Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary

Steven Baer is a licensed fiduciary. He does this for a living. He's not emotionally invested like family. He's seen manipulation before. And yet Nick Reiner's LPS conservatorship—which gave Baer the authority to force medication, to make treatment decisions, to place Nick in a locked facility if necessary—ended after just one year. It wasn't renewed. Former FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke joins Hidden Killers to analyze what it takes to manipulate a professional gatekeeper. Robin spent his career recruiting spies—getting people to trust him who were trained to trust no one. He knows the mechanics of buildi...

Brendan Miller, Detective with the Fairfax Co. Police Department, testified today in the Brendan Banfield murder trial. Banfield, a former IRS agent, is charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the February 2023 deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan at their Herndon, Virginia home.Prosecutors allege Banfield plotted the killings with the family's Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, with whom he was having an affair. Magalhães has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is expected to testify against Banfield. The defense maintains digital evidence does not support the state's catfishing theory.#Br...

Two children, ages one and four, were in the home when their parents were allegedly killed. They're now orphans. Over a thousand people attended the funeral. A family will never be the same.And here's the question that won't leave me alone: Monique Tepe did everything right. She recognized the abuse. She left quickly. She told people about the threats. She moved on and built a beautiful life. She followed the playbook we give victims. And she's still dead.What does that mean?In Part 3 of our three-part interview series, psychotherapist Shavaun Scott...

Saly Fayez, Victim Services Division of Fairfax Co. Police Department, testified today in the Brendan Banfield murder trial. Banfield, a former IRS agent, is charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the February 2023 deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan at their Herndon, Virginia home.Prosecutors allege Banfield plotted the killings with the family's Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, with whom he was having an affair. Magalhães has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is expected to testify against Banfield. The defense maintains digital evidence does not support the state's catfishing theory....

Lt. David Giaccio, Fairfax Police Department, testified today in the Brendan Banfield murder trial. Banfield, a former IRS agent, is charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the February 2023 deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan at their Herndon, Virginia home.Prosecutors allege Banfield plotted the killings with the family's Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, with whom he was having an affair. Magalhães has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is expected to testify against Banfield. The defense maintains digital evidence does not support the state's catfishing theory.#BrendanBanfield #AuPairAffair #MurderTrial #Tr...

Michael McKee was a vascular surgeon trained at Ohio State, Virginia Tech, and the University of Maryland. He held medical licenses in multiple states. He worked at respected surgical practices. And according to two separate lawsuits filed in Nevada, he allegedly left destruction in his wake—then vanished before anyone could make him answer for it.The first lawsuit claims McKee's team left over eight inches of catheter inside a patient's body during a 2023 procedure, requiring emergency surgery. The complaint alleges the defendants concealed what happened and failed to provide truthful medical records. The second lawsuit is fe...

John Brusch, Former Dept. Chief of the Administrative Support Bureau, testified today in the Brendan Banfield murder trial. Banfield, a former IRS agent, is charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the February 2023 deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan at their Herndon, Virginia home.Prosecutors allege Banfield plotted the killings with the family's Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, with whom he was having an affair. Magalhães has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is expected to testify against Banfield. The defense maintains digital evidence does not support the state's catfishing theory....

Leah Smith, Detective with the Fairfax Co. Police Department, testified today in the Brendan Banfield murder trial. Banfield, a former IRS agent, is charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the February 2023 deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan at their Herndon, Virginia home.Prosecutors allege Banfield plotted the killings with the family's Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, with whom he was having an affair. Magalhães has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is expected to testify against Banfield. The defense maintains digital evidence does not support the state's catfishing theory.#Br...

Brian Ames, Sgt. with the Fairfax Co. Police Department, testified today in the Brendan Banfield murder trial. Banfield, a former IRS agent, is charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the February 2023 deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan at their Herndon, Virginia home.Prosecutors allege Banfield plotted the killings with the family's Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, with whom he was having an affair. Magalhães has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is expected to testify against Banfield. The defense maintains digital evidence does not support the state's catfishing theory.#Br...

Monique Tepe allegedly knew she was in danger. She talked about it for eight years. And she never called the police.Family members say Monique described Michael McKee as emotionally abusive. She told them about death threats during their brief marriage. She said she was terrified. She warned people. But when Police Chief Bryant was asked about prior reports of threats or concerns, she confirmed there were none.Why don't victims report? Why do women who clearly understand the danger stay silent when it comes to the system?In Part 2 of our three-part...

The defense is fighting back in the Brendan Banfield double murder trial, and today they brought the receipts.Day 6 opened with police body camera footage from the morning Christine Banfield died. The jury watched Brendan Banfield at the hospital, heard him ask about his daughter, heard the doctor tell him his wife's wounds were unsurvivable. And they watched him cry — both on the footage and again in the courtroom watching it back.But before any of that, defense attorney John Carroll tried to get Juliana Peres Magalhães' entire testimony thrown out. The judge shut it...

She called him "my ex." Never said his name. According to her family, Monique Tepe hated Michael McKee with the kind of intensity that only comes from real terror.But the woman who dated him right after the divorce? She called him "boring." Nice. Kind. Surface level. She said he had a wall she couldn't get past — and after a year, she walked away because something felt empty.Same man. Two completely different experiences. That's the split screen at the center of this case.In this episode, we go deep into the psychology of...

What happens inside a mind that allegedly can't let go for eight years?Michael McKee and Monique Tepe were married for two years on paper but lived together for roughly seven months before she fled. Family members describe emotional abuse and death threats during those brief months together. Eight years later, prosecutors allege McKee drove six hours to Columbus, entered the Tepe home without forced entry, and shot Monique and her husband Spencer to death while their children slept nearby.In this episode — Part 1 of our three-part interview series — psychotherapist Shavaun Scott breaks down the psyc...

Brendan Miller, Detective with the Fairfax Co. Police Department, testified today in the Brendan Banfield murder trial. Banfield, a former IRS agent, is charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the February 2023 deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan at their Herndon, Virginia home.Prosecutors allege Banfield plotted the killings with the family's Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, with whom he was having an affair. Magalhães has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is expected to testify against Banfield. The defense maintains digital evidence does not support the state's catfishing theory.#Br...

Seven months of living together. Eight years of alleged obsession. Two lives allegedly taken.Michael McKee was married to Monique Tepe for two years on paper, but family members say they only lived together for about seven months before she fled what they describe as emotional torture and death threats. She rebuilt her life, remarried dentist Spencer Tepe, had children, and appeared to thrive. Prosecutors allege McKee watched from a distance for eight years — then allegedly drove six hours to Columbus, entered their home without forced entry, and shot them both to death while their kids slept....

Harry Lidsky testified today in the Brendan Banfield murder trial. Banfield, a former IRS agent, is charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the February 2023 deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan at their Herndon, Virginia home.Prosecutors allege Banfield plotted the killings with the family's Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, with whom he was having an affair. Magalhães has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is expected to testify against Banfield. The defense maintains digital evidence does not support the state's catfishing theory.#BrendanBanfield #AuPairAffair #MurderTrial #TrueCrime #Testimony #ChristineBanfield #JosephRyan #Fa...

One man fired 16 shots at the person accused of victimizing his 13-year-old daughter. The other allegedly used a silencer to make sure no one heard the shots that killed his ex-wife. Both are charged with murder. Both have defense attorneys preparing for trial. And both cases raise fundamental questions about what the law allows.Aaron Spencer found his daughter in Michael Fosler's truck at 1 AM — three months after Fosler posted bond on 43 felony charges for alleged crimes against her. Spencer rammed the truck and killed Fosler. Prosecutors say he'd been planning it for months. The defense says a...

A faculty member at Washington State University allegedly looked at Bryan Kohberger and told colleagues: Mark my words—if we give this guy a PhD, we'll hear about him harassing, stalking, and sexually abusing students. That wasn't hindsight. That was foresight. And according to a new lawsuit filed by the families of the four murdered Idaho students, it was one of at least 13 formal complaints WSU allegedly ignored before Kohberger drove seven miles to Moscow and killed four people in their beds. Former FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke joins Hidden Killers to analyze what this level of institutional awareness—and...

The prosecution has surveillance footage. A ballistics match. An alleged suppressor. But if you're defending Michael McKee, the holes in this case are where you live.How did McKee allegedly enter the Tepe home with no forced entry? Prosecutors haven't explained it publicly. The aggravated burglary charge suggests they have a theory — but until they disclose it, that's a gap the defense can exploit.There's no disclosed motive. McKee and Monique divorced years ago. Police confirmed there were no prior reports from the Tepe address about McKee — no 911 calls, no restraining orders, no documented threats. No o...

Rob and Michele Reiner did what most families cannot do. They got their severely mentally ill son into a court-ordered conservatorship—the most restrictive mental health intervention California allows. A judge found Nick gravely disabled beyond a reasonable doubt. A professional fiduciary was appointed. Nick could be forced into treatment against his will.And if the charges against him are true, it still wasn't enough to save their lives.Today on Hidden Killers, we walk through the seven specific failure points built into California's LPS conservatorship system. First: the threshold punishes families who provide support—if y...