Jan. 9, 2026

"UVALDE TESTIMONY IN TURMOIL, ROB REINER'S SON LOSES LAWYER & EX-PORN STAR SENTENCED FOR BEHEADING"

Show Notes
Transcript

Reid Carter covers the dramatic second day of the Uvalde trial where teacher Stephanie Hale returns to the stand after her bombshell testimony nearly derailed the entire case - judge denied defense mistrial motion but will decide whether to strike her testimony completely. Nick Reiner's arraignment postponed to February after celebrity attorney Alan Jackson withdrew - Rob Reiner's son charged with stabbing both parents to death in Brentwood home now assigned public defender. Former adult film star Devyn Michaels faces sentencing today for bludgeoning and decapitating the father of her children - then throwing his head in the trash. She faces life in prison.

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Callarogus Shark Media, Good morning, I'm Red Carter. Friday, January ninth,

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twenty twenty six. Three stories dominating the criminal justice landscape

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today Corpus Christi, Texas. The Uvalde trial is in turmoil.

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Former school police officer Adrian Gonzalez is on trial for

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abandoning children during the massacre. But on Tuesday, teacher Stephanie

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Hale dropped a bombshell the defense never saw coming. Testified

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she saw the gunman on the south side of campus,

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same area where Gonzalez was stationed. Defense screamed foul. Said

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it was one hundred and eighty degrees different from what

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she told investigators in twenty twenty two. Judge denied mistrial

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motion yesterday. Today Hale returns to the stand. The judge

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will decide whether to strike her entire testimony and tell

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the jury to forget everything she said. Los Angeles. Nick

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Reiner's arraignment postponed until February. Rob Reiner's thirty two year

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old son is charged with murdering both his parents, legendary

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filmmaker Rob Reiner seventy eight and philanthropist Michelle Singer Reiner

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seventy eight seventy stabbed to death in their Brentwood home

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last month. Celebrity attorney Alan Jackson withdrew from the case Wednesday.

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No explanation given. Nick's been assigned a public defender. Ten

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sealed subpoenas outstanding. Something big is happening behind closed doors

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and Las Vegas. Former adult film star Devin Michaels faces

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sentencing today. Convicted in November of bludgeoning and decapitating forty

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six year old Jonathan Willett, the father of her two daughters,

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then marrying his son. She faces life in prison. The

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head was never recovered. Police believe she threw it in

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the trash. I'm reed, Carter today, a trial in chaos,

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a Hollywood murder mystery, and a sentence for one of

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them most gruesome killings in Las Vegas history. This is

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celebrity trials. Let's start in Texas Noos's County Courthouse in

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Corpus Christi, Day three of state vers Adrian Gonzalez. Quick

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background for anyone just joining us. May twenty fourth, twenty

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twenty two. Rob Elementary School in Uvalde, Salvador Ramos, eighteen

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years old, walked into the school with an AR fifteen

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style rifle, killed nineteen children and two teachers wounded seventeen others,

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the deadliest school shooting in Texas history. But the horror

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didn't end with Ramos. What happened next, or rather, what

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didn't happen, became the second tragedy. Law enforcement waited seventy

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seven minutes before breaching the classroom, seventy seven minutes while

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children bled out on the floor, while teachers called nine

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to one one begging for help, while parents outside the

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school screamed at officers to do something anything. Adrian Gonzalez

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was a Uvalde School District police officer fifty two years old,

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twenty nine years in law enforcement, first officer to arrive

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at rob Elementary while Ramos was still outside the building.

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According to prosecutors, he had a chance to confront the

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shooter before he entered the school. He didn't take it.

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Now he's charged with twenty nine counts of child endangerment

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and abandonment. First time in Texas history a police officer

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has faced criminal charges for their response to a mass shooting,

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second time ever in the United States after Scott Peterson

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in Parkland, who was acquitted in twenty twenty three. Tuesday

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was day one of testimony, Prosecutor Bill Turner told the

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jury that coach Melody Flores saw Ramos in the teacher

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parking lot and told Gonzales over there, he's wearing black,

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but Gonzalez didn't engage. He remained at the south side

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of the school and only went inside after the damn

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image was done. Defense attorney Nico L. Hood fired back,

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said there's an animal involved in this situation, a monster,

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and that monster is no longer here. Said Gonzales acted

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on the information available to him, radioed for help, evacuated children,

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did his job. Then came Stephanie Hale. Hale was a

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teacher at rob Elementary that day, brought her class inside

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when she heard shots. Testified about teachers securing a door

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with an extension cord, students arming themselves with scissors, hiding, praying,

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waiting for help that took over an hour to arrive.

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But then Hale said something that nearly blew up the

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entire trial. She testified she saw children playing near an

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open air pavilion, said she may have seen puffs of

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dirt indicating shots were being fired. And then on the

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way to the classroom, I saw a person in all

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black and a long weapon. It looked like he was

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at this entrance, a door right there. I thought he

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was more on the sidewalk that location, the south side

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of campus, the same area where Adrian Gonzalez was stationed.

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Defense attorney Jason Goss immediately objected, asked for a sidebar,

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then asked to speak with his client, something experienced court

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observers called highly unusual during trial testimony. Here's the problem.

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Hale never told anyone this before, not the Texas Rangers

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who interviewed her in twenty twenty two, four days after

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the shooting, not the grand jury that indicted Gonzales, not

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during any pre trial preparation. The defense had never seen

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this testimony. Judge sid Harl recessed court for the day. Wednesday,

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morning arguments began. Goss was furious. It's insanely different, he

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told the judge. It is one hundred eighty degrees different

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than her prior testimony to the grand jury and her

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prior statement to the ranger. And it is of a

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matter of such importance because it placed the gunman on

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the south side. It's the same place where my client was,

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where he responded to, and where he went to. The

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defense wanted a mistrial, said the prosecution had failed to

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disclose material evidence, that their entire defense strategy was built

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on a timeline that Hale's new testimony contradicted. Here's where

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it gets even stranger. District Attorney Christina Mitchell, took the

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stand herself under oath, testified that she was also caught

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off guard by Hale's testimony. Didn't know about the specific

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location detail, said it was never disclosed in prior statements

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or interviews. A prosecutor testifying in her own case about

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her own failures to disclose evidence, you don't see that often.

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Judge harl ruled yesterday afternoon denied the mistrial motion. Found

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the prosecution was negligent, but not intentionally withholding evidence. There's

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a difference in the law. Negligence is carelessness intentional withholding

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his cheating. One gets you a stern warning. The other

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gets you a mistrial and possible sanctions. But here's the compromise.

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The defense can play Hale's original twenty twenty two interview

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where she said she did not see the shooter in

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that location. Prosecutors can requestion her, and the defense reserved

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the right to ask the judge to exclude her testimony entirely. Today,

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Stephanie Hale returns to the stand for continued cross examination.

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The judge will then decide whether to strike her entire

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testimony and instruct the jury to disregard it. This is

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a pivotal moment. If the testimony stands, prosecution has a

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witness who places the shooter in the same area as Gonzales.

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If it struck, the jury is told to forget. One

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of the most dramatic moments of trial. Jesse Rizo is

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the uncle of victim Jackie Kazaris. He's been in the

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courtroom every day. Told reporters he was relieved the trial continues.

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Said a mistrial would be an injustice to the families

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who waited years for this day. But he admitted his

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confidence in Da Mitchell is shaken. He believes she learned

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from this mistake. Here's the bigger picture. This case was

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always going to be difficult. Proving criminal negligence against a

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police officer requires showing he had a legal duty to act,

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failed to act, and his failure caused harm. Even if

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Gonzales saw Ramos and didn't engage, the defense will argue

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he was following active shooter protocols. That emphasize officer safety

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and waiting for backup. Criminologist Alex del Carman estimates a

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fifty percent chance of conviction. Coin flip. Either Gonzalez abandoned

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those children, or he did what he was trained to

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do in an impossible situation. Former police chief Pete Aredondo

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was also indicted ten counts. His trial hasn't been scheduled yet.

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Twenty One people died in rab Elementary that day, nineteen

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children and two teachers. Their families have waited nearly four

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years for someone to answer for the botched response. Today

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might determine whether they get that accountability or whether the

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case falls apart before it reaches the jury. Make it

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make sense. We'll be right back with the latest on

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Nick Reiner. Why did his celebrity lawyer quit and what's

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in those ten sealed subpoenas. Welcome back to celebrity trials.

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I'm reed Carter. Quick update on a story we're following closely.

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Nick Reiner was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Los Angeles.

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He's charged with two counts of first degree murder. His parents,

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Rob Reiner and Michelle Singer Reiner, stabbed to death in

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their Brentwood Home on December fourteenth. Rob Reiner was seventy

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eight years old. Legendary filmmaker directed When Harry Met Sally,

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A Few Good Men, The Princess Bride stand by Me.

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Started as Meathead on All in the Fan Emily, Hollywood Royalty.

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Michelle Singer Reiner was seventy photographer, philanthropist married to Rob

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for thirty six years. Co founded the Fulfillment Fund, helping

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underprivileged students access higher education. Both found with multiple stab wounds.

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Their son, Nick, thirty two, arrested at the scene. Wednesday's

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arraignment was supposed to be straightforward, enter a plea, set

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a preliminary hearing date, standard procedure. Instead, chaos celebrity attorney

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Alan Jackson withdrew from the case no explanation provided. Judge

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Teresa McGonagall approved the withdrawal. The court assigned Deputy Public

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Defender Kimberly Green as Nick's new council. Alan Jackson is

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a big name in Los Angeles criminal defense. Represented Phil

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Spector's second wife during the murder trials, defended a former

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DA investigator in a high profile corruption case. He doesn't

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just walk away from cases without reason. The new arraignment

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is set for February tix, twenty third, twenty twenty six,

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six weeks away. Here's what's interesting. Court records show ten

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outstanding subpoenas have been sealed. We don't know who they're

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for or what they're seeking. When a judge seals subpoena

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is in a murder case, it usually means sensitive witnesses

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or evidence that could compromise the investigation if disclosed. Nick

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appeared in court Wednesday wearing brown jail garb, head shaved.

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He's being held without bail. The prosecution filed special circumstances

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allegations multiple murders, use of a dangerous weapon. That means,

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if convicted, Nick faces life without parole or possibly death.

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Deputy d A. Habib Balian is prosecuting. He handled the

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Menendez brother's case. He handled Robert Durst. When the DA's

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office assigns Ballian, they mean business. Rob Reiner's half brother Chuck,

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and sister Andy were in the courtroom Wednesday. No statements

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to the press. Whatever happened in that Brentwood home on

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December fourteenth, We're a long way from knowing the full story.

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The lawyer change the sealed subpoenas the delayed arraignment. Something

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is going on behind closed doors. We'll keep you updated

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as this develops. Coming up. Former adult film star Devin

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Michaels faces sentencing today for one of the most gruesome

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murders in Las Vegas history. She killed the father of

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her children, decapitated him, then married his son. Now she

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faces life in prison. Welcome back to celebrity trials. I'm

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reed Carter, Las Vegas, Nevada, Clark County District Court. Today,

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Judge Tierra Jones will sentence Devon Michaels for first degree

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murder with use of a deadly weapon. She faces life

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in prison. Let me walk you through how we got here,

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because this case is unlike anything I've ever covered. August seventh,

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twenty twenty three, Henderson, Nevada, a suburb of Las Vegas.

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Yoko Wilette woke up around eight in the morning, went

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downstairs to check on her son, Jonathan. Found his bedroom

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door ajar inside. Jonathan Willette, forty six years old, was

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in bed, wrapped in bloody blankets, his body drenched in chemicals,

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and his head was missing. Let that sink in. A

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mother found her son decapitated in his own bed. Yoko

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called nine to one one Police arrived to find one

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of the most gruesome crime scenes Henderson had ever processed

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strong ammonia bleach odor, creating toxic gas, body with chemical burns,

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clean post mortem decapitation, diamond weave pattern on the body

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matching the mattress. Someone had killed Jonathan, cut off his head,

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poured chemicals on him, and fled. The head was never recovered.

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Police believe it was thrown in a neighborhood trash bin

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and hauled away by waste services. Suspicion immediately fell on

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Devon Michael's forty seven years old former adult film star

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who used names like Nicki Fairchild and Tracy Taverrez, mother

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of Jonathan's two daughters, ages seven and nine. But here's

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where it gets twisted. When police began investigating, they discovered

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Devon wasn't just the mother of Jonathan's children, she was

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also married to his son, Devier Willette, twenty nine years old,

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Jonathan's son from a previous relationship, also Devn's stepson, also

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Devin's husband. Devon had married Jonathan in twenty twelve. They

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had two daughters together. Divorced in twenty eighteen, with Jonathan

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getting full custody of the kids. Sometime after that, Devin

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began a sexual relationship with Devier, her former stepson, who

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was nineteen at the time and had just lost his virginity.

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In twenty twenty one, when Devn was forty three and

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Devierre was twenty five, they got married. Prosecutor Britain Nanie

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Griffith put it plainly at trial. This is a woman

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in her late thirties that decided to begin a sexual

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relationship with her nineteen year old stepson who had just

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lost his virginity. So picture this. Devon is married to Devier,

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but she shares two daughters with Devier's father, Jonathan. Jonathan

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had full custody, and in August twenty twenty three, Jonathan

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was preparing to move into Devon's home permanently to be

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closer to the girls. Prosecutors believe that's what triggered the murder.

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Devon didn't want Jonathan moving in, didn't want him disrupting

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the home life she'd built with his son, didn't want

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to share her fantasy. The night of August sixth, twenty

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twenty three, surveillance footage shows Devon and Jonathan together at

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a gas station At ten eleven pm. They drove to

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his mother's house together. Yoko testified she saw Devon in

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the kitchen around one am. Devon seemed startled, said Jonathan

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got drunk and went to bed. Around two am, Yoko

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heard a strange noise, dogs barking something like a bang.

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GPS data shows Devon's Nissan Armada left the scene at

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two four am. At two twenty eight am, she was

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spotted alone at a CVS drive through. Returned to her

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own home at two thirty nine am. Eight hours later,

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Yoko found her son's headless body. Police found damning evidence

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at Devon's home, Jonathan's wallet, ID and truck keys in

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knotted plastic bags in her underwear drawer, her DNA on

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the knots, his Social Security card in her purse, his

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bloody cell phone in her driveway. In police interviews, Devon

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confessed to hitting Jonathan in the head with a club

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or stick while giving him a massage. Said he made

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unwonted advances, said he stopped moving after she hit him,

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but she denied decapitating him. Refused to say where the

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head was, refused to identify the weapon. Detective Dennis Ozawa

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testified about an interview where a trash truck passed by

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Devon alleged said Jonathan went bye bye. The jury never

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heard that statement because it came after Devon requested an attorney.

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The medical examiner, doctor Stephanie Yagi, testified the decapitation required

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two instruments, a hand powered knife and a mechanically powered

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saw sharp force trauma on vertebrae C two and C

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three cuts around the time of death. Forensic anthropologist doctor

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Jennifer Burns testified that a petit person could perform the

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decapitation because the mechanical saw does the work for you.

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At trial last November, defense attorney Robert Draskovich pointed the

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finger at Devier. Said the victim's own son killed him

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out of jealousy. Said Devier was being kicked out of

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the home the same day Jonathan was moving in. Said

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Devier worked as a security installer with access to power tools,

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including saws alls, but the jury didn't buy it. Devier

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testified he had nothing to do with his father's murder.

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No cell phone or video evidence put him at the

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crime scene. His phone showed no pings toward the murder

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location that night November fourteenth, twenty twenty five, after less

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than two hours of deliberation, the jury convicted Devon Michaels

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of first degree murder with use of a deadly weapon.

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Here's the kicker. Devon had previously pleaded guilty to second

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degree murder, would have been eligible for parole after fifteen years,

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but at the sentencing hearing in July, she apologized to

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the family, then immediately said she was innocent, said she

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could prove it withdrew her plea. Prosecutor John Giordani was

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done playing games. I'm not comfortable with this record. Let's

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go to trial. So instead of fifteen years to life,

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Devon rolled the dice lost and to day Judge Tiera

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Jones will hand down her sentence. She faces life in

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prison with or without the possibility of parole. We'll have

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the update for you Monday. Jonathan Willette was forty six

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years old, father of two daughters, had just one full

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custody of his kids. Was moving in to be closer

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to them. Should be coaching their soccer games, attending their

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school plays, walking them down the aisle someday. Instead, his

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head is in a landfill somewhere. His body was found

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drenched in chemicals, and the mother of his children, who

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then married his son, will likely spend the rest of

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her life behind bars. Oh and one more detail. Court

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records show Devon was previously married to Robert Louis Baker.

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Baker was convicted in California of murdering Fabio Semonilly with

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his lover Monica Semonilly. Devon Michaels has now been connected

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to two different murder cases through two different husbands. Some

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people just can't be rehabilitated. Some people are just evil.

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Rest in peace, Jonathan. Your daughters deserved better, Your mother

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deserved better. You deserved better. That's Celebrity Trials for Friday,

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January ninth, twenty twenty six. Uvaldi trial and Turmoil. Teacher

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Stephanie Hale's bombshell testimony nearly caused a mistrial. She returns

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to the stand today. Judge will decide whether to strike

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her testimony entirely. Twenty one families Waiting for justice. Nick

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Reiner's arraignment postponed to February after celebrity lawyer Alan Jackson

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Withdrew Rob Reiner's son charged with murdering both parents. Ten

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sealed subpoenas. Something big brewing in Los Angeles and former

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adult film star Devin Michaels faces sentencing today. Killed the

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father of her children, decapitated him, married his son, withdrew

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her plea thinking she could beat the charges lost. She

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faces life in prison. We'll have the update Monday. I'm

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read Carter, have a good weekend, Stay safe, lock your doors.

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This is celebrity trials.