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Breaking today: Nick Reiner pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his parents, director Rob Reiner and photographer Michele Singer Reiner.
He appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom with a shaved head and brown jail jumpsuit, sitting behind glass as his public defender Kimberly Greene entered the plea on his behalf. He spoke only once—saying "yes" when asked if he would waive his right to a speedy preliminary hearing.
But what does a not guilty plea actually mean in a case where the defendant was arrested the same day his parents were found dead?
It means the defense is preserving options. In California, insanity defenses require dual pleas and trigger bifurcated trials. Guilt is determined first, sanity second. Today's plea was procedural—a placeholder while psychiatric evaluations continue and strategy solidifies.
The options: full insanity under M'Naghten, requiring proof Nick didn't understand his actions or know they were wrong. Diminished actuality, using his schizoaffective disorder to argue he couldn't form premeditation, potentially reducing charges. Or incompetence to stand trial, arguing he can't understand current proceedings.
Former judge Halim Dhanidina said he doesn't see a full insanity defense here—but mental illness could reduce murder to manslaughter. That's likely the real play.
DA Nathan Hochman hasn't decided on the death penalty. The preliminary hearing is April 29th. The case is just beginning.
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The Kouri Richins trial brings Chelsea Gipson, Lead Crime Scene Technician,  to the stand for cross from the defense.
The Kouri Richins murder trial continues in Utah as the state prosecutes the children's book author for allegedly poisoning her husband Eric Richins with fentanyl. Prosecutors allege she killed him for insurance money after secretly increasing his policy to $1.9 million. The defense maintains Eric died from accidental drug use.
True Crime Today delivers real-time trial coverage as it happens—key testimony, critical cross-examinations, and the moments that matter. No waiting for nightly recaps. Watch the case unfold live.
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Day 2 of the Kouri Richins murder trial focused on crime scene reconstruction—and the defense made sure the jury saw every crack in the investigation.
First responders described arriving at the Francis, Utah, home on March 4, 2022. Deputy Vincent Nguyen's body camera showed Kouri Richins distraught as paramedics tried to revive her husband Eric. Medical examiner Dr. Pamela Sue Ulmer confirmed the autopsy: fentanyl overdose, several times the lethal dose, no evidence of injury.
But the defense highlighted what investigators missed. Nguyen never entered the kitchen. An empty pill bottle wasn't bagged. Glassware went through the dishwasher. White specks on Eric's nightstand were never tested.
Crime scene technician Chelsea Gipson walked the jury through a 3D Matterport scan of the home. Prosecutors are grounding the jury in the physical space for a five-week trial.
According to prosecutors, Kouri Richins was $4.5 million in debt and had a boyfriend. They allege she bought fentanyl from housekeeper Carmen Lauber, tried to poison Eric on Valentine's Day, and succeeded two weeks later. After his death, she wrote a children's book about grief.
Defense attorney Kathy Nester says investigators still searched the home two weeks ago—four years after Eric's death. Her question to the jury: if the case is airtight, why are they still looking?
Kouri Richins is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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Week one of the Kouri Richins murder trial is starting, and the battle lines are drawn. Prosecutors say she poisoned her husband Eric with fentanyl for nearly $2 million in life insurance money. The defense says the case is built on compromised witnesses and circumstantial evidence. Criminal defense attorney Bob Motta breaks down where this five-week trial is heading—and where it's most likely to be won or lost.
The prosecution's case hinges on Carmen Lauber—the housekeeper who claims she sold Kouri fentanyl. She's been granted immunity. But her supplier, Robert Crozier, has recanted his statement and now says whatever he sold wasn't fentanyl. No pills were ever recovered. No pills were ever tested. Bob explains what that means for the state's theory—and how a defense attorney would attack it on cross.
The 15-minute gap is critical. Prosecutors say Kouri's phone was unlocked six times in the fifteen minutes before she called 911. First responders noted Eric "seemed like he had been dead a while." Kouri told investigators she went immediately to the phone. Bob walks through how the defense will try to reframe that gap.
Two of Eric's friends will testify he called them eighteen days before his death and said "I think my wife tried to poison me." That secondhand testimony goes directly to the attempted murder charge. Bob explains how powerful it can be—and the defense's best approach to neutralizing it.
An orange notebook with Kouri's "firsthand account" of Eric's death could be admitted. The insurance fraud charges are bundled with the murder. The judge has set a hard deadline the defense says can't be met. Bob analyzes every pressure point.
This is trial analysis in real time—from someone who knows how these cases play out.
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The Nancy Guthrie case hit critical mass today with two developments that change the investigative picture entirely.
Savannah Guthrie broke more than a week of family silence with an emotional Instagram video offering $1 million for information leading to her mother's "recovery"—bringing total available rewards past $1.2 million. The FBI simultaneously asked the public to stop flooding tip lines with theories and well-wishes, a sign that investigators are drowning in noise while hunting for signal.
But the bombshell came from law enforcement sources confirming that the FBI's doorbell camera images were captured on multiple days. The image showing the suspect without his backpack or holster was taken before February 1st—meaning the suspect allegedly visited the property, saw the camera, and retreated before returning with a plan to neutralize it.
Criminal defense attorney Bob Motta joins True Crime Today to analyze what this revelation means. Prior visits establish premeditation and planning—exactly what prosecutors need to pursue the most serious charges. But the Pima County Sheriff's Department is publicly pushing back, calling the two-day theory "purely speculative" despite multiple law enforcement sources confirming it to reporters.
We also dig into the DNA challenges. Sheriff Nanos admitted the mixed samples at a Florida lab are hitting snags, and his department currently has no names under active investigation. Every physical evidence lead—the backpack, the gloves—has gone cold. Genetic genealogy remains the best hope, but that's a weeks-to-months timeline.
Bob Motta explains what happens when high-profile investigations reach this phase and what we should realistically expect as this case enters week four.
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