Reality TV Host’s Boyfriend Convicted of Second-Degree Murder
Robert Brian Reagan, 53, of Redondo Beach, California, was convicted of second-degree murder on Friday for the stabbing death of his girlfriend, reality TV lawyer Loredana Nesci, 47. The body builder will be sentenced to 16 years to life in prison on September 19th.
Loredana Nesci starred in “Loredana Esq.” on Sundance TV. She joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1996 and worked as a patrol officer in the southwest division. According to her biography, Nesci was one of the officers present during the 1997 North Hollywood shootout.
In 1998, Nesci enrolled in law school at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, and in 2004, she returned to California to pursue a career in entertainment, including hosting the radio show KCAA-AM before landing her TV gig. “Loredana Esq.” ran for six episodes in 2014 with viewers dubbing Nesci “the legal diva.” The show featured beyond the scenes footage of life inside the couple’s home, including the two working through renovations together and discussing child care.
Reagan’s defense attorney, Shepard Kopp, had argued that the reality star had attacked him with a hunting knife on July 22, 2015, and she fell on the blade sometime during the struggle, leaving a 7-inch cut along her abdomen. His client waited five hours to call authorities in order to protect his five-year-old son from finding his mother’s body. He first called his sister to come pick the boy up, then placed a 911 call.
“While defending himself against her assault with a deadly weapon, [Reagan] tried to disarm her, and in the intense struggle that ensued she tragically suffered a fatal wound,” according to Kopp. “While [Reagan] is not guilty of committing any criminal offense, he is devastated by this horrible event.”
However, Sgt. Fabian Saucedo said of the way Reagan handled the ordeal, “It was kind of weird actually. He didn’t say anything. It’s one of those things we call an unknown trouble call. It was very vague, like, ‘What’s going on?’” Prosecutor Allyson Ostrowski told the jury Reagan had in fact attacked Nesci with the “Rambo-style hunting knife,” slicing open her abdomen.
Since officers are required to respond to every emergency call, they drove by the residence and found Reagan waiting in a daze outside. “He gave them details of what may have occurred, and as a result [police officers] decided they better go in and check the welfare,” Saucedo explained. “That’s where they found the body. Obviously it was some kind of domestic dispute; otherwise, its wouldn’t have led to this.”
Reagan was taken away in handcuffs. He was convicted of second-degree murder rather than first-degree because jurors did not find premeditation was involved. One juror explained, however, that some of the physical evidence, including blood splat patterns at the scene, did not match the man’s story. The jury believed that the couple had intended to break up and Reagan didn’t want to go through an expensive custody battle over their son. He thought he’d take the “easier” way out, not considering the consequences of conviction.
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Jurors find Redondo Beach man guilty in stabbing death of reality show lawyer
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