Loredana Nesci and Robert Reagan made quite the couple – he was a chiselled former model and she was an attorney known as the ‘Legal Diva’, and their busy lives were documented in a reality TV show.
But it wasn’t their glam lifestyle that the pair would be remembered for. It was the way their relationship came to a grisly end.
It was 2015 and the couple lived in Redondo Beach, California, with their son Rocco, then five. They’d been together seven years.
Robert, 51, was a former male model. In the 1980s he’d been in a variety of high-end advertising campaigns for Hugo Boss and Calvin Klein.
He had two older sons from a previous marriage, but the divorce had been lengthy and litigious, costing him a reported $100,000 (£76,000).
Loredana, 47, was a former LA police officer who became a formidable attorney – hence the nickname ‘Legal Diva’. But she also had a big heart and would lend a hand on animal rights causes.
Striking, with long dark hair, she was also a successful body builder, had her own radio slot and, in 2014, was the star of a six-episode reality show called Loredana, Esq..
The series followed her personal life and featured her and Robert renovating their house – it also aired their arguments over mounting bills and childcare costs. It seemed their world wasn’t so perfect after all. Loredana confided in friends that she was ready to end things with Robert and move on. In her typical positive fashion, she was upbeat about the future. Rocco was her life and would be her focus. But would Robert feel the same way?
On July 22, 2015, at around 7am, Robert called 911 to report an emergency. He was so distraught that the operator couldn’t really understand what he was saying, but they sent police round.
Hunting knife
When they arrived, Robert was outside waiting for them.
"I had a struggle with my girlfriend with a knife. She’s in the bedroom,’" he said.
They went inside and found Loredana dead in the master bedroom. There was a 7-inch long abdominal wound that had caused four wounds internally to her intestines and a kidney.
Robert said they’d been arguing and Loredana had pulled out a hunting knife. In the struggle, she’d been fatally injured. However, when Robert had called 911, he said it had just happened, but experts believed she was probably killed around 3am, hours earlier. It turned out he’d called his sister who came to collect Rocco. Robert had even had a shower, proved by the blood found in the shower base.
Robert was arrested and charged with Loredana’s murder. He was released on bail and free until his trial this year. In court, the weapon used to kill Loredana was revealed as a 15-inch ‘Rambo-style’ hunting knife.
Robert’s defence said that Loredana was an ‘exceptionally strong’ body builder, and she’d pulled the knife out during an argument. Robert had acted in self-defence and in the struggle, she’d impaled herself.
"Tragic accident"
"While defending himself against her assault with a deadly weapon, [Robert] tried to disarm her, and in the intense struggle that ensued she tragically suffered a fatal wound," they said. "While [Robert] is not guilty of committing any criminal offence, he is devastated by this horrible event," they added.
Robert took the stand to describe the ‘tragic accident’. He testified that they’d had sex that morning and Loredana had punched him. He’d retreated to the bathroom and when he came out, she had the knife.
"She did a sort of blood-curdling 'Get the f*** out of the house,'" Robert claimed. "She held the knife up and took a step toward me."
Robert said he fought to get the weapon from her and she accidentally fell on the knife. "She made a noise,’ he said. "She made like a loud scream." Then Loredana said, "I’m dying."
The former model told jurors that he tried to resuscitate her, but it was too late.
"I turned her over," he said. "Her eyes were open and her mouth was open. Her stomach was wide open and her intestines were hanging out…
"I kind of lost it. I became very emotional. I was screaming, 'No!' and I was shaking her."
When asked why he’d waited five hours to call police, he said he knew that Loredana was dead and didn’t want his son to see her.
He called his sister in San Diego, packed his things and waited for Rocco to be picked up.
Prosecutors said that Robert had killed Loredana to avoid a lengthy and costly custody battle over their son – something he’d experienced with his first wife.
They said he’d effectively ‘gutted’ his girlfriend and her injuries were so severe that her insides looked like ‘Swiss cheese’. Loredana also had defensive wounds. If she’d fallen on the knife, how had it happened four times?
Robert couldn’t explain the blood on the sliding glass door in their bedroom, or how Loredana’s knees were scraped. It suggested she’d tried to open the door to escape – but he’d dragged her back in.
In August this year, after three days of jury deliberations, Robert was found guilty of second-degree murder. He was seen crying as he was taken into custody. The following month, Loredana’s grieving father, John Nesci, said the killing had destroyed his family and life would never be the same.
"All of a sudden, in the dark of the night, everything was stolen from her and from all of us," he said.
Selfish and brutal
Loredana’s brother, Robert Nesci, had written a letter that was read out. "I will never know what Loredana ever saw in you.
"She wasted years of her life, gifted you with so much money, and foolishly believed in your stories. You told her lie after lie.
"You were never grateful but, just like any other con man, you tried to dig deeper and get more out of her for doing nothing. And when she was finally going to leave you, you gutted her like a farm animal."
Robert was sentenced to life in prison. He’ll be eligible for parole in 16 years. The judge was damning of his actions.
"Who waits five hours to call 911 if it’s an accident?" he said. "I am convinced the jury’s decision was the right decision.
"Your conduct has shown that you are callous, you are cruel, selfish and brutal, and it’s time for you to pay."
Robert and Loredana were a power couple but, in the end, one took ultimate, tragic, control.