Nick Reiner Insanity Defense Breakdown: Attorney Explains Strategy and System That Failed Rob Reiner

This week's Hidden Killers Live review covered the Nick Reiner case — breaking down the legal strategy and the systemic failures that made this tragedy inevitable.

Nick Reiner faces two counts of first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of his parents, filmmaker Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner. The defense has made clear mental health is the centerpiece — sources confirm Nick's schizophrenia diagnosis and a medication change weeks before the killings. A sealed medical order has been signed. The insanity defense is coming.

Defense attorney Bob Motta joined us to explain exactly how that defense works under California's M'Naghten standard. It's one of the strictest tests in the country. The defense carries the burden of proving Nick either didn't understand what he was doing or didn't know it was wrong. Bob broke down what evidence matters most, how these cases are tried, and what happens if the defense wins.

We also examined Nick's seventeen years of documented manipulation — his podcast admissions about gaming rehab, convincing his parents to reject expert advice, maneuvering himself into their guesthouse instead of supervised treatment. Does deliberate behavior over years undermine an insanity claim? That's the question prosecutors will hammer.

Rob reportedly told friends the night before he died: "I'm petrified of Nick. I think my own son can hurt me." He was right. And California's mental health laws gave him no options. The Lanterman-Petris-Short Act makes involuntary commitment nearly impossible unless someone is imminently dangerous — not probably dangerous, not deteriorating, but about to act. By then it's too late. Millions of families are trapped in that same impossible position right now.

#NickReiner #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #HKLive #InsanityDefense #BobMotta #MentalHealth #CaliforniaLaw #TrueCrime #WeekInReview

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