when some were as young as seven. This Hidden Killers Week In Review breaks down the credibility collision that could reshape the Jackson legacy.The Jackson estate is calling it a $200 million extortion scheme. The Cascios already received a settlement reportedly worth over $3 million after "Leaving Neverland" aired—then allegedly came back demanding $213 million more. The estate's attorney Marty Singer points to emails where the Cascio legal team allegedly threatened to leak allegations right as Sony was finalizing a $600 million catalog deal.The Cascios say they were coerced into that 2019 settlement while still processing trauma. They claim watching Wade Robson and James Safechuck finally made them discuss their experiences and discover they had all been abused.Former felony prosecutor Eric Faddis joins Tony Brueski and Robin Dreeke to examine the legal landscape. How does 25 years of defense testimony affect credibility? What does it take to void a settlement you already collected on? Why does the estate want private arbitration so badly? What does the federal trafficking statute actually require?There's the fake tracks scandal—brother Eddie sold songs that the Jackson family says weren't Michael's voice. Sony removed them in 2022.And the attorney flip: Mark Geragos defended Jackson in 2003, called "Leaving Neverland" an "absolute travesty" in 2021, and now represents the Cascios arguing Jackson was guilty.Michael Jackson was acquitted in 2005 and denied all allegations. His estate continues to deny them.Join 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/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis 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.#MichaelJackson #CascioFamily #MichaelJacksonLawsuit #TrueCrimeToday #EricFaddis #MarkGeragos #JacksonEstate #LeavingNeverland #FrankCascio #SexTrafficking

The FBI has moved its command center from Tucson to Phoenix. The massive multi-agency task force has scaled down to a focused homicide and FBI unit. Sheriff Nanos says investigators are "definitely closer" and believes Nancy Guthrie is still alive. This Hidden Killers Week In Review breaks down what all of that actually means—and examines the collateral damage this investigation is leaving behind.Retired FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer—who told Newsweek this case is the polar opposite of cold—joins Tony Brueski and Robin Dreeke to explain the real difference between an investigation closing the walls on a suspect and one that's simply still moving. She walks through what a command center relocation signals, what investigative capabilities are lost when agents leave the local area, and how a small team triages dozens of open leads.Coffindaffer also weighs in on the United Cajun Navy standoff: 41 pages of operational planning, thermal drones, 25 trained canines, coordinated desert sweeps—and why the Sheriff hasn't approved them.Meanwhile, innocent people are paying the price for a case with no named suspect. One man was detained for hours after SWAT hit his home—released with his attorney saying he has "no link whatsoever" to the kidnapping. An elementary school teacher has been harassed by amateur sleuths. Even the Guthrie family had to be publicly cleared.Former prosecutor Eric Faddis explains what legal recourse exists when you've been dragged into a case you had nothing to do with. What does "cleared" mean legally? Can you sue social media accusers? Does speaking publicly help or hurt? If you've lost work because of false accusations, what recovery is possible?A month in. No arrest. No suspect. And lives already destroyed.Join 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/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis 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.#NancyGuthrie #NancyGuthrieKidnapping #FBIInvestigation #TrueCrimeToday #JenniferCoffindaffer #EricFaddis #PimaCounty #FalseAccusations #TucsonKidnapping #MissingPersons