Nick Reiner's family had access to the best treatment money could buy. Washington State University had formal complaint systems, Title IX protocols, and supervisory authority over Bryan Kohberger. In both cases, according to the evidence and allegations, warning signs stacked up—and nothing stopped what came next. Former FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke joins us for an extended analysis comparing these two devastating failures.

Robin spent 21 years with the Bureau, including serving as Chief of the FBI's Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program, and he specializes in understanding threat assessment, manipulation, and the behavioral patterns that precede violence. On the Reiner case: Nick was under an LPS conservatorship in 2020 overseen by a professional fiduciary—someone whose job is not to be fooled. It ended after one year. Rob Reiner publicly said they should have listened to Nick instead of professionals. The night before the murders, his parents watched him behave erratically and went to sleep in the same house.

Robin explains how families lose threat perception and how manipulative individuals exploit trust over decades. On the Kohberger case: The WSU lawsuit alleges 13 formal complaints about threatening and predatory behavior, faculty predictions of future assault, staff creating their own warning systems—and alleged institutional inaction. Robin breaks down why institutions choose legal protection over safety and what should have happened differently. Two mechanisms of failure. Two preventable tragedies. One conversation about what it takes to see the danger standing right in front of you.

#NickReiner #RobReiner #BryanKohberger #MicheleReiner #RobinDreeke #FBI #Conservatorship #WSULawsuit #MentalHealth #InstitutionalFailure

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We're answering your questions on the Nick Reiner case — and putting it in context alongside two other cases that expose the same brutal truth: the systems meant to protect people don't always work. Nick Reiner is charged with murdering his parents Rob and Michele after seventeen rehab stints, a schizophrenia diagnosis, and a conservatorship that was allegedly in the works when this happened. Alan Jackson quit two weeks before arraignment. The argument at Conan O'Brien's Christmas party still hasn't been explained. And the family that made a movie together about addiction is now destroyed by it. But Nick's case isn't happening in isolation. The WSU Kohberger lawsuit alleges a university received thirteen complaints about a predatory PhD student and chose self-protection over student safety — until four kids were dead. And Michael McKee allegedly drove 300 miles to murder his ex-wife Monique Tepe and her husband Spencer because she dared to be happy eight years after a seven-month marriage. The thread connecting all three? Institutions and systems that should have intervened — mental health treatment, universities, domestic violence protections — and didn't. Your questions on enabling, psychosis defenses, institutional negligence, and coercive control. No easy answers, just honest conversation.

#NickReiner #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #BryanKohberger #MichaelMcKee #WSULawsuit #MoniqueTepe #SystemsFailed #TrueCrime #ListenerQuestions

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This is the definitive breakdown of who Nick Reiner was before December 14, 2025—the day his parents, legendary director Rob Reiner and photographer Michele Singer Reiner, were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home.

We go back to the beginning. Yoga instructor Alanna Zabel worked with the Reiner family for nearly a decade and describes a young Nick barging into sessions "like the world was on fire, screaming"—outbursts so intense she wrote a children's book about them. By fifteen, Nick was in rehab. By his own count, he cycled through seventeen-plus facilities, choosing homelessness when treatment didn't come on his terms.

In 2009, a rehab roommate named Danny Svilar shared a room with Nick. He describes someone with "no sense of gratitude" who ranted about hating his parents—even as Rob and Michele showed up to every single session. When Svilar heard about the murders, he says he knew immediately who did it.

We examine Nick's own words on the Dopey podcast: admitting to destroying his parents' guesthouse on uppers with "no logic," stealing pills from sick elderly people, and pretending to be sober during the Being Charlie press tour while getting high afterward. We cover the 2020 conservatorship, the reported schizophrenia diagnosis, and the medication change that sources say happened just weeks before the killings.

And we break down the final night—Conan O'Brien's Christmas party—where multiple guests say Nick was acting erratically, asking everyone if they were famous, and allegedly getting into a confrontation with his father. Less than 24 hours later, Rob and Michele were dead.

#NickReiner #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #ReinerCase #ReinerMurder #BeingCharlie #TrueCrime #HollywoodTragedy #Parricide #ReinerChannel

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You asked, we're answering. The Nick Reiner case has generated more questions than almost any story we've covered — and we're dedicating this episode to working through them. Why did Alan Jackson quit two weeks before arraignment? What really happened at Conan O'Brien's Christmas party the night before the murders? How do you reconcile the son who made "Being Charlie" with his father with the man allegedly charged with stabbing his parents to death? We're examining the schizophrenia diagnosis and what it means for a potential insanity defense, the TMZ report about the blood-soaked hotel room, and whether fleeing and attempting to clean up undermines claims of psychosis. Rob Reiner once said tough love wasn't his nature — that he had to "act" like a disciplinarian. Michele said she regretted believing rehab counselors who called Nick manipulative instead of listening to her own son. Seventeen rehab stints, a conservatorship in the works, and still this happened. We're also talking about Jake and Romy, who lost their parents and brother in one night, and the impossible position they're in as this case heads to trial. No easy answers — just honest conversation about a tragedy that could have gone differently at a hundred different points.

#NickReiner #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #BeingCharlie #AlanJackson #ConanOBrien #SchizophreniaTrial #EnablerOrHelper #JakeReiner #RomyReiner

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They called police in 2019. They obtained conservatorship in 2020. By December 2025, Rob was publicly saying they should have listened to Nick instead of the professionals—and they went to sleep in a house with someone sources say was in psychiatric crisis. They brought him to Conan O'Brien's party, where other guests considered calling 911. What happened to their ability to perceive threat?

Former FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke—who spent 21 years at the Bureau including serving as Chief of the Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program—analyzes twenty years of family dynamics. How does trust get exploited through reciprocity, vulnerability, and shared identity? The Reiners had tried tough love. It hadn't worked. They blamed themselves. How does manufactured guilt function as a manipulation tool? Nick co-wrote "Being Charlie" with his father—a movie about their relationship. That's extraordinary narrative control. What does that level of influence tell you about who actually held power? Could anyone have broken through to Rob and Michele?

Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott delivers our most comprehensive analysis yet—a three-part breakdown covering Nick's individual psychology, the family dynamics that trapped the Reiners for 30 years, and systemic failures that allowed tragedy despite unlimited resources. Part one examines Nick's schizoaffective disorder, the medication change that reportedly destabilized him one month before the murders, and the psychology of someone who admits killing his parents but believes his incarceration is a conspiracy. Part two breaks down how the family "grew used to" behavior that alarmed strangers and how Nick reportedly manipulated his way through 18-plus treatment facilities. Part three exposes why the mental health system failed despite the Reiners doing everything families are told to do.

Dr. Drew said 30-day programs were "almost meaningless." Alexis Haines said he belonged in a hospital. The care he needed may not even exist.

#NickReiner #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #RobinDreeke #ShavaunScott #FBI #ThreatBlindness #FamilyDynamics #Psychology #ReinerCase

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They called police in 2019. They obtained conservatorship in 2020. By December 2025, Rob was publicly saying they should have listened to Nick instead of the professionals—and they went to sleep in a house with someone sources say was in psychiatric crisis. What happened to their ability to perceive threat?

Former FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke—who spent 21 years at the Bureau including serving as Chief of the Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program—analyzes twenty years of family dynamics. How does trust get exploited through reciprocity, vulnerability, and shared identity? The Reiners had tried tough love. It hadn't worked. They blamed themselves. How does manufactured guilt function as a manipulation tool? Nick co-wrote "Being Charlie" with his father—a movie about their relationship. That's extraordinary narrative control over the family story. What does that level of influence tell you about who actually held power? Could anyone have broken through to Rob and Michele? What would they have needed to hear?

But the system failed too—catastrophically. Nick was under court-ordered conservatorship in 2020. A judge found him gravely disabled. A licensed fiduciary controlled his treatment. He could be forced into a locked facility against his will. On paper, this is the system working. In reality, California's conservatorship expires after one year with no follow-up. Families can't petition for renewal. The state doesn't track outcomes.

Here's the number that should haunt policymakers: 83% of conserved patients remain stable while under conservatorship. After termination? Only 43% stay stable. That's a 57% relapse rate. Nick's conservatorship ended in 2021. For four years, no one was watching. When he moved back in with his parents in late 2024, when sources say he changed medications a month before December 14th, when he allegedly had a "complete break from reality"—there was no legal mechanism for intervention. The system had declared victory and walked away. And now two people are dead.

#NickReiner #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #RobinDreeke #FBI #ThreatBlindness #Conservatorship #Manipulation #ReinerCase #SystemFailure

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A judge found Nick Reiner "gravely disabled" in 2020 and placed him under LPS conservatorship—the most powerful mental health intervention California law allows. Licensed fiduciary Steven Baer controlled his treatment decisions. Nick could be forced into a locked psychiatric facility against his will. One year later, the conservatorship was gone. Four years later, Rob and Michele Reiner are dead.

The legal mechanism that may have ended it is brutal: under California law, if a family provides food, clothing, and shelter for a mentally ill loved one, that person may no longer qualify as "gravely disabled." The conservatorship can expire not because the patient improved—but because loving parents refused to abandon their child. The system punishes families for caring.

We examine every piece of the timeline: 2019 police calls to the Brentwood home. Nick's reported schizophrenia diagnosis around 2020. The conservatorship that lasted just one year. The medication change approximately one month before the killings that sources say triggered a "complete break from reality." And we break down why former conservator Steven Baer will almost certainly be called as a witness—what he observed during that year of control, what his testimony could reveal about Nick's mental state, and how it shapes both prosecution and defense strategies.

Before 1967, families could petition courts to hospitalize psychotic, violent relatives. California's Lanterman-Petris-Short Act ended that power. The state went from housing 37,000 patients in psychiatric hospitals to fewer than 1,500 people on involuntary conservatorships today. Families cannot initiate conservatorships—only hospital staff can. The Reiners reportedly spent vast sums on treatment. More than a dozen facilities. The best doctors money could buy. The system isn't designed to let families intervene.

The conservatorship didn't fail because the Reiners failed. It may have failed because the law worked exactly as designed. And two people died.

#NickReiner #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #LPSConservatorship #StevenBaer #Deinstitutionalization #MentalHealthLaw #CaliforniaLaw #Schizophrenia #ReinerCase

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Everyone's focused on what Alan Jackson said outside that courthouse. But here's what they're missing: what's inside the courthouse that nobody's allowed to see. A sealed medical order. Ten subpoenas the prosecution can't access. Psychiatric evaluations conducted behind closed doors. And one of America's most accomplished defense attorneys telling reporters Nick Reiner is "not guilty of murder"—then walking away from the case entirely.

Jackson told the judge he's "legally and ethically prohibited" from explaining his withdrawal. Fine. But that raises more questions than it answers. What did he find between December 15th and January 7th that made him certain enough to stake his reputation on a public statement? If he's so confident in this defense, why isn't he the one making it?

Nick Reiner faces two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances for the deaths of his mother Michele Reiner and her partner. Sources confirm Nick was being treated for schizophrenia at the time. He appeared at his first hearing in a suicide prevention smock. Reports indicate his medications still aren't stabilized. DA Nathan Hochman hasn't ruled out the death penalty.

Attorney Eric Faddis examines every legal angle—the competency questions, the insanity defense signals, and how that gas station surveillance footage cuts both ways depending on who's presenting it. Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Greene takes over representation. The arraignment is February 23rd.

Jackson can't tell us what he saw. But the evidence doesn't disappear because he's off the case. Something significant is sealed in that courtroom—and the question is what California is keeping hidden before this trial begins.

#NickReiner #RobReiner #AlanJackson #MicheleReiner #SealedEvidence #InsanityDefense #Schizophrenia #EricFaddis #ReinerCase #CaliforniaMurder

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