Nick Reiner Checked Into A Hotel After The Killings — Robin Dreeke Explains Why That Matters

What happens after the act matters. Retired FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke says analysts pay close attention to post-offense behavior — and in the Nick Reiner case, the reported timeline raises serious questions.

According to reports, Nick didn't collapse. He checked into a Santa Monica hotel. He navigated Los Angeles for 24 hours. There was calm movement, time, decision-making. Robin explains why serious mental illness does not automatically eliminate awareness, planning, or accountability.

Nick reportedly admits to killing his parents Rob and Michele Reiner. But instead of focusing on the act, he describes his incarceration as a "conspiracy." That reframe is exactly what behavioral analysts examine — how people respond when consequences finally arrive.

The defense will likely point to the M'Naghten rule, which doesn't require proving Nick didn't know right from wrong — only that he didn't understand the "nature and quality" of his actions. It's the same standard that freed David Carmichael, a father who researched murder charges, planned his son's killing, and still walked out of a psychiatric facility after two years. Carmichael's psychotic break was triggered by medication. Nick's medication was changed one month before the killings.

But there's a critical difference. Carmichael had no history of manipulation. Nick Reiner has 30 years of it. His own father said experts repeatedly warned the family Nick was "lying or manipulating them." More than 18 treatment facilities cycled him through 30-day stays that satisfied the system without producing change.

Robin explains how families normalize chaos over time. They don't ignore warning signs — they adapt to them. Boundaries soften. Intervention fatigue sets in. And that adaptation can become dangerous.

The defense exists. The question is whether a jury will believe it from someone who's spent a lifetime ensuring no one should.

#NickReiner #RobinDreeke #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #InsanityDefense #DavidCarmichael #FBI #HiddenKillers #BehaviorAnalysis #TrueCrime

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This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.