Man Charged With Murdering His Reality TV Star Girlfriend Acted in Self-Defense, Says Attorney

— -- A lawyer for a man accused of killing his reality TV star girlfriend said his client acted in self-defense.

Robert Reagan, 51, was charged with murdering Loredana Nesci, the star of the Sundance TV reality show “Loredana, Esq.,” with a knife. Nescei's body was discovered on Wednesday after Reagan called police, authorities said.

But Reagan's attorney said the woman, known as "the legal diva," attacked Reagan first with the knife.

"Robert tried to disarm her,” Regan’s attorney, Shepard Kopp, said in a statement, “and in the intense struggle that ensued she tragically suffered a fatal wound."

The couple's troubles were played out on the TV program that centered around the tough-talking attorney, who is a former LAPD officer and body builder.

Friends said Nesci, 47, was tough but not violent.

"Loredana was just the nicest person you have ever met,” said friend Tori Moorhead. “She helped so many people. You'd come in and ask her for help and she would never tell you no and it was never about money with her clients.”

But Nesci was known for her sharp tongue, and neighbors say the couple fought often.

“They were always kind of yelling back and forth at each other,” said Nesci’s neighbor Adam Gorelick. “It was more often than not but nothing to where you would think someone would kill someone."

The fighting was something even Nesci's family admits.

"I've heard plenty of arguments between the two of them,” said Robert Nesci, Loredana’s brother. “But I've never seen either one of them lay a hand on each other."

Nesci’s brothers sat down with ABC News and said they're now caring for the couple's 5-year old son.

"We're just very, very distraught over the whole thing,” said Sal Nesci. “And we got a lot of healing ahead of us."