NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Lawyers for convicted Waffle House murderer Travis Reinking spent the past week making the case to get him a new trial.
The judge will now decide if the man who killed four people gets a second chance.
Let's be very clear about something here.
Regardless of what the judge decides, Travis Reinking will never be a free man.
The reason?
There is no question about his guilt.
There is no disputing that in 2018, Reinking pulled up to the Antioch Waffle House, brandished an AR-15 and opened fire.
In just a matter of minutes, he killed Taurean Sanderlin, Joe Perez, Deebony Groves, and Akilah Dasilva.
Reinking was captured after a nearly two-day manhunt.
Not long after, the judge ruled him incompetent to stand trial -- sending Reinking for treatment to improve his mental state.
"There's a thing called restoration of competency. It means trying to restore you to a level where you can be tried," said Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall.
Reinking was eventually found competent, and then he called this reporter from jail.
"Hello, I'm looking for Nick ... is it Beres? Yeah ... this is Nick Beres. Yeah, this is Travis Reinking."
He shared little during the brief call, but I did ask him about his mental fitness.
"Yeah, no ... I'm perfectly healthy."
It was not until four years later that Reinking finally stood trial.
His lawyers argued insanity to no avail, and he was found guilty on four counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life.
Now, Reinking is asking for a new trial, alleging his lawyers did a poor job of arguing the degree of his mental illness.
There is no argument over his guilt.
Reinking killed those people.
So what is this appeal really about?
If he's granted a new trial, Reinking's best case scenario is yes, another conviction, but this time perhaps he'd be sentenced to a mental institution instead of hard time in a prison.
Judge Mark Fishburn heard all the arguments last week and took the case under advisement.
He'll decide whether to grant a new trial in the coming weeks.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Nick.beres@newschannel5.com
