Nick Reiner will be charged with two counts of murder in the first degree, Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced Tuesday, just two days after Rob Reiner and his wife Michele were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home.
The charges, to be filed formally later Tuesday, include “special circumstance” enhancements for the intentional use of a deadly weapon and multiple murders. Hochman said the charges carry a possible sentence of life in prison without parole, and that a decision was pending on whether prosecutors would seek the death penalty.
They come swiftly after the LAPD issued a uniquely definitive statement Monday, saying their investigation “revealed that Nick Reiner, the 32-year-old son of Robert and Michele Reiner, was responsible for their deaths.”
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said during a Tuesday press conference that Reiner was arrested Sunday night in Exposition Park, near the USC campus, without incident. Asked whether he was intoxicated at the time, McDonnell said “that’s a question I can’t touch.”
Neither Hochman nor McDonnell offered any details on the time or manner of the Reiners’ deaths, nor the presence of a murder weapon, when asked by reporters.
Nick Reiner, who struggled for years with drug addiction, mental illness, homelessness and frequent violent behavior, was questioned and arrested Sunday night just hours after his 28-year-old sister Romy Reiner discovered her parents’ lifeless bodies in the family’s longtime West Los Angeles compound.
According to multiple sources, Romy immediately suspected her brother, who had been back to living with his parents after years of bouncing in and out of treatment facilities and stints of living on the streets. Though Nick Reiner had experienced a period of sobriety, the family privately expressed to close friends that he had recently relapsed to a new low, causing grave concern to his family.
Several media outlets reported Monday that Nick Reiner appeared at a Christmas party held Saturday night at comedian Conan O’Brien’s home in the Pacific Palisades, where the “Princes Bride” director and his wife were invited guests. Nick’s appearance – wearing a hoodie at the festive and exclusive affair – and incoherent demeanor alarmed guests, who said he was “freaking everyone out, acting crazy, kept asking people if they were famous,” People reported, citing anonymous partygoers.
Nick then got into a “loud argument” with his parents, who left the party a short time after. Police did not disclose when they thought the attack happened; several outlets reported that the Reiner’s throats were slashed with a knife.
Nick Reiner has retained defense attorney Alan Jackson, who confirmed his involvement Tuesday to media gathered at the Los Angeles criminal courthouse. Reiner was scheduled to appear, but Jackson said his client had not been medically cleared to be transported from Men’s Central Jail, and he was not present at a Monday morning hearing.
“Every inmate has to be medically cleared before they can be transported to court,” Jackson said. “He has not been medically cleared.”
Jackson, who defended Harvey Weinstein against rape charges in California, did not respond to questions about his client’s mental health or physical condition. Multiple news outlets reported Monday night that Nick Reiner was on suicide watch while in custody.
The post Nick Reiner to Be Charged With First-Degree Murder in Deaths of Parents Rob and Michele, DA Seeks Life in Prison appeared first on TheWrap.
