Reiner, 32, arrived at court on Wednesday, Jan. 7, with a newly shaved head, wearing a khaki jail jumpsuit and sporting a five o’clock shadow. His hands were cuffed as he sat through the hearing alongside his attorney, Alan Jackson. During the proceeding, Jackson withdrew from the case, and Reiner was reassigned a public defender.
Reiner appeared visibly emotional in court and chose to waive his right to complete the arraignment that day. The judge rescheduled the remainder of the proceedings for Feb. 23.
Earlier in the week, on Monday, Jan. 5, authorities confirmed that Reiner was no longer on suicide watch at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles. According to a Los Angeles County sheriff’s source, he had previously been placed under heightened supervision after entering the jail system on Dec. 15, one day after his parents were found dead in their Brentwood home.
While in custody, Reiner had been held in solitary confinement and required to wear a suicide-prevention smock during his first court appearance on Dec. 17. That smock has since been removed, and he is now wearing standard jail-issued clothing, the source said.
Prosecutors have charged Reiner with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed on Dec. 17 that both victims died from multiple sharp-force injuries.
The Los Angeles County district attorney, Nathan J. Hochman, is also seeking special-circumstances enhancements. If convicted under those conditions, Reiner could face the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Court records and police reports show that there were prior concerns at the Reiners’ home in the years before the deaths. Police responded to welfare-check calls at the residence in 2019, including at least one incident classified as mental health–related while Nick Reiner was living there.
Multiple media outlets have reported that Reiner had been receiving treatment for schizophrenia before his parents’ deaths. Mental health experts say the condition, while often misunderstood, is treatable with proper care and medication.
Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner met while he was directing When Harry Met Sally… and married in 1989. In addition to Nick, they shared two other children, Jake, 34, and Romy, 28. Rob Reiner also has a daughter, Tracey, 61, from his first marriage to the late actress and director Penny Marshall.
The case remains ongoing as the court prepares for the next hearing later this month.
Tags:
News
