True Crime Today | Daily True Crime News & Interviews

Columbus police finally spoke. Sixteen days after Spencer and Monique Tepe were found shot dead, Chief Elaine Bryant confirmed investigators have a preliminary ballistic link between firearms recovered from Dr. Michael McKee's property and the murder scene. The connection came through NIBIN—the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network—which matches bullets and casings to weapons across federal databases.

Attorney Eric Faddis explains what "preliminary" means in this context and how significant ballistics evidence becomes when combined with surveillance footage and vehicle records already tying McKee to the scene. Police have labeled this a targeted domestic violence attack. The charges were upgraded from murder to premeditated aggravated murder—death penalty eligible in Ohio. Eric breaks down the legal threshold for proving "prior calculation and design."

The family's voice emerged today too. Rob Misleh, Spencer's brother-in-law, appeared on Good Morning America and described the abuse Monique endured during her marriage to McKee. "She just had to get away from him." He said the family spent eight years aware of the torment—watching Monique rebuild her life with Spencer while always looking over their shoulders.

McKee allegedly drove from Illinois to Ohio and killed both Monique and Spencer while their two young children slept down the hall. He was arrested at a Chick-fil-A in Rockford, Illinois ten days later. He waived extradition but remains in Illinois awaiting transfer. His attorney says he'll plead not guilty.

Chief Bryant indicated police are withholding evidence details to avoid jeopardizing the conviction. Eric Faddis maps out what defense strategies remain when ballistics, surveillance, and vehicle records all point in the same direction. Over 1,000 people attended the funeral. Two children lost both parents in one night.

#TeepeMurders #MichaelMcKee #SpencerTepe #MoniqueTepe #NIBIN #TrueCrimeToday #EricFaddis #BallisticsEvidence #DomesticViolence #ColumbusOhio

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The Nick Reiner case just took a turn nobody predicted. Alan Jackson—the attorney who defended Michael Jackson's doctor and built a reputation on high-stakes trials—withdrew from representing Nick Reiner while publicly declaring him "not guilty of murder" under California law. He told reporters to take that statement "to the bank." Then he told the judge he's "legally and ethically prohibited" from explaining his departure. What did he find?

The answer sits in sealed documents nobody outside that courtroom can access. A confidential medical order. Ten subpoenas Jackson's team issued before withdrawing—a list the judge has explicitly hidden from prosecutors. Three weeks of defense investigation that ended with Jackson making the most unusual public statement of his career.

Nick Reiner is charged with two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances for the deaths of his mother Michele Reiner and her partner. He's eligible for the death penalty. Sources confirm he was being treated for schizophrenia at the time of the killings. He appeared at his first hearing in a suicide prevention smock. His medications reportedly aren't stabilized. How long before this becomes a formal competency challenge?

Attorney Eric Faddis breaks down the legal landscape this week—examining Jackson's strategic signals, what the gas station surveillance footage really proves, and how Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Greene approaches a case with this much sealed evidence. DA Nathan Hochman says he's "fully confident" in conviction.

But confidence doesn't explain what's in those sealed documents. And Jackson's declaration doesn't disappear just because he's no longer making the argument.

#NickReiner #AlanJackson #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #TrueCrimeToday #SealedEvidence #InsanityDefense #EricFaddis #DeathPenalty #CaliforniaCourts

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It's official. The South Carolina Supreme Court has set February 11th, 2026, as the date for oral arguments in Alex Murdaugh's appeal. And the timing couldn't be more significant.

Just two months ago, former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill pled guilty to perjury, obstruction of justice, and two counts of misconduct in office. She admitted to lying under oath at the very hearing that denied Murdaugh a new trial. Now his attorneys are asking the Supreme Court to add her guilty plea to the appeal record — arguing that if she lied about one thing under oath, her denials about jury tampering can't be trusted either.

Today we break down what's actually at stake on February 11th. The defense is running two consolidated appeals: one challenging alleged jury tampering by Becky Hill, and another challenging Judge Clifton Newman's decision to allow extensive financial crimes testimony as motive evidence. The prosecution says the evidence was overwhelming and the jury convicted Murdaugh because he was "obviously guilty."

We walk through the critical legal question: Does South Carolina apply the federal standard for jury tampering — where any attempt to influence a jury is presumed prejudicial — or the state standard that Toal applied, requiring proof that tampering actually changed a vote?

We also explain why this appeal matters even though Murdaugh will never get out of prison regardless. He's already serving 27 years for financial crimes. His attorneys say this is about the integrity of fair trials in South Carolina.

The hearing will be livestreamed and open to the public. A decision could take weeks or months. And if Murdaugh loses, he's already signaled federal court is next.

#TrueCrimeToday #AlexMurdaugh #BeckyHill #MurdaughAppeal #SupremeCourt #JuryTampering #SouthCarolina #TrueCrime #MurdaughTrial #BreakingNews

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Today on True Crime Today, we're examining two cases that demand accountability—one from a jury, one from an institution—with former felony prosecutor turned defense attorney Eric Faddis. In Columbus, Dr. Michael McKee faces aggravated murder charges for allegedly executing Monique Tepe and Richard Tepe in their home while their children slept feet away. Police recovered what they say is the murder weapon from McKee's Chicago apartment eleven days later. His alibi reportedly collapsed. But McKee has resources and a defense team looking for every weakness. Faddis breaks down what prosecutors must prove and where the defense will attack—from chain of custody challenges to the absence of eyewitnesses in a circumstantial case. 

In Washington, the families of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin are suing WSU over Bryan Kohberger. According to their 126-page lawsuit, 13 formal complaints were filed against Kohberger during his single semester as a teaching assistant. Women requested security escorts. Staff created warning systems. A professor allegedly predicted he'd abuse students. The families claim the murders were "foreseeable and preventable." Faddis analyzes the Title IX violations, gross negligence claims, and what this lawsuit could mean for institutional liability nationwide.

#TepeMurders #MichaelMcKee #BryanKohberger #WSULawsuit #KayleeGoncalves #MoniqueTepe #TrueCrimeToday #EricFaddis #AggravatedMurder #TitleIX

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Today on True Crime Today, we're examining what may be the most painful aspect of the Reiner case—how a family's ability to perceive danger can erode over time until the unthinkable feels normal. Former FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke joins us to break down the family dynamics that allegedly led Rob and Michele Reiner to go to sleep on December 13th, 2025, in the same house with their son Nick—hours after watching him behave erratically at a holiday party. 

Robin spent 21 years with the FBI, including serving as Chief of the Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program, and he specializes in understanding how trust gets exploited and how threat perception changes over time. The Reiners called police twice in 2019—a welfare check and a mental health call. They perceived danger then. But Rob publicly said he regretted listening to professionals instead of Nick. Robin explains how that shift happens—how someone can train their family to distrust outside expertise over decades. 

Nick co-wrote a semi-autobiographical film with his father about their relationship. Robin analyzes what that level of narrative control means for family power dynamics. The Reiners had tried tough love. It hadn't worked. They blamed themselves. Robin explains how manufactured guilt functions as a manipulation tool—and how legitimate frustration with a broken system becomes a vulnerability. Sources say the parents became distrustful of medical professionals over the years. At what point does that become something a manipulative person can exploit?

#TrueCrimeToday #NickReiner #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #RobinDreeke #FBI #FamilyDynamics #ThreatBlindness #MentalHealthCrisis #HollywoodTragedy

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Harry Lidsky, Digital Forensic Examiner, 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 #Breaking

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Nick Barreiro, Audio/Video Forensic 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 #Breaking

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Harry Lidsky, Digital Forensic Examiner, 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 #Breaking

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Bryan Kohberger was a teaching assistant at Washington State University when he allegedly stalked, harassed, and terrorized women on campus. At least 13 formal complaints were filed against him. Staff created informal "911" alerts to warn each other when he was around. Women requested security escorts just to avoid interactions with him. One professor allegedly predicted that if WSU gave Kohberger a PhD, they'd hear about him harassing and sexually abusing students down the road. None of it stopped him. On November 13, 2022, Kohberger drove eight miles to Moscow, Idaho, and murdered Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. Now the families of all four victims have filed a 126-page wrongful death lawsuit against WSU, alleging gross negligence, Title IX violations, and deliberate indifference to the danger Kohberger posed. They're arguing the murders were "foreseeable and preventable." 

Today on True Crime Today, former prosecutor turned criminal defense attorney Eric Faddis breaks down the legal claims. What does the university have to prove in its defense? What will discovery expose? And could this lawsuit set a nationwide precedent for institutional liability when warning signs are ignored?

#BryanKohberger #KayleeGoncalves #MadisonMogen #XanaKernodle #EthanChapin #WSULawsuit #TrueCrimeToday #TitleIX #EricFaddis #Idaho4

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Breaking down the latest in the Nick Reiner case. TMZ's Harvey Levin went on record saying the Rob and Michele Reiner crime scene had "all the markings of a meth murder" and that Nick was allegedly using meth after his medication was changed. The violence reportedly shocked experienced investigators. So what's really going on here?

On True Crime Today, we examine the publicly reported evidence: Nick Reiner's documented history of stimulant abuse from his own podcast appearances, the clinical research on what happens when schizoaffective disorder meets methamphetamine use, and why forensic experts say overkill violence often points to drug involvement rather than just emotional rage.

Nick was placed under a strict mental health conservatorship in 2020. His medication was working - until he complained about weight gain and doctors switched his prescription about a month before the alleged killings. Sources say he rapidly destabilized. But his history of cocaine binges, violent outbursts while on uppers, and repeated cycles through rehab raises a harder question.

Was this purely a medication-induced psychiatric crisis? Or was something else in his system?

We break down what's been reported, what the research says, and what it could mean for the legal case ahead. Nick Reiner is presumed innocent - but the violence pattern demands examination.

#TrueCrimeToday #NickReiner #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #BreakingNews #MethMurder #CrimeUpdate #LAMurder #TrueCrime2026 #HollywoodCrime

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This 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.