Accused Waffle House Shooter Tried to Confirm Delusions by Writing to Oprah

Travis Reinking, accused of fatally shooting four people and injuring several others at a Nashville Waffle House in 2018, allegedly wrote letters to Oprah Winfrey and Taylor Swift in the years prior to the shooting that described his desire to learn whether his "delusions" that he was in a relationship with Swift were real.

Reinking, 33, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in his trial for murder, attempted murder and other weapons charges. The prosecution rested their case on the morning of February 2, the third day of the trial, following testimony from police who investigated Reinking.

Desmond Sumerel, a Metro Nashville Police detective who investigated Reinking, read the letters that were recovered from a safe in Reinking's home, according to the Associated Press. A letter addressed to Winfrey was returned to sender in 2017 and another letter addressed to Swift was not in an envelope.

In the first letter, Reinking requests Winfrey's help in understanding whether he is "delusional" to believe that he had been in a relationship with Swift since he saw her in concert in 2015 and he believed she mouthed the word "hello" to him during the performance, according to The Tennessean.

He called Winfrey the only "honest person" in show business and said he believed that his relationship with Swift had taken a bad turn, and the singer was now reading his thoughts, The Tennessean reported.

"I'm writing you because I'm in love with Taylor Swift, and I don't know if I'm delusional or not," the letter read, according to The Tennessean. "I don't know the truth about her.

"I don't know what to believe. I want the internet hacking to stop if it is in fact happening. I want to know for sure if I'm delusional or not."

Other testimony had been heard in the trial this week from victims of the shooting that left four people dead and several with severe injuries, the AP reported.

The prosecution is seeking a life sentence for Reinking, who, according to his defense attorneys earlier this week, believed he was "commanded by God" to commit the shooting.

The defense, by virtue of Reinking's not guilty plea by reason of insanity, is tasked with proving that Reinking was suffering from mental illness prior to the shooting and that the schizophrenia they argue he was suffering from was severe enough that he did not understand how wrong his actions were.

In opening statements, Evans told the jury that Reinking believed he could communicate with God and that prior to the shooting God had told him the people inside the Waffle House were "government agents" who he was "commanded" to harm.