Prosecutors in Los Angeles on Tuesday formally charged Nick Reiner with murdering his parents, the Hollywood fixtures and Democratic Party heavyweights Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner.
The son faces two counts of first-degree murder, with prosecutors requesting they be considered under “special circumstances,” in part because there were multiple murders. Special circumstances can add time to a sentence if convicted.
Nick Reiner, if convicted, could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, although prosecutors have not said whether they would seek the death penalty. (Gov. Gavin Newsom has put a moratorium on executions, but the death penalty still exists in California.) Mr. Reiner has not yet entered a plea.
Nathan J. Hochman, the Los Angeles County district attorney, announced the charges two days after Mr. Reiner’s parents were discovered dead at their home in Brentwood. Prosecutors said that Mr. Reiner killed them using a knife and that the coroner was still determining whether they died on Saturday or Sunday.
On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Hochman told a packed room of reporters that the case would be particularly difficult to prosecute because of the intimacy between the victims and the accused.
“These cases, involving family members, are some of the most challenging and most heart-wrenching cases that our office faces,” Mr. Hochman said.
He emphasized that, given the high-profile nature of the case, rumors and speculation were likely to spread, and he urged the public to use caution.
Chief Jim McDonnell of the Los Angeles Police Department told reporters on Tuesday that officers were called to the Reiners’ home on Sunday afternoon, and that Nick Reiner was arrested without incident near the University of Southern California later that night.
Nick Reiner had been expected to appear in court for the first time on Tuesday morning, but his lawyer, Alan Jackson, said that he would not be present, adding that his client had not been medically cleared to be transferred from jail.
The deaths have rocked Hollywood and resonated far beyond. Mr. Reiner had publicly struggled with addiction for years, and his parents had tried desperately to help him.
Matt Stevens is a Times reporter who writes about arts and culture from Los Angeles.
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