Nick Reiner pleaded not guilty to murdering his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, during a brief hearing in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Monday morning.
Reiner is accused of fatally stabbing his 78-year-old father and 70-year-old mother sometime in the early morning hours of Dec. 14 at their Brentwood home, authorities have said. Their bodies were discovered in the master bedroom by their daughter roughly 12 hours later, and Los Angeles police arrested Reiner near a South L.A. gas station later that night.
Appearing in a brown jail jumpsuit, Reiner barely spoke other than to say “Yes” to some perfunctory questions from Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Teresa McGonigle.
Due to procedural delays since the killings, Reiner‘s arraignment did not occur immediately. Reiner is now due back in court in late April.
A motive in the killing has not been disclosed, though reports have surfaced that Nick and his parents got into an argument at a party not long before the slayings.
Nick Reiner’s struggles with mental health and addiction issues are long documented. He had spoken publicly about getting sober by 2015, when he worked with his father on “Being Charlie,” a semi-autobiographical film about addiction and recovery that father and son co-wrote. Nick has also spoken on podcasts about hard drug use and destroying the guest house at his parent’s estate, which he was living in at the time of the killings.
The L.A. County Public Defender’s office stepped in to represent Reiner last month, replacing high-profile defense attorney Alan Jackson, who has not said why he recused himself as counsel.
“Circumstances beyond my control, but more importantly circumstances beyond Nick’s control, have made it impossible for us to continue our representation,” he told reporters last month.
Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Greene is now serving as Reiner’s lead attorney. She has not said how, or if, Reiner’s mental health struggles or addiction issues will factor into the proceedings. It remains unclear if Reiner will seek an insanity defense.
A celebrated director and comedic actor, Rob Reiner was known for his work on iconic films, including “When Harry Met Sally…,” “Stand By Me” and “This Is Spinal Tap.” Rob and Michele met on the set of “When Harry Met Sally…”, and Rob later said he changed the ending to have the central couple stay together after he fell in love with Michele during filming.
