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True Crime Today

Welcome to Mind Behind The Crime, the authoritative podcast that grants you exclusive access to the profound insights of respected psychologists, psychotherapists, and mental health experts as they delve into the most captivating true crime stories of our time. Hosted by Tony Brueski, this enthralling series takes you on an intellectual journey through the intricate workings of the human mind and its connection to the darkest realms of criminal behavior. In each episode, the vaulted doors of the criminal psyche are unlocked, as these esteemed professionals analyze and unravel the complexities that underlie heinous acts, shedding light on the most chilling cases that have gripped the world. Prepare to be captivated, enlightened, and challenged as you venture into the realm where true crime meets the expertise of mental health professionals. Mind Behind The Crime offers a unique opportunity to understand the intricate web of the criminal mind and the essential role mental health plays in comprehending and preventing such acts. Join us on this intellectual odyssey, where true crime stories are not merely recounted, but dissected and analyzed by the sharpest minds in the field of psychology. Tune in to Mind Behind The Crime and embark on a journey of exploration and discovery, where the complexities of the human psyche are unveiled, and the enigmatic world of true crime finds its intersection with psychological expertise.

Mind Behind The Crime | The Psychology Of Killers

Rob and Michele Reiner spent nearly two decades trying to save their son. Seventeen rehab stays. Constant supervision. A guest house on their property so they could keep him close and try to manage the chaos. Every possible resource love, money, access, and opportunity could provide. And still, on December 15, 2025, they were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home. Their son, Nick Reiner, now faces charges in their killings.

This is not a story about parents who missed the warning signs. It’s about parents who lived with those signs for eighteen years and had no legal way to act on them.

In this in-depth conversation, psychotherapist Shavaun Scott examines what was likely unfolding inside the Reiner family long before that final night. She breaks down why Nick Reiner’s own words — that drugs were never about getting high but about “killing the noise” — point to deeper psychological distress that traditional rehab often fails to address. We explore what happens to parents psychologically when they’ve exhausted every option yet remain trapped in proximity to a volatile adult child, and why wealth and access offered no real protection.

The discussion then widens to a second chilling case: the Mickey Stines tragedy in Kentucky, where a sheriff fatally shot a judge inside his own courthouse after weeks of visible psychological unraveling. Witnesses described paranoia, severe sleep deprivation, rapid weight loss, delusional beliefs, and an alarming phone call to a deceased relative on the day of the incident. Coworkers saw it. Friends saw it. Authorities saw it. And still, no intervention stopped what followed.

Together, these cases expose a painful reality: in the United States, families and communities often recognize danger long before the law allows action. Competent adults cannot be forced into treatment. Intervention requires “imminent danger,” a threshold that frequently isn’t crossed until lives are already lost.

This conversation isn’t about excusing violence or assigning blame. It’s about confronting the limits of love, the failures baked into mental-health and commitment laws, and the impossible position families are placed in when respecting autonomy means risking their own safety.

If you’ve ever wondered how people can do everything right and still end up here, this episode offers uncomfortable — but necessary — answers.

#ReinerMurders #NickReiner #MickeyStines #JudgeKevinMullins #TrueCrime #MentalHealthCrisis #SystemicFailure #CrimePsychology #FamilyViolence #ShavaunScott #HiddenKillers

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Psychotherapist Explains The Dark Minds Behind The Reiner Murders & the Mickey Stines Case

A Kentucky sheriff shot and killed a judge inside his own courthouse chambers — and according to court documents, the warning signs were everywhere. Witnesses say Mickey Stines hadn't slept in days. He'd lost a massive amount of weight. He was convinced unnamed people were going to kill his wife and daughter. He woke his wife up at night to whisper because he believed their home was bugged. And on the day of the shooting, he reportedly tried calling his grandmother — who had been dead for three years. Coworkers saw it. An attorney saw it. 

The local police chief said "that son of a bitch has lost his mind." His friends even took him to the doctor the day before. And still, nobody stopped what was coming. In this segment, psychotherapist Shavaun Scott breaks down what these behaviors actually mean clinically — what paranoid psychosis looks like, why people miss or dismiss the warning signs, and what Stines' insanity defense might actually hold up to. We're not here to excuse what happened. We're here to understand it. Because this case is a brutal lesson in what happens when someone falls apart in plain sight and no one knows what to do about it.

#MickeyStines #JudgeKevinMullins #TrueCrime #KentuckySheriff #CourthouseShooting #MentalHealthCrisis #InsanityDefense #WarningSigns #Psychosis #ShavaunScott

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Sheriff Allegedly Called His Dead Grandmother Before Killing Judge | The Mickey Stines - Judge Mullins Tragedy

Here's what no one wants to say out loud: Rob and Michele Reiner probably knew they were in danger. Friends say Michele had been confiding for months that Nick's mental health was deteriorating. Neighbors say there had been violent incidents before. The night before their deaths, Nick got into a screaming argument with his father at a Christmas party. Everyone saw the signs. No one could legally do anything about it.

In the United States, you cannot force a competent adult into treatment. You cannot commit someone because you believe they're dangerous. You have to wait until the danger becomes imminent — which usually means you have to wait until someone gets hurt. Rob and Michele Reiner lived inside that impossible gap for eighteen years. And then the gap killed them.

Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott joins us to examine the systemic failures that leave families like the Reiners without options. We discuss what parents can actually do legally when an adult child is spiraling — and where their authority ends. We look at why the threshold for involuntary commitment is so high that families often recognize danger years before the law will act. We ask hard questions about whether the rehab industry itself can make certain patients worse. And we talk honestly about what would need to change for cases like this to have different outcomes.

This isn't about assigning blame to a grieving family. It's about understanding why our system forces parents to choose between respecting autonomy and protecting themselves — and why that choice shouldn't exist.

#RobReiner #MentalHealthLaw #TrueCrime #SystemicFailure #InvoluntaryCommitment #FamilyViolence #ShavaunScott #MentalHealthReform #AddictionCrisis #CrimePsychology

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The Law That Left Rob Reiner Defenseless Against His Own Son | Psychotherapist Explains

Rob and Michele Reiner spent eighteen years trying to save their son. Seventeen rehab facilities. A feature film about his addiction. A guest house on their property so they could watch over him. And still, on December 15th, 2025, they were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home. Nick Reiner, 32, has been charged with their murders.

This isn't a case about parents who didn't see it coming. It's about parents who saw it coming for nearly two decades and couldn't stop it.

Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott has spent thirty years working with families in crisis, perpetrators of violence, and people trapped in cycles of addiction and mental illness. She's the author of "Nightbird" and "The Minds of Mass Killers," and in this interview, she breaks down what was likely happening inside the Reiner family long before that final night.

We discuss why Nick's own words — that his drug use was never about the drugs, but about "killing the noise" — reveal something critical about what treatment was missing. We examine what happens to parents psychologically when they've exhausted every resource and still live in proximity to a volatile adult child. We look at why wealth and access to the best facilities offered essentially no protection. And we explore the warning signs that families often see but can't bring themselves to act on — because acting means treating your own child as a threat.

If you've ever wondered how a family can do everything right and still end up here, this conversation offers uncomfortable answers. The Reiners aren't a cautionary tale about neglect. They're a cautionary tale about the limits of love when you're up against something love can't fix.

#RobReiner #NickReiner #TrueCrime #FamilyViolence #AddictionRecovery #MentalHealthCrisis #ShavaunScott #Parricide #CrimePsychology #HollywoodTragedy

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"They Tried Everything" — Psychotherapist Reveals Why 17 Rehab Stays Couldn't Save the Reiners

This episode of Hidden Killers brings together three troubling, psychologically revealing stories — each offering a unique window into manipulation, identity, and the way families and offenders construct narratives to protect themselves.

We begin with Bryan Kohberger’s reported self-harm threats inside Idaho Maximum Security Institution. He’s allegedly telling staff he’ll “harm himself” if they don’t move him out of J-Block — a threat strategically worded, attached to conditions, and deployed after earlier complaints didn’t get traction. Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott breaks down the psychology behind conditional threats, escalation patterns, and why institutions must take every claim seriously even when manipulation is suspected.

From there, we move into Kohberger’s serial-killer outreach — his attempts to connect with high-profile offenders rather than family or supporters. Shavaun helps us understand what this reveals about identity, belonging, status, and the collapse of the image he expected to maintain inside prison. When inmates respond with contempt instead of fascination, the psychological fallout can be profound.

Finally, we shift to the Anna Kepner cruise-ship case, where conflicting accounts from adults and teens highlight the distance between family myth and emotional reality. Parents describe harmony; teens describe aggression. Shavaun walks us through why teenagers often perceive danger more clearly than adults, how aggression becomes normalized, and why blended families are especially vulnerable to maintaining a narrative that doesn’t match the truth.

Across all three segments, one theme emerges: when reality doesn’t match the story someone needs to believe, the mind works overtime to bridge the gap — sometimes through manipulation, sometimes through denial, and sometimes through sheer grandiosity.

#HiddenKillers #BryanKohberger #AnnaKepner #ShavaunScott #TrueCrimePodcast #PrisonPsychology #FamilyDynamics #SerialOffenders #TonyBrueski #CriminalMindset

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Kohberger’s Prison Meltdowns, Serial-Killer Outreach & the Anna Kepner Case | With Shavaun Scott-WEEK IN REVIEW

The Brian Walshe case isn’t just about timelines, evidence dumps, and surveillance clips — it’s about a mindset. A pattern. A psychological profile that becomes harder to ignore the deeper you look. Today, we’re combining the trial’s most explosive Day 4 revelations with a full behavioral breakdown from psychotherapist Shavaun Scott, who helps us decode what investigators say they’re seeing in real time.

In court, jurors learned that Brian Walshe allegedly searched “Ana Walshe found dead” on Christmas Day 2022 — a full week before his defense claims Ana died suddenly and unexpectedly in their bed. Prosecutors also introduced testimony from Ana’s boyfriend, William Fastow, who revealed a relationship built on plans, long-term goals, and a future without Brian. Surveillance footage and cell-tower data added even more pressure, placing Brian near dumpsters across multiple apartment complexes in the days after Ana vanished.

But the evidence only tells half the story.

Shavaun Scott walks us through the psychology underneath it all: the shifting stories, the image-management, the sudden claims that “no one would believe” the truth, and the digital trail investigators say points to preoccupation — not panic. She explains why certain explanations fit a familiar behavioral pattern, and how someone can publicly perform calm normalcy while privately unraveling.

This episode connects the emotional framework, the alleged deception, and the forensic timeline into one picture: not speculation, but applied psychological analysis paired with courtroom testimony. If you’re trying to understand the gap between what’s being said and what’s being shown, this conversation lays it out plainly.

🔔 Subscribe for daily trial coverage, expert insight, and the most complete breakdowns anywhere.

#BrianWalshe #AnaWalshe #ShavaunScott #HiddenKillers #TrueCrimeToday 

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Brian Walshe’s Secret Searches Exposed — The Psychology Unraveled-WEEK IN REVIEW

Kohberger’s Prison Meltdowns, Serial-Killer Outreach & the Anna Kepner Case | With Shavaun Scott

The death of 18-year-old Anna Kepner aboard a cruise ship has left behind a trail of conflicting stories — and at the center of it is a blended family dynamic that now looks very different depending on who’s doing the talking. Parents and grandparents describe harmony, closeness, and three teenagers who were “the three amigos.” Yet teens who actually lived inside that home describe something else entirely: aggression, chokeholds, tension, and behavior reframed by adults as “just playing.”

On today’s episode of Hidden Killers, psychotherapist Shavaun Scott joins us to break down what these contradictions reveal about denial, family image-management, and the difference between outside perception and lived experience.

Shavaun explains why teens often have a more accurate read on the emotional temperature of a home than parents do — especially in blended families where adults may be overly invested in a narrative of unity. She walks us through the psychology of minimizing aggression, why “roughhousing” becomes the excuse of choice, and the gender dynamics that shape which behaviors get dismissed and which get flagged.

We also look at why an outsider — in this case, Anna’s ex-boyfriend — might actually provide a more reliable account than adults with emotional or reputational skin in the game. And how cabin assignments made by a travel agent, not the kids themselves, may speak volumes about parental blind spots.

This segment is a deep dive into credibility, emotional truth, and the patterns families cling to long after red flags have been waving in plain sight.

#AnnaKepner #HiddenKillers #ShavaunScott #TrueCrimePodcast #FamilyDynamics #BlendedFamilies #CruiseShipCase #TonyBrueski #PsychologicalInsight #TeenPerspective

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Behind Closed Doors: What Happened Before The Cruise Ship Murder Of Anna Kepner?

Bryan Kohberger is reportedly telling prison staff he’ll “harm himself” if they don’t move him out of J-Block — and the wording of that threat is raising eyebrows. Not “end his life.” Not “I’m in crisis.” The phrase is specific, conditional, and attached to a demand. And in corrections psychology, that distinction matters.

Today on Hidden Killers, psychotherapist Shavaun Scott joins us to break down what this behavior actually signals. Is Kohberger genuinely overwhelmed inside Idaho’s most restrictive housing unit? Or is this a strategic form of pressure meant to regain a sense of control he no longer has?

From Day 2, Kohberger began testing the system — complaining about food, noise, harassment, and ultimately escalating to self-harm threats when lower-level grievances didn’t get traction. Shavaun explains what this escalation pattern typically indicates: a person accustomed to getting results through pressure, resistance, or emotional leverage.

But even with concerns about manipulation, prison staff are doing exactly what protocol requires — removing ligature risks, tightening supervision, documenting behavior. Shavaun walks us through why institutions must treat every threat seriously, even when the individual making it has a history of calculated behavior.

We also explore the psychological payoff of using self-harm threats as leverage. Even if he doesn’t get transferred, Kohberger may still gain exactly what he wants: attention, disruption, and power over the environment. For someone who built an identity around control, that’s currency.

This conversation offers a rare look into the psychological realities behind bars — and why a threat doesn’t always mean what it appears to mean on the surface.

#BryanKohberger #HiddenKillers #PrisonPsychology #ShavaunScott #TrueCrimePodcast #TonyBrueski #JBlock #PrisonBehavior #CriminalMindset #ControlTactics

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Kohberger’s Prison Ultimatum: "Move Me, Or I'll Hurt Myself" | Shavaun Scott Breaks It Down

While threatening self-harm, Bryan Kohberger is reportedly reaching out to serial offenders across the country — trying to build relationships with the very people he once studied academically. It’s a pattern that has stunned investigators and raised deeper questions about identity, belonging, and psychological validation.

Today on Hidden Killers, psychotherapist Shavaun Scott helps us untangle what this behavior reveals. Why would someone convicted of killing four college students seek connection not with family, supporters, or advocates — but with other violent offenders? What does that choice of outreach tell us about how he sees himself and the world around him?

Sources say Kohberger views himself as “above” the general prison population. He expected notoriety, maybe even dark fascination, when he entered the system. Instead, he got contempt — rejection from inmates who taunt him, mock him, and refuse to engage. For someone craving recognition, rejection can feel like psychological collapse.

So why turn to serial offenders? Shavaun explores whether this is about validation, identity fusion, or the need to belong to a group he believes mirrors his own self-image. She also explains the recognizable profile of individuals who study violent offenders not to prevent harm — but because they identify with them emotionally or intellectually.

Kohberger’s behavior is happening in tandem with his escalating demands and self-harm threats. These aren’t random, disconnected acts, Shavaun says — they’re part of a larger pattern: a man whose sense of identity relies heavily on external reinforcement. And inside prison, he’s not getting the reaction he believed he deserved.

We also discuss why he clings so tightly to the “why” behind his crime — the one thing prosecutors never demanded and the one thing he refuses to give up.

#BryanKohberger #HiddenKillers #SerialOffenders #ShavaunScott #PrisonPsychology #TonyBrueski #CriminalIdentity #StatusDynamics #TrueCrimeAnalysis #PsychologicalProfiling

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Why Kohberger Is Writing to Serial Killers | Psychotherapist Breaks It Down

Inside the Explorer Program: How Cops Used Mentorship to Exploit Sandra Birchmore

Description:

What happens when a program meant to inspire young people becomes a pipeline for abuse? Sandra Birchmore joined the Stoughton Police Explorer Program at age 13, believing it would shape her future. Instead, it allegedly became the beginning of years-long grooming by a man in uniform—and silence from those around him. In this chilling episode, psychotherapist Shavaun Scott breaks down the dark psychology behind mentorship-based grooming, how power and trust are weaponized, and why institutional silence is often the predator’s best defense.

We’re pulling back the curtain on how these programs fail—and how young lives are destroyed in the process.

#SandraBirchmore #ExplorerProgram #PoliceGrooming #YouthAbuse #ShavaunScott #TrueCrimeDeepDive #MentorshipExploitation #InstitutionalFailure #HiddenKillersPodcast #TonyBrueski

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Inside the Explorer Program: How Cops Used Mentorship to Exploit Sandra Birchmore

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