Latest / Least of These / 249. “Culpable” - The Case of Rena Nguyen - Orem, Utah

Transcript

249. “Culpable” - The Case of Rena Nguyen - Orem, Utah · Least of These

0:01
[SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to least of these where I cover the cases that need it most because every life matters and everyone deserves justice.
0:08
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm your host, Leia D. Today I'll be covering the case of Reno when in Oramuta.
0:13
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's get right to it.
0:52
[SPEAKER_00]: 20-year-old Rina Wynn was bright, joyful, and full of promise.
0:56
[SPEAKER_00]: She had graduated at the top of her high school class and the San Francisco Bay area, and at just 17 years old, she entered Brigham in Young University.
1:05
[SPEAKER_00]: Reno was studying biology at BYU with dreams of becoming a radiologist.
1:11
[SPEAKER_00]: According to her family, everything was going great.
1:14
[SPEAKER_00]: Reno was flourishing at school, and academics weren't the only thing she was passionate about.
1:19
[SPEAKER_00]: Reno also loved graphic design drawing butterflies, skiing, and ice skating.
1:25
[SPEAKER_00]: She was young, she was ambitious, and she had so much ahead of her.
1:30
[SPEAKER_00]: In the fall of her junior year, Rina's parents rose in Keith Wynn, gave her their old Mercedes to drive.
1:36
[SPEAKER_00]: Rina completely fell in love with a car.
1:39
[SPEAKER_00]: She loved it so much that she joined a Mercedes club in nearby Ogden, where she could meet other Mercedes enthusiasts and talk all things Mercedes.
1:48
[SPEAKER_00]: That car club is where she met 25-year-old Kayla Breeze.
1:52
[SPEAKER_00]: When they met in 2020, Reno was 19 and Reese was six years older.
1:57
[SPEAKER_00]: They shared a love of Mercedes, of course, and before long, they began dating.
2:02
[SPEAKER_00]: At some point, not long after their relationship began, Reno moved into Caleb's apartment.
2:08
[SPEAKER_00]: According to Reno's family, that's when things took a turn.
2:12
[SPEAKER_00]: Reno became more distant and began to isolate from her family and friends.
2:17
[SPEAKER_00]: Those closest to Rina knew her relationship with Breeze was tumultuous, but no one could have suspected just how dark things had become.
2:26
[SPEAKER_00]: All that would change 10 months into their relationship when a 911 call was placed from Kayla Breeze residents.
2:33
[SPEAKER_00]: At approximately 10-20am on October 1, 2021, Kayla Breeze called 911.
2:40
[SPEAKER_00]: He said, my girlfriend just shot herself in the head,
2:45
[SPEAKER_00]: Officers arrived a moment later and found 20-year-old Reno-Wen in an upstairs bedroom, gravely injured with a single gunshot wound to the head.
2:54
[SPEAKER_00]: Reno was transported to Utah Valley Hospital.
2:58
[SPEAKER_00]: As medical professionals tried to save her, officers at the scene began noticing that things didn't quite add up, starting with the gun.
3:06
[SPEAKER_00]: In documents obtained by ABC4 News, or employees detective Jeffrey Randall noted that the firearm appeared to have been manipulated
3:15
[SPEAKER_00]: The handgun was recovered in the hallway with the magazine removed and around still in the chamber.
3:21
[SPEAKER_00]: A bullet casing was also found nearby.
3:24
[SPEAKER_00]: But Reina had been found in the bedroom.
3:27
[SPEAKER_00]: Detective Randall reportedly concluded that those facts were, quote, inconsistent with the account that the victim shot herself.
3:34
[SPEAKER_00]: The detective also noted that Reiss appeared to be under the influence of a controlled substance.
3:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Of course, police sat down to talk to Caleb Reiss.
3:44
[SPEAKER_00]: Reece told police that he and Reina had been arguing and that he had a loaded handgun on the side of the bed where Reina had been sitting.
3:51
[SPEAKER_00]: He explained that when he got up to leave the room, Reina was wrapped in a blanket sitting on the corner of the bed.
3:57
[SPEAKER_00]: Reece claimed that as he was leaving the room, he picked up the handgun and moved it to a table next to the bedroom door.
4:04
[SPEAKER_00]: Then, moments later, he said he heard a single gunshot.
4:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Rees said he rushed back into the room, found Rina, and called 911.
4:13
[SPEAKER_00]: But what happened inside that bedroom would raise questions that remained unanswered for years?
4:18
[SPEAKER_00]: Two days later, on October 3, 2021, 20-year-old Rina wins succumbed to her injuries.
4:45
[UNKNOWN]: You
4:52
[SPEAKER_00]: Reno when's death was rolled to suicide, but responding officers and the people who knew Reno best believe there was a whole lot more to the story, and as it turned out there was.
5:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Reno's relationship with Reece had been volatile and troubling since the pair began dating, and in the hours just before her death, Reno had reached out for help.
5:12
[SPEAKER_00]: That 911 call for
5:17
[SPEAKER_00]: The Salt Lake Tribune reported that earlier that morning, Reena sent a text message to a friend saying she had a gun to her head.
5:24
[SPEAKER_00]: She wrote, I can't keep doing this.
5:26
[SPEAKER_00]: I want to live, but not like this.
5:30
[SPEAKER_00]: That text message had been sent at 103am.
5:34
[SPEAKER_00]: The friend who received it was Lauren Krossen, a woman who helped victims of domestic and sexual violence.
5:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Reena had recently begun opening up to Lauren about what was happening in her relationship with Rees.
5:46
[SPEAKER_00]: But Lauren was asleep when the message came through and didn't hear her phone.
5:50
[SPEAKER_00]: When she woke up that morning, she tried to call Rina.
5:54
[SPEAKER_00]: There was no answer.
5:55
[SPEAKER_00]: Concern for her friend Lauren called police and asked for an officer to go to the apartment for a welfare check.
6:02
[SPEAKER_00]: She told the officer about the alarming text message and about the troubling relationship between Caleb and Rina.
6:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Instead of going to the apartment, however, or a police called Rina.
6:13
[SPEAKER_00]: According to ABC4, Officer Wolkin contacted Rina about the text she had sent to her friend.
6:19
[SPEAKER_00]: Rina allegedly denied sending the message and said she was fine and didn't want police assistance.
6:25
[SPEAKER_00]: The officer asked for her location, but Rina wouldn't tell him.
6:29
[SPEAKER_00]: Officer Wolkin documented the call in a report, but did not attempt to locate Rina in person.
6:36
[SPEAKER_00]: 33 minutes later, Caleb Ries called 911 and reported that Rina had shot herself in the head.
6:43
[SPEAKER_00]: And that morning wasn't even the first time police had been called regarding calibrates.
6:48
[SPEAKER_00]: There was a documented history of abuse, and Reina had already told police she was afraid of him.
6:54
[SPEAKER_00]: According to documents obtained by the Salt Lake Tribune, on December 1, 2020, Reina called 911 and said Reise was out of control, while Lee swinging firearms in her presence while intoxicated.
7:07
[SPEAKER_00]: She told police at the time she was scared to go home with him.
7:10
[SPEAKER_00]: Then, on June 24th, 2021, Rina called police again.
7:16
[SPEAKER_00]: This time, she asked for help safely going to the apartment she shared with Ries to retrieve her personal belongings, and officer accompanied her.
7:24
[SPEAKER_00]: While they are Rina told the officer that Ries was, quote, physically abusive to her and that he regularly used illicit drugs.
7:32
[SPEAKER_00]: The police report also stated that Rina said Caleb Risa threatened to kill her the day before and had physically and sexually assaulted her multiple times over the previous months.
7:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Rina told the officer that on one occasion, Risa held a gun to her face and forced her to have sex with him.
7:49
[SPEAKER_00]: That officer had Rina undergo a domestic violence risk assessment.
7:53
[SPEAKER_00]: She was classified as being in the high-risk category.
7:57
[SPEAKER_00]: According to a complaint later filed by Rina's parents against the Urum Police Department, the officer told Rina she'd normally be connected with a victim advocate, but since one wasn't available, she could contact a victim advocate if needed.
8:11
[SPEAKER_00]: And that was it.
8:13
[SPEAKER_00]: Rina's wasn't arrested.
8:15
[SPEAKER_00]: His weapons weren't compensated despite the allegations involving his firearms,
8:24
[SPEAKER_00]: KSL reported that Kayla Breeze had four prior convictions on drug and alcohol charges, including one as a juvenile.
8:31
[SPEAKER_00]: He had also pleaded guilty to one prior misdemeanor assault.
8:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Breeze had no legal right to have a gun, yet absolutely nothing was done.
8:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Nothing.
8:41
[SPEAKER_00]: Reina hadn't been the only one talking about the abuse either.
8:45
[SPEAKER_00]: There was evidence that Reiss himself had acknowledged hurting her.
8:49
[SPEAKER_00]: ABC4 News reported that law enforcement had recovered recordings of conversations between Reina and Reiss.
8:56
[SPEAKER_00]: Conversations in which Reiss allegedly admitted to doing something terrible to her and said he was sorry after Reina asked him to give her space
9:08
[SPEAKER_00]: In other conversations, Riz acknowledged that he had hurt Rina and said he couldn't promise he wouldn't hurt her again.
9:13
[SPEAKER_00]: He also suggested that Rina put her parents behind her because they weren't helpful, whatever the hell that means.
9:22
[SPEAKER_00]: And those messages Riz also admitted to doing marijuana and mushrooms.
9:27
[SPEAKER_00]: and according to investigators he allegedly argued with Rina after she told him she couldn't continue their relationship if he continued to sell drugs.
9:36
[SPEAKER_00]: Despite the evidence that Rina was a victim of domestic violence and despite the questions surrounding exactly what happened that morning, Rina Wenz Death was rolled a suicide and the case was essentially closed.
9:49
[SPEAKER_00]: But for Rina's parents, that wasn't acceptable.
9:53
[SPEAKER_00]: Rosing Keith Wynn filed a civil lawsuit against the Uram Police Department.
9:57
[SPEAKER_00]: The Wynn's alleged that officers failed to intervene in protect Rina despite knowing she was at risk.
10:04
[SPEAKER_00]: They argued that police had failed to properly respond to the domestic violence reports and failed to take action after Rina was assessed as being at high risk.
10:13
[SPEAKER_00]: The Orm Police Department argued in court filings that Utah's governmental immunity law precluded them from any culpability and renaissance abuse and or death.
10:22
[SPEAKER_00]: The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed, but renaissance family didn't give up.
10:27
[SPEAKER_00]: They believed calibraries needed to be held accountable.
10:31
[SPEAKER_00]: The Tribune reported that after the lawsuit was dismissed, the family-hard private investigator Michael Anderson, and what he would eventually uncover on Rina's phone changed the entire course of the investigation into her death.
10:45
[SPEAKER_00]: Rina had secretly recorded what was happening inside that apartment in the hours leading up to her death.
10:51
[SPEAKER_00]: and those recordings captured an absolutely devastating picture of Rina's final hours.
10:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Around 12.30 a.m. on October 1st, Rina began recording a conversation between her self-inreads.
11:04
[SPEAKER_00]: Riz was clearly irritated.
11:07
[SPEAKER_00]: He asked Rina if she would get him in trouble if they broke up.
11:10
[SPEAKER_00]: Rina responded, it depends, explaining it depended on whether or not he tried to hurt her again.
11:16
[SPEAKER_00]: Rina began yelling at Rina repeatedly calling her a rat, while also saying he would never hurt her again.
11:24
[SPEAKER_00]: Then at 103am, Rina sent that text message to her friend Lauren.
11:29
[SPEAKER_00]: The message said that she had put a loaded gun to her head with the safety off.
11:33
[SPEAKER_00]: She wrote, I can't keep doing this.
11:35
[SPEAKER_00]: I want to live, but not like this.
11:38
[SPEAKER_00]: At 256am, Reeves recorded video of Reina sobbing as he berated her, and he threatened to send the video to her parents.
11:46
[SPEAKER_00]: Hours later, the police were called.
11:49
[SPEAKER_00]: Lauren saw Reina's message at around 10am.
11:52
[SPEAKER_00]: She contacted Oram Police asking for that welfare check.
11:55
[SPEAKER_00]: But as we know, instead of going to the apartment, an officer called Rina, Rina refused to give her location and said she didn't want any help from police.
12:04
[SPEAKER_00]: And when she got off that phone, Rina became enraged.
12:08
[SPEAKER_00]: He began to question why the police have been called, Rina tried to explain.
12:18
[SPEAKER_00]: Reina began sobbing and eventually agreed to show it to him.
12:22
[SPEAKER_00]: Reis told her that she needed to leave the house and that he couldn't keep loaded firearms in the house.
12:28
[SPEAKER_00]: He also stated that if the police showed up, he would quote spray them and then kill himself.
12:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Then he continued berating Reina, telling her that she, quote, wasted his time and ruined his life.
12:41
[SPEAKER_00]: He continued his tirade as he walked out of the room, minutes later, Reina shot herself.
12:47
[SPEAKER_00]: The recordings captured everything, Reina pleading with Rees to please stop as he yelled screened and told her she needed to be placed in a mental institution.
12:56
[SPEAKER_00]: The sounds of rez allegedly picking up the gun, his footsteps walking across the room.
13:02
[SPEAKER_00]: The sound of the gun being placed on the table right and rena's direct line of sight as he continued to berate her.
13:08
[SPEAKER_00]: And his footsteps leaving the room.
13:11
[SPEAKER_00]: And then the sound of that single gunshot.
13:14
[SPEAKER_00]: Reno when had pulled the trigger, but Calabries had knowingly placed a loaded gun within reach of a woman he knew was in crisis.
13:22
[SPEAKER_00]: After spending hours berating and humiliating her.
13:26
[SPEAKER_00]: The recordings were disturbing to say the very least.
13:30
[SPEAKER_00]: Rees knew Reno was in crisis.
13:32
[SPEAKER_00]: He knew she had recently held a loaded gunner at.
13:35
[SPEAKER_00]: He knew police had been contacted because of that message.
13:39
[SPEAKER_00]: And yet, instead of getting help, Reeves continued to berate her and all but placed the loaded gun in her hand.
13:47
[SPEAKER_00]: The Wens, their attorneys, and the private investigator believed Reeves was responsible for her death, but would the law see it that way.
13:56
[SPEAKER_00]: Those recordings were ultimately turned over to the Utah County Attorney's Office, and nearly three years after Rena Wens' death, Caleb Reeves was charged with manslaughter,
14:07
[SPEAKER_00]: The Salt Lake Tribune reported that when he was arrested in relation to Rina's death, police found six pounds of controlled substances in his apartment and six firearms.
14:18
[SPEAKER_00]: Charging documents obtained by Utah News dispatch say that Rina's final hours were as troubled as her relationship with Rina's.
14:26
[SPEAKER_00]: Prosecutors alleged that Reece had known that Reina held a loaded gun to her head mere hours before the shooting, and that she'd sent that text to a friend.
14:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Yet he did nothing to help her.
14:36
[SPEAKER_00]: Instead, they alleged he continued berating her as he had throughout their entire relationship.
14:42
[SPEAKER_00]: Prosecutor Charlotte Howard alleged that Rhys had taken advantage of Rhina's youth and naivety and isolated her from her family and friends.
14:50
[SPEAKER_00]: The prosecutor went on to say that in many ways Rhys went by the playbook of intimate partner violence, this according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
14:59
[SPEAKER_00]: KRDO news reported that prior to a preliminary hearing, Rina's parents rose in Keith delivered a statement outside the courthouse to remember Rina and bring awareness to domestic violence.
15:10
[SPEAKER_00]: Rose said in part, to those who bring harm and terror into others' lives, know this.
15:15
[SPEAKER_00]: Truth does not sleep, and justice, however delayed, does not forget, as we say in faith.
15:21
[SPEAKER_00]: Wickedness was never happiness.
15:24
[SPEAKER_00]: Rose remembered her daughter as a radiant soul, a devoted daughter, a beacon of light to all who knew her, a young woman with a gentle spirit with an extraordinary capacity for empathy, kindness, and joy.
15:36
[SPEAKER_00]: She said, Reina loved the natural world, bound peace and music, and left pieces of her heart in the art she created for her community.
15:43
[SPEAKER_00]: She said that Rina remained gentle despite the domestic violence and kept her dream alive even in the shadows of cruelty.
15:50
[SPEAKER_00]: Rina had a future so full of promise, a future where she planned to serve, to heal, to make the world gentler and more humane.
15:58
[SPEAKER_00]: That future was stolen from her and from all of us in the most devastating way.
16:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Rose continued stating,
16:05
[SPEAKER_00]: Her absence is a silence that echoes in every room of our home, every corner of our community.
16:11
[SPEAKER_00]: It is the ache in our chest that will never leave.
16:13
[SPEAKER_00]: It is the promise on fulfilled, the future on live.
16:17
[SPEAKER_00]: No family should ever feel this kind of heartbreak.
16:19
[SPEAKER_00]: In her name we stand against domestic violence, we ask that you do the same.
16:24
[SPEAKER_00]: Our daughter was the best of us, and we will never stop telling the world who she was.
16:30
[SPEAKER_00]: Kayla Breeze ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter with the domestic violence enhancement, two counts of purchasing, possessing or using a firearm as a restricted person, and a drug charge, one count of possession with intent to distribute.
17:05
[SPEAKER_00]: and April of 2026, Caleb Reeves pled guilty to manslaughter.
17:10
[SPEAKER_00]: On July 17, 2026, everyone was back in the courtroom for sentencing with Judge Sean Peterson presiding.
17:18
[SPEAKER_00]: KSL Utah reported on the proceedings.
17:22
[SPEAKER_00]: Reza Terny Alex Mir told the court that his client had accepted his role in the quote, Tragedy.
17:28
[SPEAKER_00]: Mir said that Reza told Reza to leave the home because of the weapons inside, and that he had moved the handgun from the side of the bed near the door out of concern for her safety before he left the room.
17:40
[SPEAKER_00]: So he was concerned enough to move the gun, but not enough to take it out of the room as he left.
17:45
[SPEAKER_00]: Just making sure we all got that.
17:48
[SPEAKER_00]: Anyhow, his attorney went on to say that after Reena shot herself, Rees called 911 and tried to help her while waiting for the paramedics.
17:56
[SPEAKER_00]: He argued for a light sentence of jail and probation, saying basically the time Rees had already spent in jail was sufficient.
18:04
[SPEAKER_00]: The recommendation from adult probation in parole was between 75 and 210 days behind bars prior to probation, and Rees had already spent six times that in jail.
18:15
[SPEAKER_00]: Addressing the judge, Ree said he hadn't wanted Raina to harm herself that night, and he's not the same person he was then.
18:23
[SPEAKER_00]: He said, the regret, shame, remorse, and loss of that day is something that will never leave my mind.
18:30
[SPEAKER_00]: But Raina's family asked a judge to consider what they had lost.
18:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Reina's father Keith told the judge that Reina's sentence should reflect the gravity of what was taken from both Reina and their family.
18:42
[SPEAKER_00]: Keith also spoke about his constant grief and described Reina's actions as a pattern of escalating intentional cruelty.
18:50
[SPEAKER_00]: He went on to say, quote, knowing she spent her final moments terrified in a loan is a pain I will carry forever.
18:57
[SPEAKER_00]: Reina's mother Rose also addressed the court.
19:00
[SPEAKER_00]: She said, and those final moments of her life, our daughter was not heard.
19:05
[SPEAKER_00]: She was not protected.
19:06
[SPEAKER_00]: She was not safe.
19:09
[SPEAKER_00]: Reno's friend Lauren Cross and also spoke.
19:12
[SPEAKER_00]: Lauren recalled meeting Reno just weeks before her death after she bumped into her at a karaoke event in Provo.
19:19
[SPEAKER_00]: After Reno learned that Lauren ran a nearby safe house for those escaping sexual violence, Lauren said Reno clung to her like a lifeline.
19:27
[SPEAKER_00]: Reno began confiding in Lauren about reads, particularly about his drug use.
19:33
[SPEAKER_00]: Lauren told the court that Reina had tried to help him, she had tried to get him to stop using and selling drugs, and she tried to get him into treatment, but he refused.
19:42
[SPEAKER_00]: Lauren stated, I had a horrible feeling something like this was going to happen.
19:48
[SPEAKER_00]: The prosecution asked Judge Peterson to sentence Rees to the maximum.
19:53
[SPEAKER_00]: A part of the phone recording Reena head secretly taken was played in court.
19:57
[SPEAKER_00]: The courtroom listened as Caleb Rees screamed at Reena while she sobbed hysterically.
20:02
[SPEAKER_00]: He called her a rat and told her she was stupid and dumb.
20:05
[SPEAKER_00]: He took a video of her crying and threatened to send it to her parents.
20:10
[SPEAKER_00]: After the call from police, things went from bad to worse.
20:13
[SPEAKER_00]: Reeves became enraged because he believed Rina was the one who had called law enforcement.
20:18
[SPEAKER_00]: He told her to show him the text she sent her friend or to get out.
20:22
[SPEAKER_00]: Rina reportedly told him that she wasn't the one who called and that she hadn't told police anything.
20:27
[SPEAKER_00]: Reeves told her he didn't believe her.
20:29
[SPEAKER_00]: He called her a liar and told her to quote, Get the fuck out of my life.
20:34
[SPEAKER_00]: He screamed at her and said it one point.
20:36
[SPEAKER_00]: When I say get the fuck off the phone with police, I mean get the fuck off the phone.
20:41
[SPEAKER_00]: Rees accused Reno of cheating.
20:43
[SPEAKER_00]: He called her a snitch.
20:44
[SPEAKER_00]: He told her he didn't want her there anymore.
20:46
[SPEAKER_00]: He threatened to call his mother in a mental institution.
20:50
[SPEAKER_00]: At times he could be heard singing as he mocked Reno and accused her of calling the police about his drug deals.
20:56
[SPEAKER_00]: He could then be heard calling his mommy and asking her to help him remove Rina from the home.
21:02
[SPEAKER_00]: As Rina begged Rina to stop, she continued berating her.
21:06
[SPEAKER_00]: And then Rina was heard one final time.
21:10
[SPEAKER_00]: She said, stop, please, and a very quiet voice.
21:15
[SPEAKER_00]: Those were Rina Wenz last words.
21:18
[SPEAKER_00]: The recording picked up an audible click as the gun was placed on the table.
21:22
[SPEAKER_00]: Then footsteps walking out of the room.
21:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Moments later, a single gun shot.
21:28
[SPEAKER_00]: Both of Rina's parents were in the courtroom when the audio was played.
21:32
[SPEAKER_00]: They both cried and rose flinched at the sound of the shot that took her daughter's life.
21:38
[SPEAKER_00]: Judge Sean Peterson called the recording nothing short of horrific.
21:42
[SPEAKER_00]: The judge went on to say, quote, I've seen and heard some of the saddest and hardest situations imaginable.
21:48
[SPEAKER_00]: This case was different for a lot of reasons.
21:51
[SPEAKER_00]: This is a case that I frankly find disturbing on many levels.
21:55
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not normal or accepted behavior.
21:58
[SPEAKER_00]: The repeated threats demeaning statements and the ridicule mysteries that you keep upon Reina is just unnerving.
22:05
[SPEAKER_00]: To treat someone this way whom you had a close relationship with gives me a lot of pause about your future relationships and the safety of the public, he continued, a young woman with all the promise in the world died in part from your reckless actions and indifference.
22:20
[SPEAKER_00]: And then Judge Peterson handed down Reiss sentence.
22:24
[SPEAKER_00]: Caleb Reiss was ordered to serve four consecutive terms of up to five years in prison for
22:35
[SPEAKER_00]: After sentencing deputy Utah County Attorney Charlotte Howard address the media, she said this case was about all forms of domestic violence.
22:44
[SPEAKER_00]: Howard went on to say a breeze.
22:46
[SPEAKER_00]: He characterized Reina's last moments of grief and despair compounded by his words of belittlement as an unfortunate circumstance that he simply left his firearm out and that is why she died.
22:57
[SPEAKER_00]: This is so much more than that.
23:01
[SPEAKER_00]: And the prosecutor was right.
23:03
[SPEAKER_00]: What happened to Rina wasn't just one night of cruelty.
23:06
[SPEAKER_00]: Rina when was a victim of domestic violence.
23:10
[SPEAKER_00]: Her mother Rose recalled to the Salt Lake Tribune that she was the one who prepared Rina for her funeral, something no parent should ever have to do.
23:19
[SPEAKER_00]: Rose told the outlet that Rina's body was covered in bruises.
23:23
[SPEAKER_00]: She continued stating,
23:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Knowing what she endured is a trauma I will have to live with for the rest of my life.
23:29
[SPEAKER_00]: There is nothing more devastating than knowing your child's final moments weren't filled with peace or comfort, but excruciating pain.
23:38
[SPEAKER_00]: Knowing that their daughter suffered for nearly a year at the hands of an abuser, Brena's family has vowed not to let her death be in vain.
23:46
[SPEAKER_00]: The family plans to push for reform to have reports of domestic violence taken more seriously.
23:51
[SPEAKER_00]: Brena's father Keith said, I believe we must do more than just teach victims to escape abuse.
23:58
[SPEAKER_00]: We must use every tool under the law to deter any person who even considers harming another person.
24:05
[SPEAKER_00]: The wind's fight for justice for Rina has already changed the way many viewed domestic or intimate partner violence.
24:11
[SPEAKER_00]: And that may be one of the most important lessons to come from Rina's case.
24:16
[SPEAKER_00]: Because Caleb Rina's didn't pull the trigger, but his actions that night and the months leading up to it set off a chain of events that caused 20-year-old Rina her life.
24:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Prosecutor Charlotte Howard spoke to the Salt Lake Tribune in stated, Rena was not a victim of suicide, she was a victim of domestic violence, Mr. Reeze is culpable for her death.
24:37
[SPEAKER_00]: The Wenz Attorney Richard Lambert spoke to 2KUTV and said, though Rena pulled the trigger Reeze was charged criminally with causing her death by deliberately driving her to a point of desperation and despair that led to the fatal acts
24:52
[SPEAKER_00]: Circumstances like rainas have played out behind closed doors a million times before.
24:59
[SPEAKER_00]: According to the American Psychological Association, victims of domestic violence are twice as likely to attempt suicide multiple times.
25:08
[SPEAKER_00]: That shouldn't be surprising when you consider the severe psychological strain that being trapped in a violent relationship can place on someone.
25:15
[SPEAKER_00]: severe psychological trauma, deep isolation, and an exhausted nervous system can be a recipe for disaster.
25:24
[SPEAKER_00]: Rina's story is similar to so many others, people trapped in abusive relationships, living in fear and desperately trying to find a way out.
25:33
[SPEAKER_00]: What is unusual about Rina's story is that Caleb Reeze was actually held criminally accountable for the role he played in her death.
25:41
[SPEAKER_00]: The Wenz Attorney Richard Lambert told the Utah News dispatch that it's the first case he's aware of in the United States in which a domestic abuser had driven someone to take their own life and has been held accountable for that action, prosecutor Charlotte Howard agreed.
25:56
[SPEAKER_00]: But maybe the tide is beginning to turn, because Rina's case is in the only recent example of someone being held accountable when domestic violence contributed to a victim's death by suicide.
26:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Across the pond in Scotland, 40-year-old Lee Mellon was sentenced to eight years in prison in April of 2026 following the suicide of his wife Kimberly.
26:18
[SPEAKER_00]: Interestingly enough, Milton was sentenced the same month caliberies pled guilty to manslaughter.
26:24
[SPEAKER_00]: The BBC reported the 28-year-old Kimberly Mone jumped to her death on a roadway in Dundee in July of 2023.
26:32
[SPEAKER_00]: Prosecutors said Kimberly had suffered significant violence at the hands of Lee Mone in their 18-month marriage.
26:38
[SPEAKER_00]: Mone had choked Kimberly.
26:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Grabbed her by the hair, struck her, yelled and swore at her.
26:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Police said Kimberly was clearly terrified of Melon, and her death was a result of her trying to get away from him.
26:51
[SPEAKER_00]: Melon was found guilty of culpable homicide.
26:54
[SPEAKER_00]: Judge Lady Drummond addressed Lee Melon in court.
26:58
[SPEAKER_00]: She said, following your actions, Kimberly Melon reached a point of despair such that she climbed over the barrier of a road bridge and fell to her death.
27:07
[SPEAKER_00]: Two women, two countries, two different cases.
27:11
[SPEAKER_00]: But both stories reveal the same devastating reality.
27:15
[SPEAKER_00]: Domestic violence can destroy a person before it leaves a visible mark.
27:19
[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes the emotional scars are deeper than the physical ones.
27:23
[SPEAKER_00]: For decades, domestic violence has too often been treated as something victims are expected to escape, rather than something perpetrator should be held accountable for.
27:33
[SPEAKER_00]: But cases like Rina's and Kimberly's force us to look at domestic violence differently.
27:39
[SPEAKER_00]: Because abuse often isn't just one violent act.
27:42
[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes it's the constant intimidation, the isolation, the humiliation, the threats, the manipulation, the fear, the feeling that there is no way out.
27:53
[SPEAKER_00]: And sometimes the consequences of that abuse are fatal and
28:00
[SPEAKER_00]: Reno when was just 20 years old when her life ended.
28:03
[SPEAKER_00]: She should have had decades ahead of her.
28:05
[SPEAKER_00]: She should have had the opportunity to grow into the woman she was becoming.
28:09
[SPEAKER_00]: To make mistakes, fall in love, travel, build a career, laugh with her friends and grow old surrounded by the people who loved her.
28:17
[SPEAKER_00]: Instead, her parents had to bury their daughter, and that's how these stories end far too often.
28:23
[SPEAKER_00]: But it doesn't have to be that way.
28:26
[SPEAKER_00]: If you're listening to this right now in your in a relationship that makes you afraid, if you're constantly walking on eggshells, if you're being threatened, isolated, controlled, humiliated, physically, or sexually assaulted, please know that none of this is your fault.
28:42
[SPEAKER_00]: you don't have to wait until it gets worse to ask for help, and you don't have to go through this alone.
28:48
[SPEAKER_00]: Reach out to someone you trust, a friend, a family member, an advocate, or a shelter.
28:53
[SPEAKER_00]: Someone who can help you create a safe escape plan.
28:57
[SPEAKER_00]: If you're in the United States, resources are available at the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-Safe or online at thehotline.org.
29:08
[SPEAKER_00]: You deserve a life-free from abuse.
29:11
[SPEAKER_00]: Rain a win, deserve that too.
29:14
[SPEAKER_00]: And that my friends is all I've got for this week.
29:16
[SPEAKER_00]: Be sure to join me next Thursday, same time, same place for an all new episode.
29:21
[SPEAKER_00]: In the meantime, you can find me on Instagram at least under score of these, or my Facebook at least of these podcasts.
29:28
[SPEAKER_00]: And if you're sick of that interruptions, I've got good news for you.
29:31
[SPEAKER_00]: You can get all your episodes at free just so we like them for just $2 a month.
29:36
[SPEAKER_00]: And as a member of Patreon, you'll be the first to be notified when new tears will launch with exclusive episodes and a few bonus surprises.
29:43
[SPEAKER_00]: head on over to patreon.com slash least of these to support the show today.
29:48
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for listening.
29:49
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for caring.
29:50
[SPEAKER_00]: If you know something, say something.
29:52
[SPEAKER_00]: And until next time, be good to each other.
30:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Raina's story really hit home for me because someone I know in love was actually in a very similar situation.
30:41
[SPEAKER_00]: She allegedly took her own life, too, after years of abuse, and the night she did, she was in an argument with her abuser, and it's almost as if he go to her into pulling the trigger.
30:53
[SPEAKER_00]: I got to be real careful what I say here, because unlike Kayla Breeze, this guy was never charged with a crime.
30:59
[SPEAKER_00]: At this point, he's behind bars for a completely unrelated crime, shocker I know.
31:04
[SPEAKER_00]: But he was never held accountable in any way for her death.
31:08
[SPEAKER_00]: The investigators worked hard to find any shred of evidence, but really, there wasn't anything directly pointing back to him.
31:15
[SPEAKER_00]: There wasn't a video recording, nothing.
31:23
[SPEAKER_00]: It was heartbreaking.
31:24
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, it felt like he got away with murder because, while in my opinion, he did.
31:29
[SPEAKER_00]: And Rina's case had it not been for that recording, or the push for justice from her family.
31:35
[SPEAKER_00]: Caleb Rina's would have gotten away with it, too.
31:37
[SPEAKER_00]: He knew Rina was struggling, but he just kept pushing.
31:41
[SPEAKER_00]: He might not have pulled the trigger, but he did everything, but placing the gun directly in her line of sight was certainly a choice.
31:48
[SPEAKER_00]: I'll say it again.
31:49
[SPEAKER_00]: He knew what he was doing because if he didn't want her to hurt herself and knew the gun was right there, why didn't you just take it with him?
31:56
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, that would be the logical thing to do, but he didn't because he didn't care what the outcome was.
32:02
[SPEAKER_00]: And if he asked me, he wanted the outcome to be what it was.
32:06
[SPEAKER_00]: You can push a person past the brink and that's exactly what he did.
32:10
[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm just glad he was held accountable.
32:13
[SPEAKER_00]: And I hope that this truly does set a precedent for future cases.
32:17
[SPEAKER_00]: And I hope it really changes the way we look at cases like this.
32:20
[SPEAKER_00]: I really hope it does.
32:22
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's about all I've got to say about that.
32:25
[SPEAKER_00]: You all know I love you more than my luggage, and I can't wait to talk it to you next week.
32:28
[SPEAKER_00]: But until then, bye, both of them!