Nick Reiner will not face the death penalty if convicted of murdering his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman made the announcement during a Tuesday morning press conference outside Los Angeles Superior Court, where a preliminary hearing in the double murder case is set to take place immediately following.
“In deciding whether or not the DA’s office was going to seek the death penalty, we have gone through a rigorous review where we look at the aggravating factors as well as the mitigating factors, where we have spoken to the victims’ family, we have spoken to prosecutors, law enforcement, and I’ve worked with the most senior people in the District Attorney’s office,” Hochman explained at the podium.
“After a careful and thorough review of all these factors, the District Attorney’s Office will not be seeking the death penalty in this case. That means that the maximum sentence that Mr. [Nick] Reiner will be looking at is life without the possibility of parole.”
Hochman also said he took the late couple’s eldest son, Jake Reiner, 33, and only daughter, Romy Reiner, 28, into account when deciding whether or not to unseal the grand jury’s transcripts.
“After speaking to the victims’ next of kin, that is Jake and Romy Reiner, that they have expressed a strong desire for these transcripts to remain sealed,” Hochman shared.
“And they basically have said that the disclosure to the public and the media of the details and evidence of the killing of their parents will cause them additional trauma and harm. And they have respectively asked for the court to keep the transcripts sealed.”
Hochman said he will defer to the court to make a decision.
During the hearing, Judge Sam Ohta will determine whether the prosecution has presented enough evidence to send the case to trial.
Nick, 33, is expected to attend in person alongside his public defender, Kimberly Greene, who took over representing him in January after high-profile attorney Alan Jackson withdrew from the case.
Nick was arrested by Los Angeles Police Department officers on Dec. 14, 2025, shortly after his director-actor dad and photographer mom — who were 78 and 70, respectively — were found stabbed to death inside their Brentwood home.
Nick was initially charged with two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances of multiple murders and personal use of a knife.
However, last month, he was hit with a new indictment that accused him of planning the murders. The indictment included the allegation of “lying in wait,” a special circumstance that could result in life in prison without parole now that the option of the death penalty has been removed.
Nick has also been accused of using a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
According to Rob and Michele’s death certificates, they died within “minutes” of receiving “multiple sharp force injuries” with a “knife, by another.”
Nick — who had gotten into an argument with his parents at Conan O’Brien’s Dec. 13 Christmas party — was diagnosed with schizophrenia before the killings and has a long history of drug addiction.
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