Reality Star Loredana Nesci's Boyfriend Robert Reagan Charged With Murder, Friend Says Couple Had Been Headed

Reality star Loredana Nesci's longtime boyfriend, Robert Reagan, has officially been charged with murder.

Reagan is being charged with one count of murder with a knife and held on just over $1 million bail, according to Deputy District Attorney Frank Dunnick. If convicted as charged, Reagan may face up to 26 years in prison. His arraignment was postponed until Aug. 20 in order for his lawyer, Shepard Kopp, to review police reports and file motions.

A distraught Reagan called police early Wednesday morning after a reported domestic dispute. Nesci was then found dead in the Redondo Beach, California, home the two shared.

WATCH: Loredana Nesci Killed, Boyfriend Arrested for Murder

Kopp said in a statement that his client was acting in self-defense, according to the Daily Breeze. "Loredana Nesci was a former LAPD officer, highly trained in the use of deadly weapons," Kopp wrote. "She was also an avid bodybuilder, and was exceptionally strong. 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. Robert is not guilty of committing any criminal offense."

Nesci's good friend and client, Karen Dawn, spoke exclusively with ETonline on the tragedy she describes as "unbelievable."

According to Dawn, the longtime couple were headed for a break-up. "I knew Loredana had started to develop other interests and wanted to move on," she told ETonline.

Both Nesci, 47, and Reagan, 51, attended parties at Dawn's house, and she spent both professional and personal "quality time together" with Nesci over the last few months. Dawn didn't know Reagan as well as Nesci but described him as a "gorgeous, friendly and warm man and adoring father when they all came to my home."

In fact, Dawn is shocked that her friend's relationship came to such a deadly end. "I never would never have thought of him as the murdering kind," she added. "He struck me as a gentle guy."

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What makes it even harder for Dawn to believe is that she knew how much both Nesci and Reagan adored their 5-year-old son, Rocco. "It's bad enough to lose both parents in an accident, but to have your adoring dad kill your adoring mom? What a cross to bear," Dawn said. "That's what makes the whole thing most shocking: The idea that he would do something that would leave Rocco, who he clearly adores, all alone in the world."

Nesci leaves behind Rocco as well as the rescue dogs, Louie and Toukie, and cats that she considered family. "She was a big animal person with a huge heart," Dawn said.

Also known as "the legal diva," Nesci starred in the Sundance Channel show Loredana, Esq., and was a practicing lawyer in California. Before going to law school, Nesci was a member of the Los Angeles Police Department. Her death is continuing to be investigated by Redondo Beach police.