Nick Reiner pleads not responsible in stabbing deaths of his mother and father – Nationwide
Nick Reiner entered a plea of not responsible throughout his third look in Los Angeles Superior Court docket for his scheduled arraignment within the killing of his mother and father, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner.
The 32-year-old faces two counts of first-degree homicide with the particular circumstance of a number of murders.
Deputy District Legal professional Habib Balian mentioned his workplace continues to be awaiting a full post-mortem report within the case, however all different proof has been turned over to the defence.
Reiner appeared in court docket in an enclosed custody space along with his head shaved and sporting brown jail garments. He talked to his lawyer briefly earlier than the choose started the transient listening to. He spoke solely to reply sure to a query from the choose.
Los Angeles County District Legal professional Nathan Hochman spoke to reporters exterior the courthouse following Reiner’s listening to.
“The case is on observe. We have now offered the majority of discovery to defence council and we are actually ready for the coroner’s report,” he mentioned.
“This case is a demise penalty-eligible case. Alongside these strains we take the method during which we decide whether or not or not the demise penalty needs to be sought extraordinarily significantly and it goes by means of a really rigorous course of,” Hochman added.
“We have now invited defence counsel to current to us — each in writing and orally — in a gathering, any arguments that they want to make in consideration for our going ahead or not going ahead with the demise penalty,” Hochman mentioned.
Hochman didn’t take questions after sharing his assertion exterior the courthouse. A preliminary listening to has been set for April 29.
Nathan Hochman, the Los Angeles County district lawyer speaks with reporters throughout Nick Reiner’s arraignment on prices of murdering his mother and father Rob and Michele Reiner, at Los Angeles Superior Court docket on February 23, 2026, in Los Angeles, California.
Frederic J. Brown / AFP through Getty Photographs
Reiner was set to enter a plea final month at a listening to in Los Angeles, earlier than his defence lawyer, Alan Jackson, introduced that he was withdrawing from the case, and Reiner will now be represented by public defender Kimberly Greene.
“This morning I needed to withdraw as Nick Reiner’s counsel. Circumstances past our management however extra importantly circumstances past Nick’s management have dictated that sadly it’s made it inconceivable for us to proceed our illustration,” Jackson instructed reporters exterior the courthouse in January.
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“I’m legally and ethically prohibited from explaining all of the explanation why. I do know that’s a query on all people’s thoughts. We count on the general public defender to step in. They’ve already been appointed and really capably shield Nick Reiner’s pursuits as he strikes ahead by means of the system,” he added.
“Be very, very clear about this — my staff and I stay deeply, deeply dedicated to Nick Reiner and to his finest pursuits,” Jackson mentioned. “Actually we all know, we’re not simply satisfied, we all know that the authorized course of will reveal the true details of the circumstances surrounding this case.”
“What we’ve realized — and you may take this to the financial institution — is that pursuant to the regulation on this state, Nick Reiner isn’t responsible of homicide. Print that,” Jackson added.
Alan Jackson, the previous lawyer for Nick Reiner, leaves court docket after Reiner’s arraignment on homicide prices for the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Los Angeles.
AP Photograph/Damian Dovarganes
Following the information, Reiner’s household instructed the New York Occasions in an announcement that they “have the utmost belief within the authorized course of and won’t remark additional on issues associated to the authorized proceedings.”
Reiner’s 78-year-old father and 70-year-old mom have been discovered useless with stab wounds of their residence within the upscale Brentwood part of Los Angeles on Dec. 14, 2025, authorities mentioned.
The LA County Medical Examiner mentioned in preliminary findings that they died from “a number of sharp pressure accidents,” however launched no different particulars, and police have mentioned nothing about doable motives.
Nick Reiner was arrested hours later and has been held with out bail since. He was charged two days later with two counts of first-degree homicide.
Hours earlier than the filmmaker and his spouse have been discovered useless they’d attended Conan O’Brien’s vacation occasion with their son Nick.
O’Brien not too long ago broke his silence on the deaths of Michele and Rob throughout an interview with The New Yorker.
“I knew Rob and Michele, after which more and more bought nearer and nearer to them,” O’Brien mentioned.
“They have been simply such pretty folks,” he mentioned of Rob and Michele. “And to have that have of claiming good night time to someone and having them depart after which discover out the subsequent day that they’re gone…. I feel I used to be in shock for fairly some time afterward. I imply, there’s no different phrase for it.”
“It’s simply so terrible,” O’Brien mentioned of the deaths of Rob and Michele. “And I take into consideration how Rob felt about issues which might be occurring within the nation, how concerned he was, how a lot he put himself on the market—and to have that voice go quiet straight away continues to be exhausting for me to understand.”
Reiner didn’t enter a plea throughout a quick first court docket look on Dec. 17. Jackson instructed the court docket it was “too early” to enter a plea and that he had already agreed with the prosecution to delay the arraignment till January.
Reiner additionally faces a particular allegation that he personally used a harmful and lethal weapon, that being a knife, Los Angeles County District Legal professional Nathan Hochman introduced at a information convention on Dec. 16.
These prices carry a most sentence of life in jail with out the opportunity of parole or the demise penalty. No choice in regards to the demise penalty has been made as of but, Hochman added.
“Costs should not proof,” Hochman mentioned. “Proof is one thing we will probably be presenting in a court docket of regulation to fulfill the usual of proof we meet at each legal case, which is past an inexpensive doubt.
“Prosecuting these instances involving members of the family are a number of the most difficult and most heart-wrenching instances that this workplace faces due to the intimate and infrequently brutal nature of the crimes concerned.”
Prosecutors have mentioned they haven’t but determined whether or not to hunt the demise penalty.
— With information from The Related Press
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