Man Pleads Not Guilty to Murder of Reality TV Star

A Redondo Beach man accused in the stabbing death of his live-in girlfriend, a onetime Los Angeles police officer-turned-attorney and reality TV personality, pleaded not guilty today to a murder charge.

Robert Reagan, who is free on bail, faces up to 26 years to life in prison if convicted of killing 47-year-old Loredana Nesci, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Reagan, 51, is due back in court Oct. 20, when a date is expected to be set for a hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed to trial.

Defense attorney Shepard Kopp said following his client’s arrest that Nesci was “a former LAPD officer, highly trained in the use of deadly weapons,” and claimed she attacked Reagan with a hunting knife.

“She was also an avid body builder, and was exceptionally strong,” Kopp said. “She attacked Robert with a hunting knife in the midst of a domestic dispute. 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.”

Kopp said his client was “devastated” by the tragedy.

Officers were sent to the residence the couple shared in the 1900 block of Nelson Avenue about 7:20 a.m. July 22 on an emergency call “from a distraught male,” later identified as Reagan, and discovered the victim dead inside.

Nesci was the star of “Loredana, Esq.,” a 2014 reality show on Sundance TV that documented her home life and career as an attorney. Reagan appeared on the six-episode series.

The show documented the couple’s struggle with mounting bills and arguments over the care of their young son while Reagan was traveling to develop a beverage business.

Nesci became an LAPD officer in 1996, according to her website, and left two years later to attend law school. She opened her own law practice in 2004.

City News Service