Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary

Our week in review on the Nick Reiner case — the insanity defense mechanics, the family's impossible situation, and a mental health system that failed everyone.Nick Reiner faces two counts of first-degree murder for stabbing his parents Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner to death. The defense strategy has been clear from the start: mental health. Sources confirm Nick was diagnosed with schizophrenia years ago and his medication was changed weeks before the killings. A sealed medical order is already on file. An insanity plea appears inevitable.Defense attorney Bob Motta walked us through what that means under California's M'Naghten standard — one of the strictest tests in the country. The defense must prove Nick didn't understand his actions or didn't know they were wrong. The burden falls entirely on them, not prosecutors. Bob explained what evidence matters, how these cases are built, and where Nick goes if the defense succeeds.But we also confronted the harder truth. Nick's own podcast admissions reveal seventeen years of deliberate manipulation — gaming rehab programs, convincing his parents the experts were wrong, engineering the living arrangement that put him in their guesthouse instead of supervised care. Can calculated choices over nearly two decades coexist with legal insanity?Rob and Michele had two options. Let Nick go back to homelessness and addiction. Or keep him close and hope he didn't hurt them. Rob reportedly told friends the night before he died he was terrified his own son could harm him. California's Lanterman-Petris-Short Act made involuntary commitment nearly impossible. The system gave them no third choice. Millions of families face that same impossible decision right now.#NickReiner #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #BobMotta #InsanityDefense #MentalHealth #CaliforniaLaw #HiddenKillers #WeekInReview #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

Our week in review takes on the Sarah Grace Patrick case — a story where the prosecution's public evidence doesn't match the promises.Seventeen-year-old Sarah Grace Patrick goes to trial January 5th, charged with murdering her mother Kristin Brock and stepfather James Brock while they slept. Her five-year-old sister found the bodies. For five months after the killings, Sarah posted crying TikToks, reached out to true crime creators asking for coverage, gave an emotional eulogy, and told one influencer the story "would be a really big hit." Then Carroll County investigators arrested her, claiming mountains of evidence.Here's what's actually been released: social media posts, DMs to content creators, and a eulogy the sheriff's office called "odd." No confirmed murder weapon. No disclosed motive. The defense says they're still waiting on full discovery weeks before trial.Former FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer joined us to examine what the evidence — and lack of it — actually tells us. She also dug into the family history that matters: court records showing an eleven-year-old Sarah told police she felt unsafe in her mother's home, drug allegations in custody filings, and a stepfather on probation for meth offenses who once accused Kristin of trying to run him over — then married her anyway.Sarah's maternal grandfather believes she's innocent. The Brock family packed the courtroom demanding she stay locked up. The judge denied bond. And the prosecution's key witness? A six-year-old who may have to testify against her own sister. Trial begins January 5th, 2026.#SarahGracePatrick #KristinBrock #JamesBrock #CarrollCounty #FBI #JenniferCoffindaffer #MurderTrial #Georgia #HiddenKillers #WeekInReviewJoin 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

This week on Hidden Killers, we took a hard look at the Charity Beallis case — and what we found doesn't fit the narrative national media rushed to print.On December 3rd, 2025, Charity Beallis and her six-year-old twins Eliana and Maverick were found dead from gunshot wounds in their Bonanza, Arkansas home. One day earlier, she'd lost a custody battle to Dr. Randall Beallis — the husband she accused of strangling her. No arrest. No named suspect. Autopsy pending. Law enforcement says there's no ongoing threat to the public.The headlines drew a straight line: abusive doctor kills wife and children. But the documented record tells a far more complicated story — one where both adults had histories of alleged violence, and where the truth matters more than the easy answer.Dr. Randall Beallis pled guilty to third-degree domestic battery in October 2025 after allegedly choking Charity in front of the children. But Charity's history includes a 2013 arrest for allegedly pointing a firearm at a man, custody allegations from her own father claiming she was too dangerous to have custody of her firstborn, and according to a 2021 police report, her father allegedly told investigators she confessed to involvement in the 2012 death of Randall's previous wife Shawna — a death ruled suicide from a gunshot wound to the forehead.Former FBI special agent Robin Dreeke joined us to examine the behavioral patterns on both sides — the escalation, the indicators, and the questions that remain unanswered. This isn't about choosing sides. It's about understanding what the evidence actually shows. The only innocent people in this story are Eliana and Maverick. They were six years old. They didn't choose any of this.#CharityBeallis #RobinDreeke #FBI #BonanzaArkansas #RandallBeallis #TrueCrime #BehavioralAnalysis #ElianaAndMaverick #WeekInReview #HiddenKillersJoin 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

Nick Reiner is broke. Unemployed. Sitting in jail charged with double murder. His parents — Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner — left behind an estate worth $200 million. And under California law, there may be a way he could still get his hands on it.Wait, what?The slayer statute is supposed to prevent killers from inheriting from their victims. But it only applies to "felonious and intentional" killings. What happens if Nick is found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity? What if a jury decides he couldn't form intent? Does the statute still apply?Estate lawyers say this is largely untested territory. And it raises an uncomfortable question: Was the insanity defense always about more than just avoiding prison?In this episode, we examine the legal mechanics that could allow Nick Reiner to challenge for his inheritance even after being charged with his parents' murders. We break down why the family reportedly hired a $2,000-an-hour attorney — then stopped paying. And we explain what it means that Nick is now represented by a public defender who had 24 hours to prepare for this case.The Reiner fortune is sitting there. The question is whether Nick has any path to it. The answer might surprise you.#NickReiner #RobReiner #ReinerCase #SlayerStatute #TrueCrime #InsanityDefense #CaliforniaLaw #Parricide #MurderTrial #HKLiveJoin 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

Attorney and former prosecutor Eric Faddis breaks down two of the most chaotic murder cases in the country right now — and explains why both are falling apart before they even reach trial.Nick Reiner's high-profile defense attorney Alan Jackson just walked off the case after three weeks, citing circumstances "beyond Nick's control." But before he left, he made a stunning statement to reporters: "Pursuant to the laws of California, Nick Reiner is NOT guilty of murder. Print that." Sources say the issue was money. Now public defender Kimberly Greene has inherited a capital murder case with virtually no preparation time. Eric explains what happens to all of Jackson's investigative work, why the insanity defense is one of the hardest to win in America, and whether Nick Reiner has any realistic path to avoiding conviction under California's M'Naghten standard.Then we turn to Kentucky, where former sheriff Mickey Stines is accused of murdering a judge in his own chambers — on video. The defense is building an insanity case, but now they've discovered footage of the presiding judge, Christopher Cohron, sitting next to the murder victim at a mental health conference just seven days before the killing. Cohron never disclosed it. He's also blocked the defense from accessing a sealed psychiatric evaluation. Eric breaks down the recusal motion, the venue fight, and whether this case can even be tried fairly in Kentucky.Two defendants. Two insanity defenses. Two judges under fire. Eric Faddis walks us through what's really happening behind the courtroom doors.#NickReiner #MickeyStines #AlanJackson #InsanityDefense #TrueCrime #MurderCase #EricFaddis #CaliforniaLaw #KentuckyLaw #JudgeRecusalJoin 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